2013 GW Law Pet Calendars On Sale Now!
Details
Upcoming Events
Thursday, May 30, 2013
2013 Animal Law Night
Faculty Conference Center
716 20th Street, NW (Burns 5th Floor)
Saturday–Sunday, July 13–14, 2013
No Kill Conference Returns to GW Law
Drawing more than 800 people from 44 states and 10 nations, last year's No Kill Conference was the sold out, must attend event of the year. And we’re doing it again! July 13-14 in Washington, D.C.
In 2012, over one new community per week achieved a save rate of at least 90% and as high as 99%. The No Kill revolution is ON THE MARCH. Join us as we celebrate that achievement and teach you how to do the same.
Register here!
Friday-Sunday, November 8-10, 2013
Second Annual Reptile and Amphibian Law Symposium & Workshop
Presented in partnership by NRAAC, PIJAC, ARAV, AZA
The Reptile and Amphibian Law Symposium & Workshop will include three days of panels, workshops, breakout sessions and talks with the goal of bringing all parties interested in reptiles and amphibians and the law to the table, to discuss changes and issues with current and proposed reptile and amphibian laws and regulations at the local, state, federal, and international levels.
Click here for more information and to register.
Recent Events
April 3, 2013
April Pet Study Break
April Pet Study Break
February 15–17, 2013
National Animal Law Competitions
GW Law students competed at Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon.
January 31, 2013
Save the Rock Creek Park Deer
Jessica Almy, an attorney at Meyer, Glitzenstein & Crystal, came to speak about the ongoing case filed against the National Park Service for proposing to control the deer population through lethal methods. She discussed why the deer are not the problem in the park and other non-lethal methods of controlling the deer population.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
January Pet Study Break
Read news coverage about this event [Huffington Post]
January 30, 2013
Sneak Preview of “Speciesism: The Movie,” by 3L Mark Devries
Most of the animals used for food in the United States are raised in giant, bizarre factories, hidden deep in remote areas of the countryside. We set out to investigate. Speciesism: The Movie takes viewers on a sometimes funny, sometimes frightening adventure, crawling through the bushes that hide these factories, flying in airplanes above their bizarre “manure lagoons,” and coming face-to-face with their owners.
But this is just the beginning. In 1975, a young writer published a book arguing that no justifications exist for considering humans more important than members of other species. It slowly began to gain attention. Today, a quickly growing number of prominent individuals and political activists are adopting its conclusions. They have termed the assumption of human superiority speciesism. As a result, they rank these animal factories among the greatest evils in our history. Speciesism: The Movie brings viewers face-to-face with the leaders of this developing movement, and, for the first time ever on film, fully examines the purpose of what they are setting out to do.
January 29, 2013
Panel on Tracey v. Solesky and Its Aftermath
Two experts and participants in the events surrounding the Tracey v. Solesky case, Richard Schimel, GW '78, Budow and Noble, PC and Heidi Meinzer, Bean, Kinney, and Korman, PC, in which the Maryland Court of Appeals held all pit bulls "inherently dangerous," shared their experiences and discuss next steps.
January 28, 2013
Meatless Monday
January 28, 2013
Farm Animal Welfare and Sustainable Agriculture
Bruce Friedrich, Senior Directive for Strategic Initiatives at Farm Sanctuary spoke about farm animal welfare laws, the improvements that need to be made, and their impact on sustainable agriculture.
January 28 – February 1, 2013
Animal Week
SALDF hosted a variety of speakers on animal law topics each weekday.
August 11-12, 2012
No Kill Conference
Some 800 people from 44 states and 10 countries attended the 4th Annual No Kill Conference hosted by the George Washington University Animal Law Program and co-sponsored by Nathan Winograd and the No Kill Advocacy Center and No Kill Nation. The Conference was a huge success, bringing together the nation's most successful shelter directors, shelter veterinarians, and top animal lawyers to help attendees create a No Kill community and teach them how to use the legal system to save the lives of animals!
May 31, 2012
Law Night, DC Week For The Animals
The George Washington University Animal Law Program hosted Law Night as part of DC’s Week for the Animals. Speakers included Nancy Perry, Senior Vice-President for Government Relations for the ASPCA, Scott Giacoppo, Vice-President of External Affairs and Chief Programs Officer for the Washington Humane Society, and Tami Santelli, Maryland State Director for the Humane Society of the United States. Topics included lobbying for humane animal treatment on the federal level, the current state of animal laws in Washington, DC, and a recent Maryland court ruling on pit bulls.
April 11, 2012
Washington Humane Society Mobile Adoption Center at GW Law School
July 30-31, 2011
No Kill Conference 2011 -Fight the Power!
The third international No Kill Conference was a spectacular success! Over 30 attendees from 40 states and 8 countries were in attendance to learn from the most successful shelter directors, those who are saving upwards of 96% of all animals in their shelters, and top animal lawyers who have among other successes fought breed discriminatory laws, eliminated the use of gas chambers, and helped free condemned dogs.
June 3, 2011
Third Annual DC Week for the Animals Law Night
The third annual DC Week for the Animals Law Night, co-sponsored by the GW Animal Law Program and Animal World USA was a hit. The panel brought together experts in animal law to discuss hot topics in animal law. Presenters included Scott Giacoppo, Vice President, External Affairs & Chief Programs Officer, Washington Humane Society; Molly Lunaris, Program Specialist, Animal Disease Prevention Division DC Department of Health; Becky Robinson, President & Co-Founder, Alley Cat Allies; and Christine Sequenzia, Federal Policy Advisor, Animal Welfare Institute.
First Annual DC Week for the Animals Law Night
The first annual DC Week for the Animals Law Night, co-sponsored by the GWU Animal Law Program and Animal World USA was a hit. The panel brought together experts in animal law to discuss hot topics in animal law locally, nationally and internationally. Scott Giacoppo, CPO of Washington Humane Society, discuss animal cruelty, the laws and enforcement in DC followed by Eric Glitzenstein, partner Meyer, Glitzenstein and Crystal who described the highly publicized and ground-breaking case he is litigartin against Ringling Brothers challenging their treatment of elephants. Next, Russ Mead, Executive Director & General Counsel of Farm Sanctuary recounted the current legal protections for farm animals, noting the recent movement in some states to ban gestation crates and battery cages. Nancy Perry, Vice President of Government Affairs for The Humane Society of the United States presented an update on the status of new federal and state laws designed to promote animal welfare. Attorney Raj Panjwani, India's highly honored and leading animal advocate, discussed Bovines in India and Indian Supreme Court case protecting them. The panel was closed by Lisa La Fontaine, President & CEO of Washington Humane Society, who presented the plans for a bright future for DC companion animals.
Publications, Books & Awards
Introduction to Animals and the Law, by Professor Joan Schaffner
Throughout history, humans have raised and confined animals for food, clothing and research, trained animals for entertainment, fought animals for sport, bought and sold animals for profit, and lived with animals for companionship. The law under the umbrella of 'animal law' regulates these human uses and interactions with animals. Animal law is extremely diverse, cutting across every substantive area, jurisdictional boundary, and source of legal authority. Although most countries have enacted Animal Welfare Acts and Endangered Species Laws, the law is currently designed primarily to protect the interests of humans as owners of animals, or as users of environmental resources. The animals' inherent interests, if considered, are secondary.
This text surveys the laws allegedly designed to protect animals, identifies the themes that link them, analyzes and critiques them in light of their consideration and protection of animals' interests, and explores characteristics of a future legal system that would adequately protect animals' inherent interests. Full book review
Professor Joan Schaffner receives the 2009 Henry Bergh Leadership Award for unwavering commitment to ending the systematic killing of animals in U.S. shelters. Please see the press release for more information.
Two groundbreaking books on animal law have been recently published by the American Bar Association under the auspices of the Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section's Animal Law Committee (the Committee).
Professor Joan Schaffner is co-editor and contributing author of Litigating Animal Law Disputes: A Complete Guide for Lawyers (press release) and is the sole editor and contributing author of A Lawyer's Guide to Dangerous Dog Issues (press release).
Professor Schaffner is Publications Vice-Chair and Newsletter Vice-Chair of the Committee and will take over as Chair of the Committee at the ABA annual meeting in Chicago in August 2009. Two new groundbreaking books on animal law have been recently published by the American Bar Association under the auspices of the Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section's Animal Law Committee (the Committee). Professor Joan Schaffner is co-editor and contributing author of () and is the sole editor and contributing author of (). Professor Schaffner is Publications Vice-Chair and Newsletter Vice-Chair of the Committee and will take over as Chair of the Committee at the ABA annual meeting in Chicago in August 2009. Professor Joan Schaffner also recently published an article in the ALC Newletter. Read the article.