Lu is a recipient of the International Animal Advocates LLM Scholarship and the first Animal Law LLM student from Kazakhstan. She earned her LLB degree at KIMEP University in Kazakhstan, the only university that offers the course of animal law in the Commonwealth of Independent States. Lu’s interest in the animal law field was raised by her former professor who had given her reading materials and cases related to animals during such courses as Civil Law and Family Law. The nation’s attitude towards animals in Kazakhstan and the lack of legal protection for them led her to the path of studying animal law to fight for elevating the status of animals in the legal system and raising awareness about the threats they face. Her primary interests in this field include legal personhood for animals, the investigation of crimes against animals, and the intersection of international law and animal law.
Lu’s forthcoming work is the chapter on animals in agriculture in Animal Law, which will be published in Kazakhstan and become a supplemental reading for KIMEP University’s Animal Law course. She contributed to the discussion of the draft law on the Animal Welfare Act of Kazakhstan, serves as an advisor on foreign legislation in animal law issues, and contributes to the discussion on the closure of aquariums in Kazakhstan.
Currently, Lu is an Adjunct Professor at KIMEP University, the Co-Founder and Managing Director at the Institute of Animal Law of Asia (IALA), an educational research center that focuses on animal law issues and legislation all over Asia and the world. She has also presented her LLM thesis on the failure of international law to protect sharks at the Animal Law Academy Webinar hosted by the Animal Legal Defense Fund.
Lu is a 2021-2022 CALS Ambassador in the Global Ambassador Program (GAP) under which she is presenting the project “Enhancing Legal Regulations for Aquatic Animals in Kazakhstan.” Her project will be focused on raising awareness about the detrimental effect of human activities on aquatic animals, the necessity to give sufficient attention and legal protection to aquatic animals, and the bitter truth about the life of aquatic animals in captivity.
Lu will also be leading another GAP project by opening “International Institute of Animal Law,” an educational platform for all students across the country, where they will have an opportunity to engage in legal research, seminars, workshops, and expand their knowledge in animal law. The Institute will be focused on animal law research, organizing seminars and research workshops by inviting lawyers, veterinary doctors, researchers in the fields of animal psychology and animal ethics. The Institute intends to lobby on animal-related legal issues and prepare publications on animal law and policy.
“The Animal Law Program at Lewis & Clark Law School was a significant and meaningful stage of my life. I received so much support and knowledge from faculty and staff of the Center for Animal Law Studies and it became an integral part of my personal and professional development. I feel enormously fortunate and grateful for the opportunity to study animal law and be able to apply my knowledge in practice. I am also very honored to have been chosen twice as a CALS Ambassador and be able to contribute to the development of animal law in Kazakhstan.”