" From Paddocks to Pleadings – Farm Animals and the Law" was held on Wednesday 2 May 2007,
sponsored by Voiceless, the fund for animals and kindly hosted by The Law Society of New South Wales

Animal law is a fast emerging discipline of law both in Australia and overseas.  

This well attended event provided an ideal introduction for lawyers, barristers, in-house counsel, legal academics and law students to the diverse range of legal issues which affect farm animals, ranging from property law and food labelling regulations to defamation and animal welfare laws.   

Guest speakers included:

• Professor Steven M. Wise, adjunct professor of 'Animal Rights Law' at Vermont Law School, Lewis and Clark Law School, and St. Thomas Law School, former Lecturer in Law at the Harvard Law School and adjunct professor of 'Animal Rights Law' at the John Marshall Law School and in the Masters Program in Animals and Public Policy at Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine;
• Peter Sankoff, Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland, Faculty of Law, teaching in the areas of animal law, criminal law and evidence;
• Graeme McEwen, Melbourne-based commercial law barrister and current chair of the Victorian Barristers Animal Welfare Panel;
• Dr Malcolm Caulfield, legal counsel for Australia’s peak animal protection body, Animals Australia; 
• John Mancy, Sydney-based barrister, law lecturer, publisher of legal periodicals and former journalist;
• Margot Clarkson, Senior Associate in Litigation & Dispute Resolution, Arnold Bloch Leibler, Melbourne;
• Jed Goodfellow, Part time RSPCA Inspector (Queensland), BA LLB candidate and president of the Griffith University SPCA; and
• Katrina Sharman, Corporate Counsel, Voiceless, the fund for animals.  
  

For more information about the speakers, please click here . 

Speakers explored a variety of topics, including:

• The legal status of farm animals in Australia, New Zealand and the United States
• Animal derived food product labelling in Australia - Lifting the veil of secrecy 
• Defamation in the animal protection movement
• Save Babe – 2006/07 Legal issues and public awareness initiatives
• Issues with Enforcement of Farm Animal Protection Laws 

The Animal Law Seminar was held in conjunction with the University of New South Wales/Voiceless Animal Law Lecture series which was launched in Sydney by Professor Steven M. Wise on 1 May.  

The University of New South Wales/Voiceless lecture series is kindly supported by the Sherman Foundation and commenced with a public lecture on the evening of Tuesday 1 May 2007 at the University's Kensington campus. Please visit the UNSW website for further information about the public lecture.

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