Animal Law Society Symposium 2022
Bridging Animal and Environmental Law  |   Friday, March 25, 2022

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Animal and environmental law frequently overlap, yet the fields are often siloed. This symposium will explore ways to bridge the two fields through case-study panels that examine specific areas where there is significant overlap and opportunities for collaboration.

Schedule:

Introductory Remarks by Dean Jennifer Rushlow and Kelly Cook, Animal Law Society Co-Chair

Panel 1: Climate Contingencies and Farmed Animals: Building Resilience

Our reliance on animal agriculture is a major driver of climate change, and climate change in turn exacerbates myriad contingencies that disproportionately impact farmed animals, including disasters and zoonoses. This panel will discuss legal advocacy efforts underway to address these issues, including litigation, regulatory, and legislative efforts.

Randall Abate, Rechnitz Family Endowed Chair in Marine and Environmental Law and Policy and Professor in the the Department of Political Science and Sociology at Monmouth University, Vermont Law School JD/MSEL'89 (view slides)
Hannah Connor, Senior Attorney for Environmental Health at the Center for Biological Diversity, Vermont Law School JD'07 (view slides)
Laura Fox, Harvard Animal Law and Policy Program Fellow, Vermont Law School JD/MELP'13 (view slides)
Ingrid Seggerman, Senior Director of Federal Affairs at the ASPCA (view slides)
Moderated by Becky Kimmel, Animal Law Society Co-Chair

Panel 2: A Critically Endangered Orca in the Smallest Orca Tank in the World

This panel will focus on Lolita, aka Tokitae, aka Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut, who was taken from her home waters off the Washington coast more than a half century ago and has spent her years since in the world’s smallest orca tank at the Miami Seaquarium. This is a particularly timely panel as recent health issues have brought renewed attention to Lolita's case, with new developments rapidly unfolding.

Don Baur, Partner at Perkins Coie, former General Counsel of the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission, VLS Summer Faculty (view slides)
Tim Ragen, former Executive Director of the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission (view slides)
Dr. Heather Rally, Supervising Veterinarian for the PETA Foundation’s Captive Animal Law Enforcement Division, VLS Summer Faculty(view slides)
Charles Vinick, Executive Director of the Whale Sanctuary (view video)
Delcianna Winders, VLS Visiting Associate Professor of Law and Director of the Animal Law and Policy Institute
Moderated by Becky Kimmel, Animal Law Society Co-Chair

Closing Remarks by Laura Ireland, Animal Law and Policy Institute Program Coordinator