SDG Detail

F&ES 827 Animal Law

Postgraduate course

Project description

This course examines the application of the law to nonhuman animals, the rules and regulations that govern their treatment, and the concepts of �animal welfare� and �animal rights.� The course explores the historical and philosophical treatment of animals; discusses how such treatment impacts the way judges, politicians, lawyers, legal scholars, and lay people see, speak about, and use animals; surveys current animal protection laws and regulations, including overlap with such policy issues as food and agriculture, climate change, and biodiversity protection; describes recent political and legal campaigns to reform animal protection laws; examines the concept of �standing� and the problems of litigating on behalf of animals; discusses the current classification of animals as �property� and the impacts of that classification; and debates the merits and limitations of alternative classifications, such as the recognition of �legal rights� for animals. Students write a series of short response papers. An option to produce a longer research paper for Substantial or Supervised Analytic Writing credit is available for Law School students. Enrollment limited to forty.