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Virtual Sessions
Virtual sessions are available on-demand exclusively to registered conference attendees. Login credentials can be found in the registration confirmation email.
Global Perspectives in Animal Law
This pre-recorded session brings together a diverse panel of international experts to examine emerging issues and innovations in global animal law. Topics include responding to global animal trafficking, safeguarding animals rescued from fighting rings, and opportunities for advancing animal protection across jurisdictions.
Shelter PALS: Expanding Access to Legal Services for Animals
Join Bruce Wagman, one of the nation’s leading animal law attorneys with decades of experience advancing legal protections for animals, in this pre-recorded session to learn about the San Francisco SPCA Shelter PALS (Policy and Legal Services) program and how legal services can support animal shelters, advocates, and caregivers while improving outcomes for animals.
Friday, October 16, 2026
Welcome Reception
Join us as we kick off the conference with an evening reception in the Grand Foyer at the Grand Hyatt Washington hotel, in Washington, DC. Conference attendees will receive their event badge before being treated to a fun evening of networking with fellow attendees while enjoying plant-based appetizers and drinks. The welcome reception will not be livestreamed.
Welcome remarks by:
All plenary sessions on Saturday will take place in the Constitution Ballroom at the Grand Hyatt Washington hotel in Washington, DC, and will be livestreamed via the virtual event platform.
Saturday, October 17, 2026
Registration, Light Breakfast & Coffee
Beyond the Law? Challenging Common Farming Exemptions
Some of the greatest barriers to animal protection are built into the law itself. This panel examines legal exemptions that purport to shield harmful practices from accountability, including common farming exemptions in state animal cruelty laws and emerging climate-related exemptions to industrial animal agriculture. Panelists will use real life examples to demonstrate that common exemptions do not, in fact, put farmed animals outside of legal protection.
Break
Consumer Protection as a Tool for Animal Advocacy
Consumer protection laws are an increasingly effective avenue for advancing animal protection. Panelists will discuss litigation strategies, government enforcement, and recent cases including an antitrust class action lawsuit against beef processors.
Lunch
Emerging Issues in Companion Animal Law
This session explores emerging issues at the intersection of companion animal law, advocacy, and practice. Panelists will discuss groundbreaking new Colorado law that codifies the human-animal bond as a social determinant of health, expanding legal services to advocate for companion animals in private practice, and the complicated legal status of horses.
Break
The Law is only as Effective as Its Enforcement
This panel examines recent federal and state enforcement efforts and whether they are likely to result in concrete improvements for animals. Panelists will discuss contemporary enforcement efforts, including litigation under the Animal Welfare Act, and strategies for improving compliance and expanding protections through government action and legal advocacy.
Break
Legal and Practical Responses to Animal Hoarding
Animal hoarding cases present unique legal, practical, and animal welfare challenges. Panelists will discuss innovative judicial approaches, prosecution strategies, and long-term solutions that prioritize both animal welfare, avoiding offender recidivism, and community safety.
Break
Pre-banquet Reception
Banquet Dinner, Awards Ceremony, and Keynote Presentation
Join us Saturday evening in the Constitution Ballroom for the banquet dinner, awards ceremony, and keynote presentation. The awards ceremony and keynote presentation will be livestreamed via the virtual event platform.
All plenary sessions on Sunday will take place in the Constitution Ballroom at the Grand Hyatt Washington hotel in Washington, DC, and will be livestreamed via the virtual event platform. The conference concludes today at 1:30 p.m. ET.
Sunday, October 18, 2026
Light Breakfast & Coffee
Ethics at the Forefront of Animal Protection
Animal protection professionals regularly confront difficult ethical questions alongside their legal obligations. This session explores the ethical tensions that may arise within animal welfare institutions and considers how these challenges shape policy, practice, and decision-making.
Break
Has the AWA Fulfilled Its Promise?
2026 marks sixty years since passage of the Animal Welfare Act. As we celebrate this milestone, speakers from diverse perspectives will discuss the law’s achievements to date, critique its shortcomings, and consider whether the AWA is fulfilling its promise. Panelists will combine a retrospective view with a forward-looking vision for what AWA reforms are needed to better protect animals today.
Break
Expanding Opportunities for Laboratory Animal Rehoming
As more animals used in laboratory settings are given the opportunity for life beyond the lab, legal and practical questions continue to emerge. This panel moves beyond the conversation about getting animals out of laboratories to delve into what happens after the victory of liberation. Panelists will explore successful rehoming programs, the unique needs of former laboratory animals, the legal mechanics inherent in building a coalition of rescue partners for large rehoming operations (such as the Ridglan beagles), and best practices that support their transition into permanent homes.