Obtaining legal status for natural populations

Aristotle refers to human slaves as "animated property". The phrase exactly describes the current status of non-human animals. At the root of the master's power over the slave is the fact that the slave is not acknowledged by the community. Most political action on behalf of animals today focuses on abolishing abhorrent practices and forms of treatment. But the history of slavery shows that this type of approach had only a marginal impact. In antiquity there was one way to leave the no man's land of the slave: manumission. The term, which means literally "to emit or release from one's hand", conveys the sense of giving up control over something. Just as manumission was the only way out for slaves, so it appears to be the kind of response needed for animals. Not only does it address the question of status, it is also a long-standing and well-known instrument for the bestowal of freedom on those who cannot win it for themselves.