UNSW Course in Animal Law - 2008

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The course in Animal Law ran for the first time in February, 2005 at the University of New South Wales - the first such course to be offered in Australia. Since then, a few other universities have offered similar courses and UNSW's course is scheduled to run again in Semester 1 this year.

The course will be held at the University's Kensington campus and
will run on two weekends in March and April (15 and 16 March, and 5 and 6 April), making it very easy for out-of-Sydney and interstate
students to attend.

The course is part of a Masters of Law degree but is open to all
current or potential students as it can be taken as part of a Masters of Law degree, part of an undergraduate law degree or as a one-off course for students not enrolled in any degree or for 'cross-institutional' students enrolled in a degree at another institution.

The course is therefore open to all people with law degrees, all
people with undergraduate degrees of any other kind and all other
people specifically approved. The course is designed to be
accessible to people without legal qualifications, and several such
students have taken it in the past.

The course seeks to cover the most significant laws relating to
animals. It aims to present and explore the various views associated with different parts of the animal protection movement, the agriculture industry and other industries which make use of
animals. Classes on specific areas of law also include readings on
related subjects like current practices, ethics, ethology and/or
history.

The course encourages a diversity of views, and people with views
from anywhere in the spectrum are encouraged to attend.

There are 14 two-hour classes:

1. Introduction and case study on live animal exports

2. History and present status of animals as property

3. Anti-cruelty laws

4. Ethics of human treatment of animals

5. Jurisprudence of human treatment of animals

6. History and profile of animal politics

7. Standing

8. Animals in agriculture

9. Animal experimentation

10. Free trade rules and animal welfare

11. Companion animals

12. Zoos

13. Animals in the wild

14. Veterinary surgeons

Several people in previous classes have come from out of Sydney to
attend the course, including from inter-State and overseas. Many
students reported changing their views during the course and
changing their actions as well.

Further info about the course itself can be found via the following
link to the UNSW law faculty website:

www.law.unsw.edu.au/course/LAWS9194/

On the administrative side of things, the following link should take
you to a page on the UNSW law faculty website with information about how to apply for courses:

www.law.unsw.edu.au/future_students/postgraduate/howapply.asp

A helpful person to speak to within the Law Faculty is Jenny Jarrett
who can be contacted on 02 9385 3821 or email j.jarrett@unsw.edu.au

I, too, am happy to talk about the course with anyone. The
course can still be applied for but enrolments are expected to close
very soon.

Tara Ward
Course Convenor
Canberra
02 6161 7132
waltara@webone.com.au