GW Law Assistant Dean of Animal Law Kathy Hessler traveled with Emma DiGiovanni, JD’ 27, to present at the 10th annual Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics Summer School in Oxford, England, this August.
Bringing law students to present at the summer school is part of a new partnership between the University of Oxford’s Centre for Animal Ethics and GW’s Animal Law Program, titled the Animal Ethics and Law Partnership. This year’s summer school focused on the Ethics of Captivity with a special focus on the ethics of aquaculture. Assistant Dean Hessler and DiGiovanni presented papers, spoke on panels, and will be contributing to the Journal of Animal Ethics. (Alumna Hana Nabulsi, JD ’25, will contribute to the journal as well.)
Assistant Dean Hessler and DiGiovanni were joined in Oxford by Dr. Lori Marino, a neuroscientist and co-director of the Animal Law and Science Project at GW, who presented on “Law, Science and Ethics: The Three Pillars of Protection for Captive Cetaceans,” and Amy Wilson, a member of GW’s Aquatic Animal Law Project and co-founder of World Aquatic Animal Day (alongside Assistant Dean Hessler), who presented on “Factory Fins: Cruelty and Harm beneath the Surface.”
Assistant Dean Hessler, who heads the Animal Law Program at GW Law, focused her presentation on "Aquaculture Hatcheries: The Need to Protect Animals throughout the System,” shedding light on a little-considered area of legal research.
“We had the opportunity to meet people from around the globe working on animal issues from varied academic and advocacy perspectives,” Assistant Dean Hessler said. “It was gratifying to hear that the work of the Animal Law Program at GW Law is having a meaningful impact and supporting the work of others.”
The experience was especially beneficial for DiGiovanni, whose presentation focused on “legal protections for plant-based foods as a strategy to reduce farmed animal captivity.”
“Attending the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics Summer School was an amazing privilege," DiGiovanni said. “It was very rewarding to share and discuss a topic in animal law that interests me with a diverse group of advocates who are passionate about animal ethics. I am sure I will draw from this experience throughout my law career because it helped strengthen my legal research and public speaking abilities, allowed me to make great connections, and taught me how to approach animal advocacy in a more interdisciplinary manner.”
The event also honored and recognized Dean Hessler and Amy P. Wilson, Co-Founder of Animal Law Reform South Africa, for their leading roles in the field of aquatic animal law and aquaculture.
GW’s Animal Law Program looks forward to continued collaboration and research with Oxford University through the Animal Ethics and Law Partnership.