Members of Student Animal Legal Defense Fund (SALDF) chapters are invited to this pre-conference mingler. The SALDF Happy Hour allows students from around the continent who are interested in animal law to meet, share ideas and information, and build stronger SALDF programs. Take this opportunity to meet your peers at the start of an exciting weekend.

The conference will kick off with an evening reception. We invite you to enjoy appetizers and drinks while networking with fellow conference attendees.

Animal law is exploding in Australia, and nationally known expert Dr. Alex Bruce brings us the latest on animal law developments from down under.

Kick off the conference with an exciting, interactive session exploring some of the most challenging ethical dilemmas animal law attorneys face in both practice and volunteer positions. Animal law expert Russ Mead will join with legal ethics professor Steve Johansen to lead attendees through a series of hypothetical scenarios, which will examine difficult situations and how to handle them effectively while adhering to the Model Code of Professional Responsibility. Attendees will receive 1 hour of Oregon ethics CLE credits for this session.

Jobs! That’s what’s on everyone’s mind. Come hear the experts as they lead roundtable discussions about job tips and opportunities in animal law.

Animal law is a worldwide movement, with legal studies, conferences, symposia, and practitioners all around the globe. Our panelists will introduce us to the current state of animal law as a global phenomenon and update us on exciting partnerships and opportunities that are developing in this expanding field.

International animal welfare standards can vary widely, causing tension and conflict when animals cross borders through commercial export and import. Professors Sykes and Bruce will address these issues and the bold new world of treaties past and present. They explore how these tools can both benefit and harm animals.

Animal law is an integral part of the animal rights/protection movements, which seek to create broad social change. Thinking of our work in this light, and our function as changemakers, this panel will help us to develop long-term strategies to make animal protection a mainstream political issue.

“Asia’s Illegal Animal Trade” (21 min.)

Day by day, hour by hour, our planet’s rarest creatures are being hunted, trapped and slaughtered to feed a global black market in wildlife products. For years, Patrick Brown has traveled across Asia to document the devastating impact of wildlife trafficking. Now he’d like to bring his work to a worldwide audience, by producing a campaigning photographic book called “Trading to Extinction.” It is a shocking tale of cruelty, crime and human greed. As with drug trafficking, money fuels the animal trade. Its tentacles wrap around the world, from the remote forests of Asia to the trafficking hubs of Beijing, Bangkok, London, Tokyo and New York. A poacher who kills a rhino and removes its horn in India gets $350. That same horn sells for $1,000 in a nearby market town. By the time it reaches Hong Kong, Beijing or the Middle East, the horn is worth $370,000. Tiger bones are worth up to $700 per kilo.

“Shark Bait” (47 min.)

Gordon Ramsay loves sharks, and this passion leads him on his most personal mission yet–to investigate the controversial dish, shark fin soup.

Factory farming is one of the most significant animal protection issues of our time and it is now practiced in many countries. The negative effects of this egregious system on the animals, the environment, and human health are similar in all places where factory farming is in place. Our panelists will tell us how advocates can support each other across national borders.

Lunch will be served in the Legal Research Center building at Lewis & Clark Law School. Speaker books available for sale in McCarty Classroom 4 (our merchandise and information room) during lunch.

China has the potential to be the game-changer on issues of animal welfare. Our experts deconstruct this looming reality by exploring current practices in China, the legal structure to protect animals, and what’s in store for the future.

Animals now occupy a special place in the constitutions of a number of countries. Our panelists explain how these provisions came to be and what difference they make, if any, in the lives of animals. They also explore the feasibility of approaching or amending the U.S. Constitution in a similar way.

Films like “The Cove” and “Blackfish” have raised awareness of the plight of ocean mammals and fish. Our expert panelists will tell us the heartbreaking truth of the state of our oceans, as well as the latest international developments to protect these highly endangered beings.

“Moon Bear” (45 min.)

Watch the hard-hitting, undercover documentary showing the brutality of the bear bile industry across China, which recently won a top award at the Fifth China Ya’an International Panda, Animals and Nature Film Week. The documentary was made by three independent film-makers who devoted four years to its production, visiting small and large bear bile farms, revealing “legal” farms with conditions that are clearly breaking current regulations for such farms in China. It also includes an exclusive interview with Animals Asia Founder and CEO, Jill Robinson. The footage leaves no doubt as to the inherent cruelty of the bear bile trade and is a must-watch for those supporting the aims of the foundation and calling for change.

Conference attendees are invited to enjoy pre-dinner drinks & appetizers in the Legal Research Center building of Lewis & Clark Law School. Speaker books available for sale in McCarty Classroom 4 (our merchandise and information room) during the reception.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund will present the 2015 Advancement in Animal Law Pro Bono Achievement Awards. ALDF is also awarding Dr. Ruth Decker with a special Compassion in Action award for her work against the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s maternal deprivation tests on monkeys. Awards will also be presented for two Student Animal Legal Defense Fund Chapters of the Year. The 2015 award winners are:

Attorney Recipients:
– Dan Anderson
– Sheldon Eisenberg
– Jennifer Hainstock
– Erin McCracken
– Dan Kolde
– Ken Chackes
– Brian LaManna

Law Firm Recipients:
– BakerHostetler
– Fenwick & West LLP
– Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
– Kirkland & Ellis LLP
– Locke Lord LLP
– Paul Hastings LLP
– Reed Smith LLP
– Steptoe & Johnson LLP
– Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
– Winston & Strawn LLP

SALDF Chapters of the Year:
– The George Washington University Law School
– Harvard Law School

Compassion in Action Award Recipient:
– Dr. Ruth Decker

Jill Robinson’s work to end the horror experienced by moon bears who are “farmed’ for their bile is inspiring. She will share their moving stories with us.

Introduction: Joyce Tischler, founder and general counsel, Animal Legal Defense Fund

A perennial favorite at the Animal Law Conference, this year, the panel will expand the scope of this session to also cover developments in litigation and legislation outside the U.S.

Africa’s wildlife is fighting for survival. The effort to save many species requires the coordinated expertise of everyone who cares about these majestic creatures. Our panelists represent the highest levels of the Kenyan Judiciary, as well as law enforcement and education in Zimbabwe. We will learn about the challenges they face, and how the international community can assist.

Millions of animals continue to be used in research and testing (R&T) throughout the world. This panel will explore how our growing awareness of the emotional and physical capacities of animals is causing profound changes to occur throughout R&T.

Protection of wild animals depends, in large part, on maintaining the health of the often-fragile ecosystems in which they live and the communities that share the landscape with them. Our distinguished speakers will analyze this problem and provide examples of efforts in India and South America to protect sensitive wildlife habitats from loss and degradation.

“The Last Rhino” (48 min.)

The rhinoceros is one of Africa’s iconic animals, but greed and corruption, myth and superstition have brought the rhino to the brink of extinction. For millennia its best protection, the rhino’s horn, has become its worst enemy. Rhino horn is now worth more than gold and demand for it is at an all-time high. What caused the global epidemic and how does it threaten the survival of a species?

Join us for the closing plenary and some tasty doughnuts in the Legal Research Center building.

What do we see for the future of animal law as a global movement? Europe is where the most significant improvements have been codified into the laws and regulations. Will Europe continue to be the leader, and what can we learn from that region?