Legal instruments related to the relationship between human and emotional support animals

Abstract

Emotional support animals is a newly market category that refers to the relationship between a human and a nonhuman animal that provides therapeutic benefits of affection and companionship. There is an increasing amount of people who claim to require the emotional support of a nonhuman animal in the development of their daily lives. While this is an emerging theme that requires in-depth studies to define the scope of this interrelation between humans and nonhuman animals, it is important to continue to widen legal perspectives for its regulation under two premises: avoiding any discrimination exercised against people who require the emotional support of an animal and, on the other hand, regulating the work or support afforded by emotional support nonhuman animals to avoid abuse, exploitation or mistratment. One of the first legal approches to the issue could be to assimilate the emotional support activities with the tasks undertaken by disability support animals, so as to expand on this legal category.