Ignatious K Maeresa is a versatile legal mind passionate about animals and environmental issues at large. Ignatious has for the past 4 years been working as a Legal Officer for an organization whose mandate is to protect animals through the legal system. Apart from the LLB he holds an Executive Certificate in Project Management, Monitoring and Evaluation, a certificate in Animal Law and a certificate in Illegal Wildlife Trade and the Judicial System. His first encounter with Animal Law was when he attended the 2nd Animal Law training in Zimbabwe and since then he has dedicated his career towards the fight for the plight of animals in Zimbabwe.
Currently, Ignatious is the Legal Manager for Speak Out For Animals (SOFA). As part of the SOFA team he has been involved in court monitoring of animal law/wildlife law related cases, manages the undertaking of wildlife crime baseline surveys, been involved in advocacy and lobbying activities, animal law/wildlife law literature development and has conducted capacity building trainings for a plethora of law enforcement agents in Zimbabwe. Added to that, he is also overall in charge of the student chapters that the organization has at two universities in Zimbabwe and has played an integral part in the dissemination of animal law and wildlife law amongst students in Zimbabwe. Furthermore, Ignatious has provided legal advice to a plethora of stakeholders with a vested interest in animal and wildlife law, has also been involved in extensive legal research with regards to animal and wildlife law in Zimbabwe and is also part of the team that created materials for the first wildlife law module in Zimbabwe.
“Animals are sentient beings, their intrinsic nature is to be appreciated at all times. My legal mind is invested in animal, wildlife and environmental law and this LLM journey has been a shot in the arm!”