ANIMAL LAW I DROIT ANIMALIER I DERECHO ANIMAL
Animal Law Education: Discipline Whose Time is Now Rajesh K. Reddy
Le domaine du droit de l’animal a récemment acquis une nouvelle importance, due en grande partie à l’attention accrue accordée à notre relation avec les animaux à la lumière de l’épidémie de Covid-19. Pourtant, c’est la discipline de l’enseignement du droit de l’animal qui mérite d’être félicitée pour avoir mis à profit de nombreux points d’ancrage au cours du dernier demi-siècle et habilité les praticiens d’aujourd’hui à faire face à l’urgence du moment. À cette fin, cet article décrit le développement de l’enseignement du droit de l’animal aux États-Unis, en Australie et en Inde et offre un aperçu des perspectives de développement et de croissance dans ce domaine.
No time better attests to the need for animal law education than the present moment. The pandemic has opened the world’s eyes to the threat posed by zoonotic diseases, with multiple sources pointing to Covid-19 as having jumped into the human population at a Chinese wet market, where wild animals are often kept in crowded, unsanitary conditions. Indeed, today’s prevailing One Health paradigm highlights how human health is inextricably tied to that of animals and the environment we share with them. As such, discussions regarding how to secure our prosperity requires that seats at the table be reserved for animal law advocates. Numerous other reasons underscore the need to enshrine animal protections into the law. Pets are increasingly being viewed as core members of the family unit. Studies have established the link between human and animal violence such that laws to protect animals run to our benefit. Scrutiny is also being paid to the routine cruelties inflicted upon animals in factory farm settings, as well as how animal-based agriculture is devastating the environment, driving climate change, and fueling species loss. Perhaps most compelling, however, is the recent wave of laws formally recognizing animals as sentient beings who feel pain, experience pleasure, and possess an interiority of the mind
El campo del derecho animal ha ganado una nueva pro-
minencia en los últimos tiempos, elevado en gran parte por la mayor atención que se presta a nuestra relación con los animales a la luz de la pandemia de Covid-19. Sin embargo, es la disciplina de la enseñanza del derecho animal la que merece crédito por haber aprovechado numerosos puntos de apoyo durante el último medio siglo y haber dado poder a los practicantes de hoy para hacer frente a la urgencia de este momento. Con este fin, este artículo traza el desarrollo de la enseñanza en derecho animal en los Estados Unidos, Australia e India y ofrece información sobre las perspectivas para que el campo prospere y crezca.
that makes them worthy of ethical consideration. This paradigmatic shift has been driven by the pioneers of animal law education, with the United States, Australia, and India having achieved major advancements in a field that many if not most lawyers have still never heard of.
United States The history of animal law education in the US finds its roots in environmental law, which generally contemplates the interests of animals on a species as opposed to on an individual basis. This change was marked by the first animal law course offering, which was led by an adjunct professor at Seton Hall University in 1977. Today, more than 150 law schools in the US feature animal law in their curriculum – though the regularity of these offerings varies by institution. For most, the offering represents a general elective that touches upon the numerous and surprising ways that the interests of animals are implicated by the legal system. For example, the first animal law casebook dedicates chapters to animal protections in the property, criminal, constitutional, research, estate planning, wildlife, and entertainment contexts, among others. Recognizing the breadth, import, and vibrancy of this field, a handful of law schools have developed full-scale animal law programs.
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