October 23, 2025 Advocates who rescue animals in grave danger should qualify for ‘necessity defense,’ argues Harvard Law expert
Professor Kristen Stilt says that California policy points to a view that ‘animals are sentient beings whose harm is something we want to avoid.’
October 03, 2025 Avian Flu Shows the Need for Transformative Meat Governance
This contribution by Professor Kristen Stilt argues that we must add zoonotic disease risk to the list of reasons for transformative meat governance. Serious zoonotic risks are inherent in intensive animal production and also in non-intensive animal production. Production scale does not make one type more or less dangerous or immune. Zoonotic disease risk is one compelling justification, among many other reasons discussed in the other contributions to this debate, for transformative meat governance. The issues are urgent, and the time is now. We cannot wait for the next major crisis, the next pandemic, or the next headline news of another animal cruelty exposé in the animal agriculture industry.
September 17, 2025 Why Rescuing Animals Should Never Be a Crime
In this op-ed, Professors Kristen Stilt and Matthew Liebman argue that the law is constantly evolving to reflect our changing values. There was a time when a car window, shattered to save the life of a pet, would have more legal protection than the animal herself. Now, it is clear that the car may be damaged to save the animal inside. The courts should recognize that, with animals in agricultural settings, too, rescuers may violate lesser laws to prevent the more significant evil of animal suffering.
September 16, 2025 Latsis Prize 2025: Saskia Stucki aims to establish animal rights
Saskia Stucki, a researcher and senior lecturer at ZHAW and winner of the Latsis Swiss Science Prize 2025 (and former ALPP Visiting Fellow), is laying the theoretical foundations for recognising animal rights.