The Association of Lawyers for Animal Welfare (ALAW) is a charity which aims to bring together lawyers interested in animal protection law to share experience and to harness that expertise for the benefit of the animal protection community, including by securing more comprehensive and effective laws and better enforcement of existing animal protection laws.
STOP PRESS
ALAW SYMPOSIUM ON ZOO REGULATION
30th November 2011
Further details to be confirmed
Antoine Goetschel speaks at ALAW seminar on
animal cruelty
In April 2011 ALAW hosted a seminar on the protection of animals from cruelty with guest speaker Antoine Goetschel, a leading Swiss attorney and founding director of the Foundation for the Animal in the Law who was also instrumental in drawing up animal welfare legislation in Switzerland.
There was also a discussion about the protection of animals in Europe, led by Joy Lee of the World Society for the Protection of Animals and Alexandra Hammond-Seaman of the RSPCA. This discussion focused on some of the practical challenges faced by those seeking to help countries who have acceded to the European Union to implement EU regulations concerning animal welfare, including the need for education and training about the purpose behind such laws to ensure that those who were tasked with implementing the new laws understood the rationale behind them and the need for better animal protection law.
Exciting New Course at the University of Essex
This autumn law undergraduates at the University of Essex will gain insight into animal law through a new module ‘Animal Welfare and Wildlife Law.’ The aim of this ambitious and in-depth course is to explore the legal issues that surround the use and treatment of animals by humans and the degree of legal protection that is afforded to animals by the law. The pre-established categories of domestic (companion, working, scientific, food) and wild animals (food, exhibit, bio-capture, pure wild) will be scrutinized in detail from various philosophical points of view to gain insight into the basis of laws. Through this course the students will acquire a deeper understanding of legislation, case law, EU laws as well as international laws applicable to each category of animals. Participant students will also learn about the role that relevant government departments, treaty bodies, NGO’s and charities play in the field of animal welfare. Please contact Dr Darren Calley at the School of Law, the University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, Essex, CO4 3SQ, or email dscall@essex.ac.uk for more information.
David Favre, Professor of Law at Michigan State University – article on a new status for animals within the legal system
David Favre develops the proposition that non-human animals can possess and exercise legal rights in a recent article ‘Living Property: a new status for animals within the legal system.’ His article can be found in the ALAW links and resources page.
