Program News
4/22/19: Read Animal Law & Policy Program Fellow Christine Parker’s new blog on ethical labeling for animal products. “It is great for consumers to think ethically about what we buy and eat. But it is unfair and unrealistic to expect consumer preferences to adequately protect animals and environmental sustainability.”
Bill of Health – Petrie-Flom Center :
Can Ethical Labelling Make Food Systems Healthy, Sustainable, and Just?
4/3/19: Read Harvard Law Today’s great coverage of our 2019 Harvard Animal Law Week.
Harvard Law Today :
Fifth annual Animal Law Week held at HLS
2/21/19: Read Animal Law & Policy Program Fellow, Helen Harwatt, quoted in this New York Times Climate Fwd feature. “But by her calculations, the production of dairy products…contributes about 3.5 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions each year.”
New York Times – Climate Fwd. :
Meat Is a Big Climate Issue. What About Dairy?
1/22/19: Read Animal Law & Policy Program Fellow, Helen Harwatt, quoted in this Time Magazine feature on healthier alternatives to beef. It has a full paragraph about Helen’s research and follows in the wake of last week’s EAT-Lancet Report recommending a 90% reduction in red meat consumption in order to meet health and sustainability goals.
TIME :
6 High-Protein Foods That Are Healthier Than Beef
1/18/19: Listen to the Animal Law & Policy Program’s Faculty Director, Kristen Stilt, discuss her research on animal welfare and religious slaughter on the latest episode of the Our Hen House Podcast. The topic is the subject of her forthcoming book, Halal Animals. The interview starts at the 18:00 minute mark.
1/14/19: We’re Hiring ! Harvard Law School is inviting applications for a full-time position of Clinical Instructor to help launch our new Animal Law & Policy Clinic.
1/11/19: Read this in-depth Vox article on Ag-Gag in the wake of Iowa’s Ag-Gag law being struck down as unconstitutional in federal court this week––quoting Animal Law & Policy Program Executive Director Chris Green.
Vox :
“Ag-gag laws” hide the cruelty of factory farms from the public. Courts are striking them down.
12/18/18: We’re Hiring ! Harvard Law School is inviting applications for a full-time position of Visiting Clinical Professor or Visiting Assistant Clinical Professor (depending on level of experience) to help launch our new Animal Law & Policy Clinic.
The Clinic will undertake work in the area of animal law and policy, both domestically and internationally, and will focus on high impact opportunities to improve the treatment of animals––which might include litigation, policy analysis, or applied academic research. To see the full position posting, click here.
12/18/18: Read The Economist’s feature on the rapidly evolving global efforts to secure legal rights for non-human animals. It quotes Animal Law & Policy Program Faculty Director Professor Kristen Stilt and also Steven Wise who taught Harvard Law School’s first Animal Law course in 2000.
12/10/18: We now are accepting Visiting Fellowship applications for the 2019-20 Academic Year. The deadline to submit applications is February 15, 2019. For more information and a link to the application form, click here.
11/5/18: Read the Harvard Gazette’s latest feature on the Animal Law & Policy Program. It highlights our Wildlife Law course and Lecturer on Law Jonathan Lovvorn––explaining the intersectional impacts of many animal protection issues and the various means by which the Animal Law & Policy Program seeks to address them.
Harvard Gazette :
Raising the Profile of Animal Law to Match the Stakes
5/31/18: The Animal Law & Policy Program has released its first formal policy publication, authored by our Legislative Policy Fellow, Ann Linder, with research assistance from several HLS students.
The report analyzes the potential consequences of H.R. 4879, the “Protect Interstate Commerce Act of 2018” also known as the “King Amendment.” It further compiles an Index of roughly 3,230 state and local laws and regulations that may be impacted by the pending legislation. You can download the full report here.
Our report already has been referenced in House Congressional hearings on the U.S. Farm Bill and by the following media articles :
The Hill – 5/14/18 :
Don’t Let the Farm Bill Overrule State Food Laws
Huffington Post – 5/17/2018 :
The Farm Bill Could Be A Huge Blow To Animals
An amendment threatens farm animal protections, food safety laws and rules on invasive species.
Washington Post – 5/18/18 :
6 Things to Watch in the House Farm Bill, from Food-Stamp Work Requirements to School Lunch
USA Today – 5/21/18 :
Needlessly Killing Kittens and the ‘Horrible Hundred’
LA Times – 7/7/18 :
The Farm Bill Doesn’t Need an Amendment that Helps Let Chickens Be Treated Cruelly
4/13/18: Read students recount their experiences in Harvard Law Today’s feature on our 2018 ALPP/SALDF Student Animal Law Trip to D.C.
Harvard Law Today :
Third Annual Student Animal Law Trip to Washington D.C.
3/13/18: Read Harvard Law Today’s great coverage of our 2018 Harvard Animal Law Week.
Harvard Law Today :
Fourth annual Animal Law Week held at HLS
3/1/18: Listen to the Animal Law & Policy Program’s Faculty Director Kristen Stilt, Executive Director Chris Green, and Policy Director Jonathan Lovvorn give a thorough discussion of the growth and mission of the Program on The Animal Law Podcast
2/27/18: Read the Boston Globe’s coverage of David Carter’s lecture on “Oppression in the Food System” as part of our 4th Annual Harvard Animal Law Week.
The Boston Globe :
‘300-pound vegan’ David Carter to talk healthy eating, food deserts at Harvard
10/27/17: Watch video of ALPP’s panel on The Death of Factory Farming at October’s HLS in the World bicentennial event.
9/15/17: Read Harvard Law Today‘s article on the appointment of Jonathan Lovvorn as the Harvard Animal Law & Policy Program’s first Policy Director.
9/19/17: Come join us for the inaugural Animal Law & Policy Program Open House. Great chance to meet our team of Faculty, Staff & Fellows and learn about all we have planned for the upcoming academic year.
6/2/17: NPR mentions the Harvard Animal Law & Policy Program in this report about Connecticut becoming the first state to provide animals with court-appointed advocates in abuse and cruelty cases.
National Public Radio :
In A First, Connecticut’s Animals Get Advocates In The Courtroom
11/2/16: Read the Harvard Gazette’s feature on the HLS Animal Law & Policy Program discussing our work and highlighting a generous new gift. It also includes a supportive quote from Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow addressing farmed animal welfare, as well as one from Harvard University President Drew Faust underscoring the importance of our work on improving animal welfare.
Harvard Gazette :
Putting His Money Where His Mouth Is: Animal-welfare advocate finds partner in growing Law School program
8/24/16: Registration Opens for the Conference on The Animal Welfare Act at Fifty
The federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA) was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1966. The most comprehensive federal animal protection law, the AWA regulates more than one million animals at more than 15,000 locations across the United States. To mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Act, this conference will convene scholars, government officials, representatives from non-governmental organizations, and others to assess the first fifty years of the AWA and consider recommendations for the future. Click here for more details.
Space is limited, so please make sure to register early to ensure your spot!
5/20/16: Graduating LL.M. student Alice Lee profiled in Harvard Law Today, discussing her decision to study Animal Law at Harvard: “After two years practicing corporate law in Taiwan following her undergraduate dual degrees in law and biology, she decided that it was time to finally pursue her dream: work to protect animals and the environment.”
Harvard Law Today :
From Practicing Corporate Law to Making the Case for Dolphins: Alice Lee’s Journey
3/10/16: Harvard’s Animal Law Week is celebrated in Harvard Law Today, with the Animal Law & Policy Program further showcased on the front page of the Harvard Law School website.
Harvard Law Today :
Focusing on Law and the Treatment of Animals
2/19/16: The Harvard Animal Law & Policy Program is featured in the latest March / April issue of Harvard Magazine. The article provides an in-depth look at the broader field of Animal Law, highlighting the Program we are building here at Harvard Law School.
Harvard Magazine :
Are Animals “Things?” The law evolves
9/8/15: Harvard Law Today published the following interview with Professor Kristen Stilt, Faculty Director of the Animal Law & Policy Program, in which she discusses future plans for the Program and how its work relates to her own scholarship.
Harvard Law Today :
Kristen Stilt on the Intersection of Animals, Law, and Religion