Animal Law Fundamentals

NOTE: This course is available in-person for JD/LLM/MSL students, or as an Online Section designed for LLM and MSL Distance Students only. Each section has its own course description. Check the current catalog or WebAdvisor to see which section is offered in any given year. See the note* below about eligibility for the Online Section for JDs, MSLs, and residential LLMs and MSLs .

Animal Law Fundamentals - Professor Raj Reddy

• Course Number: LAW-449 In-Person Section ONLY
• Course Type: Foundational
• Credits: 3
• Enrollment Limit: Determined by the Registrar
• Description: This survey course offers a broad overview of the burgeoning animal law field. Beyond reading and discussing statutes and case law, students will explore the extent to which economic factors, public policy considerations, cultural values, and other factors inform how lawmakers, elected officials, judges, attorneys, and the public contemplate the interests of animals and the extent to which those interests should be safeguarded through the law. In doing so, this course is designed to facilitate the learning of substantive animal law issues and to equip students to appreciate the claims and assumptions that inform the status and treatment of animals in the legal system.

• Prerequisite: none
• Evaluation Method: Participation, short assignment(s) (including field trips), and a final exam 
• Capstone: No
• WIE: No

Animal Law Fundamentals - Professor Pamela Frasch

• Course Number: LAW-449 LLM and MSL Distance Students Only
• Course Type: Foundational
• Credits: 3
• Enrollment Limit: Determined by the Registrar
• Description: This course presents a survey of the historical and current status of this rapidly developing specialty both in the United States and around the globe. In brief, animal law encompasses all areas of the law in which the nature – legal, social, or biological – of nonhuman animals is an important factor. Hence, a number of traditional substantive areas of law will be utilized as the lens through which we conduct our animal law exploration, including, but not limited to: criminal law, constitutional law, contract law, consumer protection law, estate planning law, domestic relations law, and comparative international law. Animal Law is an objective and logical specialization of a challenging area – one with a growing number of cases and laws, increasing public and practical interest, and with significantly different historical, legal, and philosophical foundations than most other law specialities. Students will leave this course with an in-depth understanding of this complexity, and with the necessary tools to engage further into more specialized inquiries.
• Prerequisite: none
• Evaluation Method: Active participation, short writing assignments, and periodic quizzes
• Capstone: No
• WIE: No

Notes for LC JDs, MSLs, and residential LLMs and MSLs:

*This class is for online LLM and MSL students. In-person students may petition the Associate Dean of Students, Libby Davis, and Global Animal Law and Advanced Degree Programs Director, Raj Reddy, to take the online version if they have a compelling reason for doing so: eadavis@lclark.edu and rajreddy@lclark.edu

Those students should consult the distance learning policy prior to signing up for distance learning courses.