MOSCOW, January 29 (Sputnik) – After a lengthy debate, French lawmakers have finally amended the country’s civil code to upgrade the status of animals from “furniture to creatures with feelings,” Agence France-Presse reports.
The amendment, which came as part of a package aimed at modernizing the animal rights laws, was proposed by the ruling Socialist Party.
Up until now, the French civil code, which dates back two centuries to the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte, included animals in the category of "personal property", on the same level as tables, chairs or toilet bowls.
Not everyone is happy about the new law though, with the National Federation of Farmers (FNSEA) and some politicians warning it could be detrimental to the interests of the country’s agrarians, above all cattle breeders
