Pets as legal beings and the (im)possibility of custody in cases of breakage of the marital bond of guardians

Abstract

The present article aimed to analyze the guardianship of pets in cases of litigious rupture of the marital bond of their guardians. The advancement of society has made animals become part of families and so diverse situations have arisen about the need for further assessments of how they should be considered towards the legal order in order to protect families and the well-being of all, and calling into question the difficult situation of deciding how this relationship will remain when the marriage bond of the guardians breaks down and both wish to remain with the animal, expressing the problem of this study. It was possible to perceive that the gradual understanding by the Judiciary of the importance of the pets in the family universe has made it possible to make decisions that consider the guardianship of animals as relevant in the dissolutions of litigious marriages. The present research was carried out through the analytical method and the bibliographic research technique. Its relevance stems from the recognition of new family conjugations, including the participation of pets as family members.