Yiran Zhang is a recipient of our International Advocates Animal Law LLM Scholarship. As one of the very first Chinese students in Animal Law program, she intends to offer her unique expertise and legal assistance on animal law to address animal abuse in China after graduation.
Zhang received her Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from Nankai University, China in 2017 and continues her study on environmental law in China University of Political Science and Law. She has been working as a volunteer and assistant in Center for Legal Assistance to Pollution Victims since 2018, helping lawyers conducting legal services on environmental law cases. During her undergraduate and graduate school, she also took part in several research projects about compilation of the history of environmental law, environmental public interest litigation in China, marketization of ecological compensation and liability for agricultural land pollution.
“My interest in animal law initially arose in criminal law and natural resource conservation law classes. Realizing the legal vacancy and loopholes of animal welfare in China, not to speak of animal rights, I decided to dive into this brand-new area. The Animal Law LLM program at Lewis & Clark enriches my experience, as well as my thoughts, faith and ideals. What I’m learning here revolutionizes my perspective of relationship between human beings and animals. The enthusiasm of our professors firmly convinces me of the bright future of animal law. I will immerse myself into companion animal law, as well as laws aimed at improving animals’ legal status. After graduation, I’m going to conduct comparative research on animal law, offer legal assistance to animal welfare organizations, and advocate for the concept of animal rights in my home country.”