Abstract
For centuries, man, as an important part of nature, has caused irreparable damage to its equilibrium. After the Second World War, it became clear that this process had led to the extinction of several species of animals. In spite of the importance of biodiversity, it only became an international, political concept after the Earth Summit in 1992. This was held in Rio de Janeiro, where the Agreement on Biodiversity was signed by many countries. Since then, biodiversity as a term has been widely used by politicians, the media, social organisations and others.
The European Union intends to validate strict requirements and provisions concerning animal protection. Most of these provisions have been legally validated in Hungary, but the country still lags behind in some respects. Further problems accrue as legal regulations concerning protected animals have been very hard to enforce in practice.
Overall, we can conclude that, in order to successfully protect animals, society should improve its way of looking at animals as a living part of nature. Without such an attitude, even the most perfect statutes cannot effectively ensure the protection of animals.