The core course will now include a seminar, three student fellowship tiers, and practicum openings
The University of Toronto’s Henry N.R. Jackman Faculty of Law has officially launched its animal law program with an expanded curriculum.
The core animal law course will now be supplemented with a seminar, three tiers of fellowships for students, and practicum openings, the university said. Per CBC News, this is the first animal law program offered by a Canadian law school.
Jackman Law professor Angela Fernandez will direct the program. The animal law program has primarily been funded through the Hadley Family Foundation, and Fernandez revealed during the program launch that the foundation and another donor had committed to investing an additional $500,000 in the program for the next three years.
The funds will be used to recruit a program coordinator, expanding Jackman Law’s ability to host events and develop more student opportunities.
Fernandez said in a statement published by CBC News that the program felt “like a long time coming.” She explained that the public perspective on animals has evolved from seeing them as property to considering them as family.
Toronto Humane Society CEO Phil Nichols backed the announcement of the animal law program launch, saying that it would help his organization to support people grappling with animal law. He highlighted on the effect of divorce on family pets, which he said a deeper understanding of animal law would clarify.
“When animals get implicated [in divorce] there are real life consequences to their health and their welfare and how they're treated. I think we need to have broader awareness and improvement of how all of that is handled,” Nichols said in a statement published by CBC News.
Animal Law Research associate Kira Berkeley expressed elation at the “overwhelming interest” in the animal law program launch, which also received media attention.
“The official Animal Law Program title now gives us an even stronger platform to expand the reach and impact of our work in this growing field,” Berkeley said in a statement.
Fernandez presented a slate of upcoming animal law-related events at Jackman Law, which included a a Working Group on Animals in the Law and Humanities with Jeff Sebo and a Working Group on Animals in the Law and Humanities with Sarah Berger Richardson.
Jackman Law’s animal law program launch event was held on September 12. It also offered early access to the Bora Laskin Law Library’s Museum of Human Predation exhibition, which will be open to the public until November 21.
Since 2021, the University of Toronto has offered the animal law course. The law school has also partnered with several legal organization on conferences, including the Canadian Animal Law Conference with Animal Justice and the North American Animal Law Conference with the Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy.
Currently, the Animal Law Research Guide is hosted at the Bora Laskin Law Library, led by acting chief law librarian Sooin Kim. Jackman Law also hosts the Brooks Animal Law Digest — Canada Edition, which contains Canadian animal law development updates. Berkeley runs this project alongside fellow Animal Law Research Associate Krystal-Anne Roussel.
