Harvard Law School Launches Animal Rights Programme

Animal liberation is the social justice movement of our times. And here’s more proof that it’s growing: Harvard Law School has launched a programme teaching students how they can fight for animal rights.

Called the Animal Law & Policy Clinic,it provides students hands-on experience in animal advocacy, touching upon legislation, policymaking, litigation, administration and more, including the plight of wildlife, issues facing farmed and captive animals, as well as the effect climate change has on animals.

According to the website, “Students will be introduced to the overarching issues that non-human animal law advocates face in their work, including rulemaking petitions, open-government laws, and basic litigation, legislative, administrative, and organizing strategies. Students will also learn how to pursue advocacy under several substantive areas of the law, including the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Animal Welfare Act, the Humane Slaughter Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Wild Horse and Burros Act, and state animal cruelty codes.”

The aim of the school is to create “a new generation of leaders for the animal protection movement.” Harvard also stated that animal protection has become one of the fastest-growing fields of public interest law and has increased manifold in the last ten years, growing from 9 in 2000 to 167 in 2019.

In a quote, Dean of Harvard Law School John F. Manning said, “Our new Animal Law & Policy Clinic will give students real-world experience in this burgeoning field, build on Harvard Law School’s long tradition of innovative pedagogy, and prepare future graduates to address significant societal challenges.”

_{*Feature image courtesy HLS Twitter}

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