Motunrayo (Mo) Esan

Mo is a Nigerian law graduate of Babcock University with research interests in animal law, public international law, human rights and matrimonial causes. While in her final year of her LLB at Babcock, Mo decided to write an undergraduate dissertation titled “Raising a Legal Framework for the Regulation of the Adoption of Dogs for Security in Nigeria”. In her work, she drafted a bill and sought to employ legal principles that would make dog owners more responsible for their activities in the country. Apart from growing up with dogs, the research was the “turning point” that plunged her into the field of animal law and turned her focus in that direction.

Upon completing her LLB, Mo immediately commenced with an LLM at Babcock and took international law courses. She wrote a dissertation that proposed a draft of a Universal Declaration on Animal Rights, which she earned a distinction in. In 2020, Mo was sponsored by the UK Centre for Animal Law to attend the Africa Animal Welfare Conference for that year. She then commenced a role at the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law as a research assistant towards the publication of an animal rights law textbook (forthcoming in 2023). She also currently works as an editorial assistant for the Carnelian Journal of Law and Politics where she reads manuscripts and refers proposed contributions for peer reviews. She has also completed the bar exam of the Nigerian Law School and is to be sworn in as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

“In the years to come, many animal protection issues will be at the forefront of global concern across the world. I primarily intend to pioneer and contribute extensively to the academic debate on global animal law and litigate (successfully) legal rights for animals in courts.”

Mo enjoys runway modelling, vlogging ice cream shops and any form of writing (even grocery lists).