News

We are delighted to announce the project within the Alliance for Animal Law of Asia!

Institute of Animal Law of Asia, World Animal Justice, and Asia for Animals launched a joint project called APALO, which stands for Asia-Pacific Animal Law Overview. Asia is the largest and most populous continent in the world that is rich in its fauna. Due to the diversity of Asia, it becomes challenging to access information on the protection of animals in those countries.

APALO aims to collect and provide information regarding anti-cruelty laws and specific regulations of animals in Asian countries, together with Australia and New Zealand in the Pacific region. APALO aims to serve as the primary database with easy navigation, understanding of the legal framework of each country, and accessibility for interested individuals and organizations.

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It's World Oceans Day!

“Planet Ocean: Tides Are Changing” is the theme for World Oceans Day 2023 - the UN is joining forces with decision-makers, indigenous leaders, scientists, private sector executives, civil society, celebrities, and youth activists to put the ocean first.

Oceans cover over 70% of the planet. It produces at least 50% of the planet’s oxygen and it is home to most of Earth’s biodiversity.

Even though all its benefits, the ocean is now in need of support. With 90% of big fish populations depleted, and 50% of coral reefs destroyed, we are taking more from the ocean than can be replenished. We need to work together to create a new balance with the ocean that no longer depletes its bounty but instead restores its vibrancy and brings it new life.

World Oceans Day reminds everyone of the major role the oceans have in everyday life. The purpose of the Day is to inform the public of the impact of human actions on the ocean, develop a worldwide movement of citizens for the ocean, and mobilize and unite the world’s population on a project for the sustainable management of the world's oceans.

Happy New Year 2023 and Happy Holidays from the Institute of Animal Law of Asia!

Our team is wishing you a healthy and prosperous year ahead of you. Thanks to each of you for following our activities and supporting our work to raise global awareness about the need for animal protection around the world!

In early November, our Managing Director, Lu Shegay attended the country report workshop at Harvard Law School, Cambridge.

Lu is writing a chapter on animal law in Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries (Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan), along with her colleagues who are writing reports about their own countries respectively. In particular, among those included are China, India, Turkey, Israel, Baltic countries (Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania), Zimbabwe, Chile, Pakistan, Brazil, Peru, Poland, Kenya, Japan, Bolivia, Uganda, Iran, and South Africa.

A 3-day workshop was dedicated to the sharing of feedback on each report among the authors and editors of the upcoming book (Oxford University Press).

A big thanks to the Brooks McCormick Jr. Animal Law & Policy Program at Harvard Law School, Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, the Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, the Fritz Thyssen Foundation, and Center for Animal Law Studies for sponsoring and organizing this event.

We are happy to share our pre-recorded animal law webinar with Oscar Horta, the Founder of Animal Ethics and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Santiago de Compostela! The event was organized under the Project “Amplifying the Interests of Animals in Kazakhstan.”

There is a very high probability that nonhuman animals will continue to exist for a very long time. Accordingly, the impact we can have by acting in ways that reduce the chances that the future is negative for all sentient beings may be very important. This is so, in particular, because there are risks that in the future the situation of animals becomes even worse than in the present: both animal exploitation and wild animal suffering can be expanded, and new forms of harming nonhuman sentient beings may appear. This means that we should take very seriously the task of researching and implementing a longtermist strategic approach.

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Read our next series of news articles on the following topics:

• Scientists stepping up for Saolas;

• The launch of the first cage-free production standard in China;

• New guidelines for adoption of dogs in Singapore;

• Culling 2000 hamsters in Hong Kong;

• Baghdad animal shelter setting out to aid stray animals;

• The risk of animal portrayals in ads.

See Our Full Articles Here

It's World Aquatic Animal Day!

This day is an annual day dedicated to aquatic animals and was created to raise awareness about the importance of aquatic animals in our lives! The theme for 2022 is Disentangling the Sustainability Myth in Fishing and Aquaculture.

Today, we wish to raise awareness for these magnificent creatures, the various threats they face, and how we, as human animals, impact them and their habitats. They are valuable to us not only as a society and to the environment but are also individuals with intrinsic value.

Therefore, we invite all of you to a free webinar series held by the Center for Animal Law Studies, Lewis & Clark Law School, where various experts from around the globe will share their knowledge on respective topics.

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We are delighted to invite you to the upcoming animal law webinar organized by the Vermont Law School, on March 26th, 2022!

This webinar will host amazing professors of law and experts in the field from across the globe and the event will be held with simultaneous Chinese and English translation.

Panel One: Global, National, Local Animal Law: Opportunities and Obstacles

• Prof. Joan Schaffner, Associate Professor of Law at the George Washington University Law School

• Prof. Delcianna J. Winders, Visiting Associate Professor and Animal Law and Policy Institute Director at Vermont Law School

• Prof. Qian Yefang, Professor of Law at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law

Panel Two: Comparative Wildlife Law: China, Australia, EU

• Prof. Zhao Huiyu, Associate Professor at Shanghai Jiaotong University

• Prof. Deborah Cao, Professor at Griffith University, Australia

• Prof. Alice DiConcetto, founder of the European Institute for Animal Law & Policy and lecturer in animal law at the Sorbonne in Paris

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We are delighted to share our pre-recorded animal law webinar with Dr. Peter Li, the Associate Professor at the University of Houston-Downtown and China Policy Specialist at the Humane Society International! The event was organized under the Project “Amplifying the Interests of Animals in Kazakhstan.”

Despite the fact that dog meat consumption is not part of the mainstream food culture of China, the eating habit is driven by the country's dog meat traders who rely on a host of illegal and other activities to sustain their trading operation. The dog meat trade has turned China into a "civil war." China has no animal protection laws, it has no laws against animal cruelty. Should China sit still and wait for the enactment of animal protection laws or are there any laws that can be used to go after illegal activities involved in the trade? In this presentation, Dr. Peter Li discussed China's controversial dog meat industry and the existence of alternative legal measures that can be used to prosecute and hold the traders responsible.

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We are happy to share our animal law webinar with Andrea Richey, the Executive Director of the Hong Kong Shark Foundation! The event was organized under the Project “Enhancing Legal Regulations for Aquatic Animals in Kazakhstan.”

In this presentation, Ms. Richey gave an update on the global shark crisis and look at the current status of shark conservation efforts to reduce consumption and change behavior, especially in Hong Kong and the Asia region.

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We are delighted to announce the animal law webinar on Zoom with Dr. Peter Li, the Associate Professor at the University of Houston-Downtown and China Policy Specialist at the Humane Society International, on February 18th, 2022!

Despite the fact that dog meat consumption is not part of the mainstream food culture of China, the eating habit is driven by the country's dog meat traders who rely on a host of illegal and other activities to sustain their trading operation. The dog meat trade has turned China into a "civil war." China has no animal protection laws, it has no laws against animal cruelty. Should China sit still and wait for the enactment of animal protection laws or are there any laws that can be used to go after illegal activities involved in the trade? This presentation hopes to introduce China's controversial dog meat industry and the existence of alternative legal measures that can be used to prosecute and hold the traders responsible.

Dr. Peter Li joined the University of Houston-Downtown in 2002 after receiving a doctoral degree in Comparative Politics/International Relations from Northern Arizona University. He specializes in East Asian Politics with an emphasis on China’s domestic politics, foreign relations, and animal protection policy. Dr. Li teaches the courses of Chinese Politics, U.S. Foreign Policy, Animal Rights & Politics, U.S. Government, etc. Before joining the University of Houston-Downtown, Dr. Li worked as a business analyst with a major corporation in Denver. He also worked earlier as a junior faculty at the Beijing Institute of Foreign Affairs.

Open and Free to the public. Registration is required, find the link here.

Find more information on our Facebook event page.

We are happy to announce our next animal law webinar on Zoom with Andrea Richey, the Executive Director of the Hong Kong Shark Foundation, on January 28th, 2022!

In this presentation, Ms. Richey will give an update on the global shark crisis and look at the current status of shark conservation efforts to reduce consumption and change behavior, especially in Hong Kong and the Asia region.

For the past 30 years, Ms. Richey has lived in Hong Kong and worked for a wide variety of corporate and NGO entities. Since 2015, she has worked and volunteered for the Hong Kong Shark Foundation in many capacities, most recently as the Executive Director raising awareness about shark conservation and educating people to stop eating shark fin soup and all shark products. Before joining Hong Kong Shark Foundation, Ms. Richey was a legal recruiter and previous to that worked for the Wall Street law firm of Paul, Weiss in Hong Kong in a corporate communications/business development capacity. She speaks Mandarin and has lived and worked in both China and Taiwan.

Open and Free to the public. Registration is required, find the link here.

Find more information on our Facebook event page.

We are happy to announce the animal law webinar on Zoom with Randall S. Abate, the Professor of Law at Monmouth University, on January 17th, 2022!

In What Can Animal Law Learn From Environmental Law?, Professor Abate has assembled an experienced team of 36 academics, advocates, and legal professionals from the environmental and animal law fields to examine the experiences of these two fields. Drawing on lessons from history, politics, and law, the book examines how environmental law’s successes in several key areas such as enforcement, use of the public trust doctrine, impact assessments, and international law protections can help propel animal law’s objectives and how the two fields can work together on topics such as climate change and food law and policy. This presentation will first address some of the key themes of the book’s coverage. It will then provide case studies from the book’s chapters to illustrate how animal law can learn from environmental law and how the two fields can work together to secure mutual gains.

Randall S. Abate is the inaugural Rechnitz Family and Urban Coast Institute Endowed Chair in Marine and Environmental Law and Policy, a Professor in the Department of Political Science and Sociology, and the Director of the Institute for Global Understanding at Monmouth University. He teaches courses in domestic and international environmental law, climate justice, constitutional law, and animal law. He has delivered lectures and taught international and comparative law courses on environmental and animal law topics in many countries across the globe. Professor Abate has published six books and more than 30 law journal articles and book chapters on environmental and animal law topics.

Open and Free to the public. Registration is required, find the link here.

Find more information on our Facebook event page.

The team of the Institute of Animal Law of Asia is wishing you a Happy New Year of 2022 and wonderful holidays!

The tiger is known as the king of all beasts in many Asian countries. The zodiac sign Tiger is a symbol of strength, exorcising evils, and braveness.

In 2022, we sincerely wish you a joyful year accompanied with new winning for the animals, environment, and the Earth!

Read our next series of news articles on the following topics:

• The dog meat industry in East Asia;

• The release of green turtles babies to the sea by Pakistani wildlife group;

• Thai construction tycoon pled guilty for poaching cases;

• Asian tigers and jaguars are under threat from tropical hydropower projects;

• Vietnamese city pledges to phase out dog and cat meat; and

• Southeast Asia’s online wildlife trafficking.

See Our Full Articles Here

It's International Monkey Day!

This day was created to improve public awareness about the necessity to protect monkeys all over the globe.

Monkeys play an important role in their native habitats by pollinating flowers and dispersing seeds as they travel. Some monkeys can swim, their webbed toes help them paddle through the water, and they may swim across a stream or river to avoid predators or get to the food. However, at present, these animals are facing a lot of threats from human activities. These include habitat destruction, particularly from the burning and clearing of tropical forests that also emits at least 20% of the global greenhouse gases causing climate change, and the hunting of primates for food and illegal wildlife trade.

Asian countries are inhabited by several monkey species, such as leaf monkeys, macaques, proboscis monkeys, gibbons, snub-nosed monkeys, etc. Like many other species, Asian monkeys are threatened by deforestation, climate change, habitat loss, and, most importantly, the practice of using monkeys in labor is common in some Asian countries.

How to celebrate?

• Learn more about the monkeys and threats that they face;

• Go vegan for the animals and the planet;

• Urge the government to enact effective and enforceable legislation aimed at the protection of monkeys;

• Report any illegal activity involving the exploitation of these animals;

• Spread the word by sharing on social media using the hashtag #InternationalMonkeyDay.

We are happy to announce our next animal law webinar on Zoom with David Neale, the Animal Welfare Director at Animals Asia Foundation, on December 23rd, 2021!

The use of wild animals for display and performance in China and Vietnam continues to rise with the development of many new ocean parks and entertainment facilities displaying animals captured from the wild, this is leading to widespread welfare issues for animals that have been live caught, transported and forced to perform. Many other animals are bred and trained for the terrestrial circus industry and elephant tourism industry causing further welfare issues. Animals Asia are working collaboratively with government departments and both local and international NGOs to address these pressing welfare issues and to find solutions that work for the animals and the people that rely on these forms of entertainment for their livelihood.

David holds a first degree in Environmental Science and a Master's degree with distinction in Conservation Biology. David leads a series of animal welfare campaigns aimed at improving the welfare of captive wild animals in China and Vietnam, working in partnership with the China Association of Zoological Gardens and government wildlife rescue centers in Vietnam to implement management training initiatives for animal managers and vets and enclosure improvement; leads a campaign to end elephant riding in Vietnam and has established the country’s first ethical elephant tourism experience in partnership with the Yok Don National Park; as well as leads a capacity-building education program to improve the welfare of all animals, develop animal welfare concepts within the teaching curriculum, and humane education initiatives within schools.

Open and Free to the public. Registration is required, find the link here.

Find more information on our Facebook event page.

It's World Wildlife Conservation Day!

This day was created to raise awareness, reflect, and take action towards issues that are threatening the planet’s wildlife biodiversity balance.

Human interference in the world’s natural ecosystem has been ongoing for centuries. In the modern world, as humans settled in different parts of the world, they cleared land for farming, cut forests for shipbuilding, and began hunting and trapping for profit. Over the years, wildlife hunting and poaching became more common practices, and wildlife populations started to decline across the globe.

Even now, the illegal trade of endangered species on the black market continues to rise. Although governments across the world are trying their best, and, in some cases, succeed to stop these acts, not all species are safe from poachers and hunters. There are other issues with effective conservation of wildlife, such as bribery, lack of prosecution, lack of enforcement, or even lack of legislation.

How to celebrate?

• Learn more about the major threats that wildlife animals face;

• Raise awareness about climate change effects on animals' habitat and their population;

• Go vegan for the animals and the planet;

• Urge the government to prosecute wildlife crimes and enact effective legislation;

• Spread the word by sharing on social media using the hashtag #WorldWildlifeConservationDay.

Read our next series of news articles on the following topics:

• A new platform to tackle human-animal-environmental health challenges;

• An advisory to replace animals in movies;

• Singapore’s first plant-based protein innovation by Growthwell Foods;

• The continuation of illegal bear trade in India;

• 52 dogs saved from being taken to a slaughterhouse in Indonesia; and

• Singapore and China's UN Award for seizing elephant ivory.

See Our Full Articles Here

We are pleased to announce that Lu Shegay, our Managing Director, has been selected as one of the CALS Ambassadors in Round 2!

Lu's Project "Amplifying the Interests of Animals in Kazakhstan" will be focused on educating individuals on the importance of animal law in Kazakhstan, specifically on cruel practices that are done to animals, by providing articles, organizing webinars, and collaborating with law schools to raise awareness about the need to elevate the animals' status in the legal system of Kazakhstan.

Earlier this year, we have announced our two external projects within the Global Ambassador Program, an initiative launched by the Center for Animal Law Studies, Lewis & Clark Law School, to cultivate animal law education and advocacy abroad and to pioneer animal law education through advocacy and outreach in their home countries. These projects focus on aquatic animal protection in Kazakhstan and farm animal welfare in mainland China.

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Read our next series of news articles on the following topics:

• Studies on Indonesia’s murky shark fishery and trade;

• The restoration of a home to critically endangered species by 2030;

• The lion at Singapore Zoo tested positive for COVID-19;

• Nepal's efforts to double the population of tigers by 2022;

• Decrying animal rights groups in Hong Kong for an inhumane policy of capturing and killing of wild boars; and

• Causing anger in Chinese netizens after killing of corgi by anti-pandemic workers.

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It's Adopt a Turkey Month!

November - due to the celebration of Thanksgiving Day in the United States - was named Adopt a Turkey Month! The major reason for creating the holiday is to highlight the importance of turkeys as individuals since they are the main victims of the plate.

Turkeys are intelligent animals who enjoy having their feathers stroked and who like listening to music, with which they will often loudly sing along. In nature, these animals can fly 55 miles an hour, run 35 miles an hour, and live up to 10 years, however, in factory farms, they oftentimes do not have sufficient space, are poorly treated, and abused.

Approximately 245 million turkeys are raised and killed for their flesh every year in the U.S. and are not legally protected by federal law. More than 46 million of them are killed each year at Thanksgiving alone, and more than 22 million die at Christmas.

How to celebrate?

• Celebrate Thanksgiving Day with vegan meals;

• Raise awareness about animal agriculture and its cruel practices;

• Go vegan for the animals and the planet;

• Consider volunteering with sanctuaries to help care for the turkeys and other rescued animals;

• Adopt a turkey from a sanctuary by donating;

• Spread the word by sharing on social media using the hashtag #AdoptATurkeyMonth.