 Angela Fernandez is a Full Professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Toronto with a cross-appointment in the Department of History. Her research focuses on a particular style of legal history called "legal archaeology," including a book-length study on an (in)famous first possession property case involving a fox: Pierson v. Post, the Hunt for the Fox: Law and Professionalization in American Legal Culture (Cambridge University Press, 2018). Professor Fernandez is very interested in animals and the law. She is a member of the Scholars Committee of the Brooks Institute for Animal Rights, Law & Policy, as well as a member of their collaborative research network BASAN (Brooks Animal Studies Academic Network). She sits on the Board of Advisors and is a Director of Animal Justice Canada. In addition to "Animals and the Law" (taught in the Fall of 2021 and 2022) and her legal history seminar ("Legal Archaeology: Studies of Cases in Context"), Professor Fernandez teaches Contracts. She is also the Chair of the Directed Research Program and is interested in supervising students on animal law and legal history topics. Professor Fernandez is the inaugural scholar in the "Brooks U" series, "Fundamentals of Animal Law," where you can find a copy of her paper "Animals as Property, Quasi-Property or Quasi-Person" and an accompanying video. She can also be seen speaking about this topic at a public lecture at New York University and at Yale Law School's Law, Ethics and Animals Program (LEAP). Both videos are available on the Faculty of Law YouTube Animal Law Playlist. Watch Professor Fernandez's talk at the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law, Talking Animals, Law & Philosophy. | Featured Resources |
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| | Follow U of T Animal Law on Social Media Kira Berkeley is the Co-Founder and Co-Director of AEL Advocacy, Canada’s first non-profit taking an intersectional approach to animal and environmental law. Kira holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music from York University and earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Ottawa, Faculty of Law in June 2020. In her role at the Faculty, she works closely with Professor Fernandez on producing content for the Animal Law Digest – Canada Edition and Animal Law Research Guide, in partnership with the law school's Bora Laskin Law Library. Research Associate Krystal-Anne Roussel is currently on leave. Canadian Animal Law Conference 2023, Co-Hosted by Animal Justice and the University of Toronto Faculty of Law The 5th Annual Canadian Animal Law Conference, in conjunction with the North American Animal Law Conference, Scholar’s Track, will happen in-person September 29 - October 1, 2023 at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. The conferences feature an exciting program with thought-provoking presentations by leading experts from around the world — including lawyers, scholars, politicians, scientists, and advocates. Starting in October 2021, the University of Toronto partnered with the Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy to publish the Canadian Animal Law Digest, a free twice-a-month update on developments in Canadian animal law written by the University of Toronto Animal Law Research Associate. To subscribe to the Digest and get each issue delivered to your inbox, enter your information and scroll down to the Canadian flag at the bottom of this page. In March 2022 the Bora Laskin Law Library launched an Animal Law Research Guide, consisting of lists of sources (books, chapters, book reviews, theses, journal articles, legislation, and leading cases) in Canadian animal law, perfect for students looking for a research paper topic and getting started in their literature review or for more senior scholars looking for orientation in terms of sources available in Canadian animal law. This research resource is available for use to members both inside and outside the University of Toronto community through the Law Library’s website. The University of Toronto, Faculty of Law has collected together Animal Law Youtube videos from Canadian animal law professors and others, which you can check out here. Brooks U Fundamentals of Animal Law Series
Animal Law Fundamentals is a documentary-style series of video presentations and scholarly papers on the fundamentals of animal law by some of North America’s notable animal law scholars. Professor Angela Fernandez is the inaugural scholar in the "Brooks U" series, "Fundamentals of Animal Law," where you can find a copy of her paper "Animals as Property, Quasi-Property or Quasi-Person" and an accompanying video. |
| Student Life |
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| | Animal Justice, as Canada's only animal law organization, leads the legal fight for animals. Animal Justice's lawyers argue on behalf of animals in court, work to pass strong new animal protection laws, and push to prosecute animal abusers. The University of Toronto, Animal Justice club seeks to help inform the student legal community about animal legal issues and connect burgeoning animal advocates with the growing animal law legal community. For more information about the University of Toronto Animal Justice club, please contact (2022-2023) student club President Emily Hean at emily.hean@mail.utoronto.ca or ajstudents6@gmail.com. The club’s Instagram page is: @UofTLawAnimalJustice Learn more about Animal Justice on their website: www.animaljustice.ca |
| Alumni in Animal Law |
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| | Camille is one of Canada’s leading animal rights lawyers, and has worked to protect animals for over 15 years. Camille represented Animal Justice before the Ontario Court of Appeal in Bogaerts v Ontario (AG) and the Supreme Court of Canada in R v DLW. Camille is currently preparing a constitutional challenge against Ontario’s ag-gag laws. Jessica’s research interests include animals and the law, constitutional and comparative constitutional law, equality and antidiscrimination law, feminist legal theory, intergenerational justice, and law and social movements. As an Associate Professor, Katie’s main research area is animal law. Her latest book is Animal Welfare and International Trade Law: The Impact of the WTO Seal Case (Elgar, 2021), and she is also co-editor with Peter Sankoff and Vaughan Black of Canadian Perspectives on Animals and the Law (Irwin Law, 2015). She is a member of the Advisory Board of Animal Justice Canada. Professor Deckha’s research interests include animal legal studies and critical animal studies, feminist animal care theory and feminist analysis of law, socio-legal studies in general, and reproductive and end-of-life ethics. Her new book Animals as Legal Beings: Contesting Anthropocentric Legal Orders was published by the University of Toronto Press in 2021. Professor Deckha is also the Academic Director of the Animals & Society Research Initiative at the University of Victoria. Marty is a lawyer and parliamentary advisor to two current senators. In his work with current and former Canadian Senators, Marty drafted and advanced Bill S-203: Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act, and currently works to advance the proposed Bill S-241: Jane Goodall Act. Both are groundbreaking pieces of animal protection legislation in Canada. Peter graduated from the University of Toronto in 1996 and then worked as a law clerk to Madame Justice Claire L’Heureux-Dubé at the Supreme Court of Canada. Peter is a long time member of the Board of Directors for Animal Justice in Canada. Peter has represented Animal Justice before the Alberta Court of Appeal in R v Chen and the Supreme Court in R v DLW. Scott is working to oppose ag-gag legislation across Canada, including an upcoming constitutional challenge in Ontario. Scott prepares regulatory complaints to various provincial and federal animal welfare authorities. Scott has appeared before many levels of court, including the Supreme Court of Canada. Man Ha Tse, SJD Candidate, Harvard Law School, Class of 2015 M.H. received her LLM from the Faculty of Law in 2015 and was awarded the W.C.G. Howland Prize for the most outstanding performance in the LLM program. She is currently enrolled in the SJD program at Harvard Law School, where she is constructing a legal typology of human systems of extractive violence, using animal agriculture as a signal example of such systems. |
| Selected Publications by U of T Law Faculty, Alumni, and Students |
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| | - Jessica Eisen, “Of Linchpins and Bedrock: Hope, Despair, and Pragmatism in Animal Law” (2022)
- Katie Sykes, Animal Welfare and International Trade Law: The Impact of the WTO Seal Case (2021)
- Maneesha Deckha, Animals as Legal Beings: Contesting Anthropocentric Legal Orders (2021)
- Michaël Lessard (SJD Candidate), “Can Sentience Recognition Protect Animals? Lessons from Québec's Animal Law Reform” (2021) 27 Animal Law 35.
- Angela Fernandez, Pierson v Post, the Hunt for the Fox: Law and Professionalization in American Legal Culture (2018)
- Camille Labchuk, “What Does False Advertising Have to Do with Animal Protection?” in Canadian Perspectives on Animals and the Law (Eds. Peter Sankoff, Vaughan Black & Katie Sykes) (2015)
- Peter Sankoff, Vaughan Black & Katie Sykes (eds.), Canadian Perspectives on Animals and the Law (2015)
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| U of T Animal Law in the News |
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