Reflecting on 25 Years of Teaching Animal Law: Is it Time for an International
Crime of Animal Ecocide?
#MMPMID32836546
Legge D
; Brooman S
Liverp Law Rev
2020[]; 41
(2
): 201-218
PMID32836546
show ga
2019 marked the 25th anniversary of the introduction of Animal Law to the law
degree at Liverpool John Moores University. This article examines changes in the
legal protection of animals during this time and the impact this will have on
research and scholarship in the law relating to animals. We examine whether the
overall international treatment of animals has improved and how far the approach
to the Animal Law curriculum should be influenced by the growth in concerns
around climate change. In this context, we examine the development of the law of
ecocide and the extent to which it addresses concerns around animal welfare
across the globe. We suggest that those involved in the development of Animal
Law, ethics and policy might usefully engage in a new vision of ecocide, which
incorporates a clearer notion of 'animal ecocide'. This new approach would
enhance the international and national focus on animals in their own right, would
recognise increasing knowledge of animal sentience and would move our
responsibilities to them beyond anthropocentric approaches to environmental
protection. We argue that the inclusion of a more specific reference to animal
ecocide would contribute to the development of Animal Law and would lead to an
enhanced relationship between Animal Law and attempts to protect the environment.
free
free
free
