Peter J Li Visiting Scholar
Peter Li is an associate professor of East Asian Politics and Animal Policy and Law at the University of Houston-downtown. His research focuses on animal policy of the People’s Republic of China. Animal Welfare in China: Politics, Culture and Crisis (Sydney University Press, 2021) is Peter’s recent book, a comprehensive overview of China’s animal welfare crisis at a time of breathtaking economic growth in the last four decades. Peter’s peer-reviewed articles address different aspects of the policy issues concerning wildlife trade, animal law enforcement, animal cruelty and public opinion, food security and animal agriculture. These articles are published in China studies, legal, and inter-disciplinary outlets such as China Information, Society & Animals, Northwest Law Review (China), Biannual Review of Animal Laws (France), International Policy & Law, Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics and others.
Peter’s current research includes a critical examination of China’s food security strategy, a study of the conservation implications of the “panda diplomacy,” and a comprehensive review of China’s regulatory failure in companion animal management.
As one of the few scholars studying China’s animal policy issues, Peter and his opinion pieces have appeared in media outlets across the world such as CNN, BBC, FoxNews, CGTN (China), South China Morning Post, Newsweek, Foreign Affairs, ChinaFile (Foreign Policy), MSNBC and others. In the last 15 years, Dr. Li has worked as China Policy Advisor for Humane Society International (HSI), the global arm of the Humane Society of the United States. While helping supervise HSI’s China program, Peter launched the China Animal Law Forum and participated in campaigns that, for example, resulted in the stop of American rodeo show in Beijing, the blocking of Canadian seal meat export to China, and the banning of China’s domestic ivory trade.