Animal Law Clinic
Open gallery
Humane Slaughter Bill in Oregon
The Animal Law Clinic and Aquatic Animal Law Initiative (AALI) have been working on behalf of clients Animal Equality and Mercy for Animals to draft a bill and provide legal expertise relating to the humane slaughter of aquatic animals in Oregon’s aquaculture operations. While scientific evidence shows that fish, cephalopods, and crustaceans have the ability to experience pain, there is currently no federal or state law that addresses the slaughter of these animals. The Humane Aquaculture Slaughter Act aims to alleviate suffering by requiring each animal to be instantaneously and irreversibly stunned prior to slaughter. The Animal Law Clinic and AALI are working with a coalition of advocacy organizations on next steps.
Students Host World Aquatic Animal Day
The Animal Law Clinic and AALI named April 3 as World Aquatic Animal Day to focus global attention on the plight of aquatic animals widely used and abused around the world. This year’s virtual program, The Impact of Our Human Activities on Aquatic Animals, was designed and led by students working with Clinical Professor Kathy Hessler, director of the Animal Law Clinic and AALI. Next year’s theme, Disentangling the Sustainability Myth in Fishing and Aquaculture, aligns with the U.N. General Assembly’s International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture.
Students working in the animal law clinics this year were supported by one or more of the following scholarships: the Dean’s Scholarship; the Discovery Grant; the Evening Tuition Award; the Marcy B. Hertzmark Memorial Scholarship; the Online LLM Environmental Leadership Award; and the Peter Nycum Scholarship.
Protecting Animals
Thought Leadership in Animal Law
Animal Law Litigation Clinic
