voiceless: the animal protection institute

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Where to study Animal Law

Australia
In the last few years, the discipline of animal law has gained substantial momentum in Australia. We are pleased to be able to provide the following list of courses that we understand are currently available for those who wish to study animal law in Australia.

Australian National University (Canberra, ACT): 'Animals and the Law' is an undergraduate law elective which was taught for the first time by the Ven. Alex Bruce in 2009. It will next be offered in Semester 1, 2011 .
Bond University (Robina, Gold Coast, Qld): 'Animal Law' (LAWS13-216), has been offered in 2008 and 2009. The course is available to undergraduate and postgraduate students. Cross-institutional study is available. The course is taught by Jackson Walkden-Brown and is next scheduled for the semester commencing January 2011.
Flinders University (Adelaide, SA): 'Animal Law' (LLAW2208) was taught for the first time in 2009 and is available to undergraduate and postgraduate students. Cross-institutional study is also available. The course is next scheduled to be taught in 2011 as a Summer intensive. For further details contact Lesley Petrie.
Griffith University (Nathan Campus, Qld): 'Animal Law' (5069LAW) is an undergraduate course which was first taught at Griffith Law School in January 2007. The course has been run annually since then and is available to undergraduate and postgraduate students. Cross-institutional study is also an option. 'Animal Law' is next scheduled to be taught in semester 2, 2011. For further details contact Steven White.
Macquarie University (Sydney, NSW): ‘Animal Law’ (LAW496) will be offered from second semester 2012. Details are still being finalised but Macquarie advises that students will be presented with practical case-studies and a rich diversity of perspectives from a range of expert speakers, that the unit is designed to be interactive and thought-provoking, and that previous conceptions and assumptions regarding non-human animals are set to be challenged. For further details, contact Jed Goodfellow.
Southern Cross University (Lismore Campus, NSW): Animal Law (LAW10487) via distance education was offered for the first time in 2010. The subject is being offered again in Session 3, 2011. For further information, contact SCU directly on 02 6620 3107 or 02 6620 3115.
Southern Cross University (Byron Bay Campus, NSW): This is an undergraduate course in SCU’s Summer School program. The course was last taught in December 2006.
University of Melbourne (Carlton, VIC): 'Animal Welfare Law' (730-458) is an undergraduate course which was offered to students at Melbourne Law School in semester 2, 2010 and is being offered a second time as an undergraduate subject in Semester 2, 2011. Animal Law was also taught as an intensive LLM course, in November 2009. Enrolment is open to undergraduates and cross-institutional enrolment is also available. Cross-institutional enrolment enquiries should be directed to Melbourne Law School directly, or alternatively to visit www.undergraduate.law.unimelb.edu.au and navigate to "Administration" (under Current Students), then to Complementary Course Enrolments.
University of New South Wales (Kensington, NSW): UNSW, which was the first law school in Australia to teach animal law, introduced the course as a postgraduate elective in 2005. 'Animal Law' (LAWS3144) is now available to undergraduates and graduates interested in enrolling as a single (non-award) course. Others who would be interested in undertaking the course are encouraged to contact the course convenor, Tara Ward. The Course, which was taught earlier this year, is scheduled to be taught again from 10-16 December 2011. Follow this link for further details.
University of Sydney (Camperdown Campus, NSW): 'Animal Law' (LAWS3410) was taught for the first time in 2009 and is available to undergraduate students. Cross-institutional study and interdisciplinary studies may be applied for. The course has been scheduled again for semester 2 of 2010 and is expected to run for over 10 weeks. For further details contact Celeste Black.
University of Wollongong (Wollongong, NSW): 'Animal Law' (LLB366) was first taught as an undergraduate elective subject in Spring 2008. The course, which is open to cross-institutional enrolment, will be taught during 2011/2012 as a summer elective over four days: Fridays December 2, 9 and 16, and Friday January 13 2012. Any questions should be directed to Elizabeth Ellis.
University of Technology Sydney (Haymarket, NSW): ‘Animal Law and Policy in Australia’ will be offered from Autumn 2012. The course is available for undergraduates and postgraduates. Initially the course will be offered every two years. Cross-institutional study is available. For further details, contact Sophie Riley.

If you require further information about any of the animal law courses above, please contact the relevant Law School directly. If you wish to study animal law at a University that is not listed above, we encourage you to write to the Head of that Law School and enquire whether they intend to teach animal law in the future.

Please contact us if you hear about any other animal law courses that are not listed above or if you become aware that animal law is taught as a component of a course offered at your Australian law faculty.

For an interesting article which looks at the growth of animal law go to http://www.animallaw.info/, click on Volume 4 of the Journal of Animal Law (2008) and view the article by Peter Sankoff entitled 'Charting the Growth of Animal Law in Education'.

Overseas

New Zealand

Canterbury University Faculty of Law (Christchurch): Undergraduate course last taught in 2007.

Auckland University Faculty of Law: Animal Law was first taught as undergraduate course in 2006. It has been taught every year since. The course, which is being taught by Peter Sankoff, is next scheduled to be taught in 2011. Cross-institutional enrolment is available.
Massey University (offered as part of the Veterinary Law Course within the Masters of Veterinary Medicine Program).

United States

Animal law is now being taught in more than 110 law schools in the United States, including Harvard, Columbia and New York University. For further details about course offerings in the United States, we suggest that you visit the websites of the Animal Legal Defense Fund or the Center for Animal Law Studies.

Canada