The 32nd annual Animal Law Conference brought together legal professionals, law students, nonprofit leaders, and advocates from around the world for a dynamic weekend of education, discussion, and collaboration centered on advancing animal protection through the law.
Dates & Location
October 18–20, 2024
Portland Hilton Hotel
Portland, Oregon
Hybrid format (in-person + virtual)
Attendance
Total attendees: 528
(in-person and virtual)
Legal Professionals: 232
Law Students: 184
Nonprofit/Public Interest: 81
Animal Activists: 21
Our Sponsors
Highlights & Reflections
The 32nd annual Animal Law Conference was held October 18-20, 2024, in Portland, OR and online. With over 500 attendees and a full weekend of programming, the conference offered expertise in animal law and meaningful connection across the animal protection movement.
The conference opened on Friday evening with a lively welcome reception, setting the tone for a weekend of collaboration and purpose. Attendees enjoyed opening remarks, networking, and plant-based fare.
Saturday featured a series of plenary sessions that addressed some of the most pressing legal and policy issues facing animals today. Topics included the role of political advocacy in an election year, the future of laboratory animal legislation, and the intersection of land use and farmed animal protection, among others.
Saturday concluded with a banquet dinner, awards ceremony, and keynote address from Ethan Brown, Founder and CEO of Beyond Meat. The awards ceremony included presentation of the Animal Legal Defense Fund Pro Bono Achievement Awards, and the Animal Law Conference Lifetime Achievement Award honoring Katherine Meyer and Eric Glitzenstein. In his keynote, Ethan Brown spoke about the role of innovation in transforming our relationship with animals — a message that resonated deeply with a room full of advocates working toward systemic change.
Sunday’s programming featured an exploration of legal and ethical questions surrounding interspecies communication research, and concurrent panels on wildlife litigation, solo practice in animal law, advocacy in U.S. territories, and the future of animal law through an intersectional lens.
What made this year’s conference particularly valuable was the balance between practical legal insight and big-picture vision. Whether attendees were focused on litigation, legislation, grassroots advocacy, or academic research, the sessions offered both knowledge and momentum.
If you missed the 32nd annual Animal Law Conference, the recordings and resources are available online.
2024 Photo Album
Friday
Welcome Reception
The conference will kick off with an evening reception in the Grand Ballroom I at the Portland Hilton Hotel in downtown Portland, OR. Conference attendees will receive their event badge before being treated to a fun evening of networking with fellow animal advocates while enjoying tasty plant-based appetizers and drinks. The welcome reception will not be livestreamed.
Welcome remarks by:
Saturday
Registration and Light Breakfast & Coffee
Navigating Politics to Protect Animals
In this important election year, politics is at the forefront of everyone’s mind. This panel will provide an overview of the ways animal advocates can engage with politics and public policy, sharing perspectives from various levels of government.
Break
Protecting Farmed Animals & Preserving Land Resources
This panel explores farmed animal advocacy and land resource protection. Panelists will address recent efforts to challenge farmed animal exemptions from legal protections, utilizing private prosecution to protect farmed animals, and the Bureau of Land Management’s mismanagement of public lands.
A special thanks to our Gold Sponsor, Beyond Meat, for sponsoring this Panel.
Lunch
A special thanks to our Silver Sponsor, Cat Koshkin & Patrick Cleary, for sponsoring the Lunch.
Laboratory Animal Legislation, Litigation, and Care Standards
This panel will address cutting-edge issues related to laboratory animal law in the arenas of legislation, litigation, and care standards. Innovations discussed will include recent state and federal legislative proposals to improve the likelihood of rehoming animals formerly used in laboratories; an unprecedented $35 million dollar fine against a research animal breeder; and a recent American Bar Association resolution to promote the development and use of methods that aim to replace, reduce, and refine the use of animal models in research and testing.
Break
Juveniles Committing Animal Cruelty: Discussing Risk Factors, Prevalence, Impact & Responses
Maltreating animals is not the sole province of adults: children and adolescents also harm animals, including in ways that violate criminal laws. Some studies estimate that up to 40% of adolescent males have engaged in some form of animal maltreatment. This panel explores the risk factors giving rise to this behavior, disambiguates between different types of animal maltreatment engaged in by juveniles, spotlights the implications animal maltreatment has for youths, and discusses effective prevention and intervention strategies.
Break
Recent Victories in International Animal Protection
This panel will delve into the diverse strategies, challenges, and recent victories encountered in ongoing efforts to safeguard the protection of animals worldwide. The discussion will include updates about successful bans on live animal export, the dog meat trade, and octopus farming. Panelists will examine how public pressure, legislative action, and global collaboration are driving meaningful change in safeguarding animal welfare and promoting sustainable solutions.
A special thanks to our Gold Sponsor, Mission Wired, for sponsoring this Panel.
Break
Pre- Banquet Dinner Reception
Join us Saturday evening in the Galleria room for wine and beer before the banquet dinner, awards ceremony, and keynote presentation! The reception is open to all conference attendees.
Banquet Dinner, Awards Ceremony, and Keynote Presentation
Join us Saturday evening in the Grand Ballroom I for the banquet dinner, awards ceremony, and keynote presentation by Ethan Brown, Founder and CEO of Beyond Meat. The Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Pro Bono Achievement Awards and the Animal Law Conference’s Lifetime Achievement Awards will be presented before the keynote presentation. The in-person dinner is for banquet ticket holders only. The awards ceremony and keynote presentation will be live streamed.
Welcome Remarks & Animal Legal Defenuse Fund's Pro Bono Achievement Awards
Animal Law Conference's Lifetime Achievement Award presented to Katherine Meyer and Eric Glitzenstein
Presented by Chris Green, Executive Director, Animal Legal Defense Fund
Keynote Presentation
Introduced by Joyce Tischler, Professor of Practice, Center for Animal Law Studies, Lewis & Clark Law School
A special thanks to our Presenting Sponsor, Carol House Furniture, for sponsoring the Banquet Dinner.
Sunday
Light Breakfast & Coffee
Translating the Language of Whales & Other Species: Legal, Ethical, and Policy Implications
Advancements in biological sciences are chipping away at the criteria used by Western law and ethics to maintain a human-dominated species hierarchy, from sentience and cognition to problem-solving and complex language. This panel will explore key evidence demonstrating the complexity and sophistication of language-like features in whales and other species, discuss a strategy to advance case law, and develop legal and ethical guidelines necessary for the protection of these species.
Break
Legal Strategies for Protecting Wildlife
This panel will discuss effective litigation, legislative, and regulatory strategies for safeguarding wildlife. Panelists will explore a wide range of approaches aimed at ensuring the survival and well-being of diverse animal populations.
Striking Out on Your Own – The Challenges and Benefits of Solo Animal Law Practice
This panel will explore the diverse avenues available to attorneys seeking to make meaningful impacts for animals in a small practice setting. Panelists will share insights drawn from their diverse experiences and careers pursuing animal law across a range of settings.
Break
Animal Protection in the United States Territories
This panel will discuss grassroots and legal advocacy work by activists and stakeholders in the U.S. territories. Experts will discuss grassroots advocacy from a nonprofit perspective and their supportive collaborations with communities from each of the U.S. territories, including addressing territories’ specific needs, vulnerable human communities, and unique regional dynamics regarding animal protection.
A special thanks to our Gold Sponsor, Stray Dog Institute, for sponsoring this Panel.
Anticipating Animal Law's Intersectional Future
This panel will examine the intersection of animal studies, law, ethics, religion, and cultural considerations. Panelists will shed light on the religious and cultural aspects of animal law, offering thought-provoking reflections on the diverse belief systems and traditions that inform our relationship with non-human animals.
Meena Alagappan
Rachel Atcheson
Ethan Brown
Jessica Chapman
Emma Clifford
Rebecca Critser
Pamela Frasch
Jennifer Friedman
Eric Glitzenstein
Vivian González Méndez
Justin Goodman
Chris Green
David Gruber
Hira Jaleel
Katie Kraska
Cheryl Leahy
Lacey Levitt
Tom Linney
Paul Locke
Will Lowrey
Giulia Malerbi,
Jamie McLaughlin
Anlis Mercado Rios
Katherine Meyer
Jayasimha Nuggehalli
Rajesh Reddy
Andrea Rodricks
César Rodriguez-Garavito
Manny Rutinel
Borami Seo
Vanessa Shakib
Matthew Strugar
Joyce Tischler
Ever Vimbai Chinoda
Cynthia von Schlichten
Paul Waldau
Ben Williamson
Kathleen Wood
The following materials accompany the conference presentations and are relevant to panel topics. These materials are applicable to attorneys seeking continuing legal education (CLE) credits for attending the conference. We will not provide binders or CD/DVDs of materials available for purchase.
Navigating Politics to Protect Animals
- House Bill 24-1338 – To advance environmental justice by reducing cumulative impacts of air pollution
- House Bill 24-1339 – Commission to reduce air pollution in the state
- BILLS s1488 – To amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008
- Harvard-ALPP-EATS-Act-Report
- NYC 10 Year Food Policy Plan
- We Sued the EPA to Restrict Water Pollution from Slaughterhouses. And We Won. – Earthjustice
Protecting Farmed Animals & Preserving Land Resources
- Rural Prosperity and Food Security section-by-section
- EAC-WHFB-Complaint for declaratory and Injunctive Relief
- Do Animal Protection Laws Address Widespread Cruelty?
- Complaint Petition Maine
- Comments in Support of Animal Partisan Petition
- BILL C-355 An Act to prohibit the export by air of horses for slaughter
- AnimalPartisan Petition Before the United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service
- Do Animal Protection Laws Address Widespread Cruelty? Unique Challenges and Potential for Addressing Institutional Abuse to Farmed Animals
Laboratory Animal Legislation, Litigation, and Care Standards
- 2024 Midyear Meeting Louisville Kentucky, February 5, 2024
- Why All Healthy Laboratory Animals Should Be Rehomed, No Matter How Small
- Beagle Resolution
- BILLS-To amend the Animal Welfare Act to allow for the retirement of certain animals used in Federal research
- BILLS-To amend the Animal Welfare Act to expand and improve the enforcement capabilities of the Attorney General
- The End of the Lab Rat?
Juveniles Committing Animal Cruelty: Discussing Risk Factors, Prevalence, Impact & Responses
- Beagle Resolution
- Animal Legal Defense Fund Link Factsheet
- Animal Abuse as an Indicator of Domestic Violence: One Health, One Welfare Approach
- Perception of Animal Abuse among Adolescents: Influence of Social and Demographic Factors
- NCJFCJ ALDF Animal Cruelty TAB Final
- NY Bar Assn Amy Bogardus 2023
- Regarding Animal Cruelty and its Link to Other Forms of Violence
- Virginia Child Protection Network Report
- Interventions with Animal Abuse Offenders
Recent Victories in International Animal Protection
- Assembly Bill No. 3162 Fish and Game Code
- Dog Meat Trade in South Korea: A report on the current state of the trade and efforts to eliminate it
- Banding Together to Ban Octopus Farming — EA Forum
- Capitol Hawaii Gov Sessions 2024-bills_HB2262_HTM
- HSI Closing South Korea Dog Meat Farms
- Implementation of EU Regulation on Welfare of Animals During Transport Compassion in World Farming 2018
Translating the Language of Whales & Other Species: Legal, Ethical, and Policy Implications
Legal Strategies for Protecting Wildlife
- Animal Welfare Program for Wild Horse and Burro Gathers
- Endangered Species Act of 1973
- In Re Polar Bear Endangered Species Act Listing Case
- Paving the Road to Extinction
- Proposal for BLM Management of Wild Horses and Burros
- Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971
- Wild Horses and Burros – ASPCA
- Wildlife Related Acts and State Management Issues
- Enhancing Stakeholder Engagement to Achieve the Sustainable Management of Free-roaming Equids
Striking Out on Your Own – The Challenges and Benefits of Solo Animal Law Practice
Animal Protection in the United States Territories
- Rolón López v. Depto. de Agricultura 2010
- Animal Protection Laws of American Samoa Islands 2023 Animal Legal Defense Fund
- Animal Protection Laws of Guam 2023 Animal Legal Defense Fund
- Animal Protection Laws of Northern Mariana Islands 2023 Animal Legal Defense Fund
- Animal Protection Laws of Puerto Rico 2023 Animal Legal Defense Fund
- Animal Protection Laws of US Virgin Islands 2023 Animal Legal Defense Fund
- Law for the Welfare and Protection of Animals Puerto Rico
- Law of State Animal Control Puerto Rico
- Pueblo v Lopez Vigo
- Puerto Rico Civil Code
Anticipating Animal Law’s Intersectional Future
The conference is approved for 10 General in-person and 12.5 General on-demand, or a combination of live and on-demand, Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credits by the Oregon State Bar Association. Attorneys will receive information to secure their credits via email in late October or early November after completing a feedback survey. To receive the full 12.5 General credits, in-person and live streaming attendees must view the on-demand recordings of the Sunday break-out sessions. Recordings are available on Pheedloop, the interactive virtual platform.
Most states accept credits from other mandatory CLE states such as Oregon, but please check with your local bar association to confirm. Anyone seeking credit in other states should submit approval paperwork to their local bar association CLE boards and retain the CLE credit form which will be provided to attorneys who register for the conference.
Please direct any questions relating to CLE credits to events@aldf.org.
Information via the American Bar Association (ABA) regarding CLEs.
Watch all sessions here
Playlist
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