law & policy 
| Do Animals Need Lawyers? |
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Chief Policy Advisor of Compassion in World Farming, Peter Stevenson at the 2011 Voiceless Law Lecture Series. People often ask what animal law is and why animals need lawyers. Everyday in Australia thousands of animals are shot, beaten, tortured, starved, imprisoned and harmed in incalculable ways. We eat them, wear them, hunt them, race them, experiment on them and make them perform for us on command. Bearing that in mind and also, bearing in mind that the law denies animals a voice by classifying them as property, we at Voiceless believe that the real question people should be asking is not, "Why should animals have lawyers" but "Why don't they already have them?" "For a long time it was left to two groups to speak up in defence of animals: on the one hand, philosophers; on the other hand, animal welfare people and animal activists. Now, in the last few years, it has been heartening to see a third group enter the fray: lawyers. There has been a blossoming of conferences and symposia on the place of animals in our legal systems, courses on animal rights at law schools, books and articles everywhere. Philosophers are full of ideas, activists full of energy. Lawyers add a third necessary quality. They are astute, good at working out where in practice to apply ideas for maximum effect. Together thinkers, lawyers and activists make a good team. "Voiceless, through its legal component, has been at the forefront in the struggle to advance animal rights in Australia. The way has not been easy and will perhaps get even more difficult. The animal exploitation industries have huge resources behind them, and have the ear of government. But it is impossible to believe that, in the end, justice and compassion will not triumph.” This piece was written by Voiceless's patron J. M. Coetzee and spoken by Hugo Weaving at the 2007 Voiceless Awards Event on 3rd December 2007. Meet the Lawyers As there are few lawyers practising animal law in Australia at present, you will see that most of our interviewees are North American based lawyers. We would however be delighted to hear from you if you are an animal lawyer in another country – practising as a solicitor, barrister or in-house counsel. For a further insight into the world’s leading animal lawyers, don’t forget to visit our special guest lawyers interview page. If you are a lawyer or law student from Australia or New Zealand, you can also chat directly with our special guests by joining Voiceless Law Talk.
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