LEGAL EDUCATION
We provide a forum for students to learn about animal law
Learning - A-law's Student Group is a place for students to learn about animal law and discover how UK policies impact on animals.
Legal Advocacy - It is also a place for students who have an interest in animal law to get involved in legal advocacy for animals, raising awareness of animal protection issues whilst developing those important legal skills.
Networking - There are also opportunities for networking with other students and legal professionals, and learning about career pathways.
Join us and start getting involved.
JOIN OUR UNIVERSITY STUDENT GROUP
Bring Animal Law to Your Campus
One way to use your skills and advocate for animals, is by becoming a Student Ambassador or by forming an A-law Student Group at your university. We currently have several A-law Student Groups and Student Ambassadors around the UK.
As a Student Ambassador or an A-law Student Group member, you can host events at your university to help raise awareness for animals and we will help you to organise debates, film screenings, seminars, discussion groups, fundraising initiatives and sanctuary visits.
Animal Justice UK
Our eMagazine
A-law publishes Animal Justice UK, an online magazine featuring news, articles, book and program reviews and articles about animals in society.
Find out what legal and policy issues are being debated around our relationship with animals and how we can improve animal protection laws to give animals a better life.
The Student Team runs Animal Justice UK and is always happy to receive information about news and events for the magazine. The eMagazine is free.
If you are interested in writing for Animal Justice UK, please contact our editor Natalie at [email protected] .
National Essay Writing Competition
Each year there is an opportunity for undergraduate and postgraduate students to win a prize for the best essay on animal law in our national essay writing competition.
A topic is set annually relating to a topical issue in animal law and the entries are judged by a panel of legal and animal welfare experts.
We provide a prize for the winner and runners up in the form of book tokens, with the winning submission being published in the Journal of Animal Law. This offers students a unique opportunity to get published in a peer-reviewed journal at an early stage in their career.
Look out for our call out for papers in October. The competition closes in February of the following year. For more information on the competition please follow the link below.
ANNUAL ANIMAL LAW MOOTING COMPETITION
The Cecilia Moot
Founded by Sam Groom, A-law Student Ambassador and Student Coordinator, the UK’s first animal law mooting competition, the Cecilia Moot has gained much interest from students and has become a national competition.
Students host mooting competitions at their university with the winners being invited to take part in the virtual national finals.
A-law provides support for each of the university rounds, including mooting problems, sample schedules, help finding judges and a timeline of mooting organisation milestones.
Each student will receive a certificate of completion with additional certificate awards for our university finalists and national winners.
Develop your advocacy skills and debate interesting issues with this great extra-curricular activity.
STUDYING ANIMAL LAW
There are now some Universities offering the opportunity to study animal law on undergraduate and postgraduate syllabuses and we hear from many students who want to learn about animal law.
Animal law is a rigorous legal discipline which spans many different fields of legal practice and involves the application of core legal subjects.
If you are at a university that currently does not offer an animal law course, you can discover how to petition your university for an animal law module to be offered.
Find information about university courses, masters degrees, PhD opportunities and short courses.
Students should contact these institutions to find out more details. Whilst A-law tries to keep these details current, we rely upon a small team of volunteers and some information may become out of date. It would help us to receive information about any changes to the information listed, including any new courses or animal law modules.
Animal Law Careers
Read about opportunities to apply what you have learnt about animal law in the workplace. Explore opportunities for careers in private practice, working for an NGO or in academia.
Alternatively, if you work with animals find out more about how a legal qualification could help your understanding of animal protection laws.
We have put together some useful careers advice and information.
Read accounts from lawyers and animal welfare specialists about their experience, field work and ways in which their legal skills have been used to help animals.
LEGAL ACADEMICS' FORUM
Academics play a vital role in stimulating interest in animal law and promoting this discipline within the animal protection community. This ensures that future generations have a strong grasp of animal law, ethics and policy which they can apply in their future careers, whether in law, or other careers where animal protection is a relevant consideration.
A-law provides a forum to bring together academics who are interested in or who are already providing animal welfare law modules at universities or other places of learning. The intention is to make animal law modules more widely available in universities so as to educate and equip the next generation of animal welfare lawyers.
We encourage the sharing and dissemination of information to academics, lawyers and students about new law courses and modules, short courses, and conferences and seminars about animal law. We welcome information about these events which we can share on this page and on our social media pages. We also welcome contributions to the The UK Journal of Animal Law, which is published bi-annually, and for its sister publication, Animal Justice UK, which is a forum for sharing information, news, legal articles, training papers and other matters of interest to students and academics interested in animal protection laws.
JOIN US
Join our Student Group
Student membership has a range of benefits, including:
The chance to secure one of our free or discounted places on our training courses, seminars and events
Support setting up a student university group
Student mooting and essay competitions
Free electronic copy of The UK Journal of Animal Law (saving the subscription fee of £35 per annum)
Animal Justice UK eMagazine
Write for our blog
We need your support. Join now.
Follow us on social media
If you are interested in legal developments which affect animals, do follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram to get daily news and information about legal campaigns, events, legal decisions affecting animals and government proposals about animal law.
CONNECT WITH US
We need your help spreading the word about animal law. We also welcome articles and news reports for Animal Justice UK. Contact our Student Team today if you'd like to help.