Somewhat surprisingly - or maybe not - the sentience of nonhuman animals has only been recognized by law in some countries ... and quite recently.
- 1999 - European Union (Treaty of Amsterdam, signed in 1997)
- 2008 - Tanzania
- 2009 - European Union (Treaty of Lisbon, signed 2007)
- 2009 - Chile
- 2011 - Netherlands
- 2012 - Lithuania
- (2013 - Oregon state, USA)
- 2014 - France
- 2015 - New Zealand
- (2015 - Quebec province, Canada)
- 2016 - Colombia
- 2016 - Peru
- 2018 - Sweden
- (2018 - Brussels Capital Region, Belgium)
- (2019 - Australian Capital Territory)
- 2021 - Denmark
- 2021 - Spain
- 2022 - United Kingdom
Not sure if this is a complete list.
