Animal Law

Catalog description

This course presents a survey of the history and current status of this rapidly developing specialty. In brief, animal law encompasses all areas of the law in which the nature -- legal, social or biological -- of nonhuman animals is an important factor. It is an objective and logical specialization of a challenging area -- one with a growing number of cases and laws, increasing public, philosophical, moral and practical interest, and significantly different historical, legal and philosophical foundations than most other courses. Topics covered include animal cruelty, animals as property, tort claims regarding animals, the overlap between constitutional law and animal law, legal issues involving farm animals and animals in entertainment, pet custody, and federal statutes regarding certain groups of animals. The Animal Law course has been described as intellectually stimulating and ethically challenging, and synthesizes a wide range of legal concepts, while the course materials apply traditional legal concepts associated with animals in new ways. Students have called it a great bar review class, because many basic areas of law are covered with respect to their application to animals and their interests. More and more firms and government agencies, large and small, are providing pro bono (and paying) work in the animal law area, as the field gains momentum and reputability in the legal community. Mr. Wagman is a lawyer in San Francisco, with a full-time animal law practice, representing organizations and individuals in a wide range of cases. He is one of the authors of the Animal Law casebook, two other animal legal texts, and has been practicing animal law for most of his 32-year career. His practice includes litigation, consultation, sanctuary management, legislative work, and extensive writing and lecturing on various animal law topics. The class includes regular…