Animal law education project

This paper discusses the development and implementation of the Animal Law Education Project, partly funded by a grant from Voiceless, Australia’s leading animal protection institute. The project was a partnership between the School of Law and Justice, Southern Cross University and the Northern Rivers Community Legal Centre in Lismore, NSW. The project team consisted of a legal educator with a background in administrative law and legal philosophy, an animal activist, community organiser and law student and a community legal centre with expertise in law reform and community education programs. The project team worked together to develop a course in Animal Law for delivery at SCU and to develop animal law learning resources for the purposes of community education workshops targeting concerned citizens, local government employees, animal welfare organisations, wildlife carers, agricultural departments, veterinary practitioners and legal practitioners. The purpose of the project was to engender a connected community of informed, concerned and active citizens and to provide a springboard for a broader range of activities to further the animal protection movement. In October 2010 the inaugural delivery of a course in Animal Law took place at SCU, attracting the largest number of student enrolments in the Australasian region.