Visiting Professors Jonathan Lovvorn & Nancy Perry
Two-Week Intensive: July 20 - August 2, 2010
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
2 credit hours
EXAMPLE SYLLABUS (FROM 2009 COURSE)

A practical survey of lobbying and litigation on behalf of animals at the local, state, federal, and international level. Topics include the historical status of animals in the law; legislative drafting and lobbying; application and enforcement of federal statutes such as the Animal Welfare Act, the Humane Slaughter Act, the Wild Horses and Burros Act, the Animal Damage Control Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and the Endangered Species Act; international legal protections, free trade issues, and comparative animal protection laws; state laws concerning animal cruelty, hunting, animal fighting, and performing animals; free speech, religion, and other constitutional limitations on animal protection statutes; citizen initiatives and referenda; and the movement to obtain legal recognition of the rights of animals.

Visiting Professor Peter Sankoff, University of Auckland Faculty of Law
Two-Week Intensive: June 8 - June 21, 2010
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
2 credit hours
2010 Course Syllabus
*First time course offering!

This course considers the way in which animal welfare law, and the regulation of the human/animal relationship, has evolved through the creation of different legal mechanisms around the globe.  In particular, this course examines the slow evolution of animal welfare law from its initially restricted focus on intentional cruelty against animals in the domestic and farm setting to wider concerns about negligence, and a gradual change in focusing on animal needs in the industrial setting through adoption of the “five freedoms” in several jurisdictions.

Which countries are “ahead” in this race to build a better animal welfare model?  The strengths and weaknesses of the vairous mechanisms will be considered in depth.  The course will concentrate on the following:

• What are the different legal constructions of what constitutes “cruelty” against animals by legislatures and courts worldwide (including different uses of nomenclature); and which, if any, have operated to benefit animals in a meaningful way?
• How are crimes against animals prosecuted internationally, and have these different enforcement models proven effective (district attorney; animal protection organizations; ministry of agriculture; mixed systems)?
• Some countries create animal welfare legislation that is punishable exclusively through penal sanctions.  What are the advantages and disadvantages of the two systems?
• What oversight mechanisms have been created to ensure that animal interests have been protected?
• How is wildlife protected under the different models?
• What is the impact on welfare protections of the decision in various countries to respect animal “rights” (New Zealand great apes, German constitution, Spanish/Austrian protection of apes)?

Visiting Professor Mark Cushing, Tonkon Torp LLP
Two-Week Intensive: July 6 - July 19, 2010
1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
2 credit hours
* First time course offering!

The United States has witnessed a surge in the population of companion animals over the past thirty years.  Despite the rising profile in courts and legislatures of animal welfare concerns involving production animals, major policy and legal issues are emerging (but are as yet unresolved) for pets and pet owners in America.  How and from where do we source our dogs and cats?  Should states or local jurisdictions establish a priority for placement of shelter dogs and cats, and does this trigger legal concerns?  What standards should govern the breeding of dogs in America, and should this be a power reserved to the federal government, or to states or even local governments?  Should the status of pet ownership (and attendant rights) migrate towards guardianship?  As pets increasingly become extensions of family, should restrictions be abandoned against non-economic claims for damages against veterinarians?  Are there legal and policy concerns with breed-specific and mandatory spay/neuter legislation?  Should there be caps on numbers of companion animals?  What are the legal and policy implications of the emergence of data and studies on the Human-Pet Bond?  What are the lessons from the recent Pet Food Recall?

Professor Erica J. Thorson, International Environmental Law Project
Two-Week Intensive: June 22 - July 5, 2010
9:00 am - 12:00 pm
2 credit hours
OVERVIEW OF 2010 COURSE

This course focuses upon legislation and caselaw from several jurisdictions, including: Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Israel, Austria, Germany, Hong Kong and China.  This course should provide insight for those involved in developing legislation and arguing for refrom on animal welfare issues in any country.

International Wildlife Law examines the connection between international environmental law and animal law. This class will explore the nature of balancing competing interests in international fora, focusing on the worthiness of “sustainable use” as the compromise that hinges together the goals of wildlife conservation and enhancement of human welfare. Students will leave this class with a greater understanding and appreciation for the complexity of international lawmaking, specifically in the wildlife context, and with a greater sense of awareness of the negotiations that give rise to the balancing acts and compromises that make up international wildlife law. By the end of this course, students will have a set of tools to critically examine the utility of the compromises the international community has struck and to think creatively about ways to improve the international management of wildlife so that it serves reasonably and justly the interests of both the animals and the humans who depend on them.