In fall 2021 the Center for Animal Law Studies (CALS) launched the Global Ambassador Program, a new initiative to empower and support alumni of the Animal Law LLM program.
The Global Ambassador Program provides financial and other support to projects led by alumni ambassadors who are advancing the field of animal law. The ambassadors were selected through a competitive application process open to CALS alumni. The finalists will receive grants to support their work to pioneer animal law education through advocacy and outreach in their home countries and beyond.
The Global Ambassador Program helps accelerate the growth of animal law in the countries where alumni work. It also highlights the powerful and talented network of Animal Law LLM alumni.
Projects funded by the Global Ambassador Program include developing new publishers for animal law content, creating country-specific animal law casebooks that document statutes and case precedents, establishing new educational platforms for animal law legal issues, presenting seminars and publications about new animal law developments, engaging in direct animal advocacy, and more.
The following 11 CALS Animal Law LLM alumni are the 2021–22 ambassadors.
Collaborative Development of a Global Animal Law Seminar
For their Global Ambassador Program project, Tony Gerrans (South Africa, LLM ‘19) and Tess Vickery (Australia, LLM ‘19) will work together to research, organize, and present a seminar on recent global animal law developments. The seminar will provide a focused and accessible opportunity to stay up-to-date with animal law developments around the world.
It will also encourage future collaboration between alumni outside the seminar and facilitate Animal Law LLM alumni taking lessons back to their home countries to further their work in animal law domestically.
Advancing Non-Human Animal Interests in Chile
Diego Plaza (Chile, LLM ‘20) founded a nonprofit animal protection organization in his home country of Chile called Center for Chilean Animal Law Studies, or CEDA Chile (which stands for Centro de Estudios de Derecho Animal in Spanish). Through CEDA Chile, and with support from the Global Ambassador Program, Diego will collaborate with various professionals to develop diverse educational content. Diego will also coordinate the development and publication of various pieces of legal research in Chilean animal law, lead the implementation of an internship program for law students at CEDA Chile, and design an animal law syllabus inspired by his experience in the CALS Animal Law LLM program to present to law schools in Chile.
In his second year working as a Global Ambassador, Diego will work through CEDA Chile and Fundación Justicia Interespecie (FJI) to lead several actions to advance non-human interests in Chile. Through FJI he will lead strategic litigation projects and participate in the “Subjects Not Objects” campaign, which aims to include non-human animals as legal persons in the new constitution. The focus of this year’s project will be the creation of the first animal legal publishing house in Chile for two pieces of work: one of a legal nature; and the other one for the intersectional literature area of CEDA Chile (CEDA ALI), addressing animal issues from non-legal, intersectional, and feminist perspectives.
Addressing the Welfare of Farm Animals in China
Zihao Yu (China, LLM ‘20) will develop a farm animal welfare project to focus on improving the awareness of animal welfare for animals used in agriculture in mainland China through education. Law students, activists, and scholars in China will participate in this Global Ambassador Program project through field research, a debate competition, and webinars.
Extending Legal Protections to Aquatic Animals
Lu Shegay (Kazakhstan, LLM ‘20) was a finalist in each of the first two Global Ambassador Program application periods. For the first year of funding Lu created a project called “Enhancing Legal Regulations of Aquatic Animals in Kazakhstan” that aims to raise awareness about the detrimental effects of human activities on aquatic animals and the need to extend legal protections to aquatic animals. The project will focus on education as a tool to protect animals, such as creating and sharing webinars by experts from across the globe to share their experience and knowledge about aquatic animals. Lu also plans to launch the first animal law conference in Kazakhstan, with a focus on cruelty to animals used for entertainment.
In the second year of funding Lu will lead the International Institute of Animal Law project, which will serve as an educational platform for students across Kazakhstan. Students will have an opportunity to engage in legal research, seminars, and workshops, and to expand their knowledge in animal law. With the participation of lawyers, veterinary doctors, and researchers in the fields of animal psychology and animal ethics, the institute will mentor young researchers, prepare publications, lobby on animal-related legal issues, and organize seminars and workshops.
Development of a Wildlife Law Casebook
As the founder of Speak Out for Animals, a nonprofit she launched as an Animal Law LLM student, Ever Vimbai Chinoda (Zimbabwe, LLM ‘17) is devoted to wildlife protection in Zimbabwe. For wildlife law to develop in Zimbabwe, it is important to consolidate statutes and case precedents in a single textbook. With support from the Global Ambassador Program, Ever will publish a wildlife law casebook to be used by students, prosecutors, and magistrates in court to guide their decisions and judgments.
Development of an Animal Cruelty Diversionary Program
As the UConn Animal Law Teaching Fellow, Tara Cooley (U.S., LLM ‘20) is implementing several new projects related to Connecticut’s Courtroom Animal Advocate Program (CAAP) law—Desmond’s Law. Tara is working with UConn Law Professor Jessica Rubin to implement a new specialized animal cruelty diversionary program to address the absence of an accelerated pretrial rehabilitation program in Connecticut that meets the needs of cruelty offenders. Tara and Professor Rubin are also providing training and support to various states to assist in the implementation of CAAPs nationwide, including the development of a multi-state CAAP implementation guide.
Documenting Animal Law and Policy Developments in the EU
The Global Ambassador Program will fund Alice DiConcetto (France, LLM ‘16) to develop three publication projects: a report on animals in the clothing industry, a collection of student essays on European Union (EU) animal law aspects, and a quarterly publication of a newsletter and research notes. These projects will provide animal law experts and advocates with high-quality updates on the latest animal law and policy developments in the EU.
Advancing Legal Protection of Farmed Animals
Development of Animal Law in Pakistan
Hira Jaleel (Pakistan, LLM ‘20) will focus her Global Ambassador Program work on the development of an open-access website repository of information about animal law in Pakistan. Additionally, Hira plans to conduct a number of webinars on animal legal developments in Pakistan and research and write the first comprehensive textbook on animal law in Pakistan. Finally, Hira also aims to use her Global Ambassador Program funding to institute strategic impact litigation on behalf of animals in Pakistan. One of her key objectives is to involve law students and young lawyers from Pakistan in these projects to further develop animal law as a field in the country.
Advancing Animal Protection Laws in Uganda
As part of her efforts with the nonprofit she founded during her Animal Law LLM studies—Help African Animals—Gladys Kamasanyu (LLM ‘20) will design, produce, and distribute a compendium of all animal protection laws in Uganda to make available to advocates and local communities. The project will spread knowledge about animal protection laws to other Ugandans to create awareness, foster change, and advance the cause of the nonprofit.
About the Center for Animal Legal Studies Online LLM in Animal Law
The Center for Animal Law Studies (CALS) was founded in 2008 with a mission to educate the next generation of animal law attorneys and advance animal protection through the law. With vision and bold risk-taking, CALS has since developed into a world-renowned animal law epicenter, with the most comprehensive animal law curriculum offered anywhere.
The CALS Animal Law Master of Laws (LLM) at Lewis & Clark Law School is the world’s only advanced legal degree program in animal law. The Animal Law LLM is offered in-person and fully online. In the online program, courses are delivered asynchronously, allowing students to maintain professional, family, and other commitments.
The program is designed for U.S. and international law school graduates who want to focus on animal law in practice, academia, research, or public policy.