TITLE:
Animal Structural Protection: From the Inefficacy of Ordinary Jurisdiction to the Implementation of Gradual Transition Plans
AUTHORS:
Marco Félix Jobim
KEYWORDS:
Animal Rights, Structural Litigation, Gradual Transition Plan, Live Animal Export, Constitutional Protection
JOURNAL NAME:
Beijing Law Review,
Vol.17 No.4,
November
12,
2026
ABSTRACT: This article analyzes the inefficacy of traditional civil procedure in addressing systemic violations of non-human animal rights and proposes the application of structural litigation as a mechanism for institutional reorganization. Despite the consolidation of the constitutional prohibition against cruelty (Art. 225, § 1, VII, of the 1988 Brazilian Constitution), the ordinary procedural model—grounded in bipolarity and binary remedies requiring immediate compliance—has proven incapable of resolving ongoing, complex unlawful states maintained by economic chains and state omissions. As an alternative, structural litigation replaces the “all-or-nothing” logic with the formulation of gradual transition plans (multistage decrees), driven by procedural flexibility, institutional dialogue, and interim safeguards. The feasibility of this procedural engineering is demonstrated through a case study on the transoceanic maritime transport of live animals (live exports), an activity characterized by severe animal suffering and frequent judicial paralysis. The article concludes that establishing a binding schedule for the deferred phase-out of live exports, combined with redirecting incentives toward the processed meat industry and the implementation of independent monitoring committees, represents a viable path to reconcile economic transition with the effective enforcement of the constitutional mandate protecting animals.