Animal rights took a small step forward on Wednesday when the California city of West Hollywood symbolically freed its pets from the shackles of their status as property of humans, Patrick Smyth reports.
The city voted to change all reference in city ordinances from "pet owners" to "pet guardians" in an attempt to change the way people think about their pets.
Officials for the city say, however, that the move was drafted carefully not to change the legal status of animals as property but purely as a means of influencing public opinion.