Hello from the Toronto Court of Appeal! ⚖️ Animal Justice is intervening in the case involving vegan firefighter Adam Knauff, who was denied plant-based meals on the job. The court will decide if he can appeal after his discrimination case was dismissed on a technicality.

This is simply outrageous.

Some really big news dropped in animal rights world last week that was made possible only by extremely competent activism—a top breeder of dogs for lab experimentation will shut down. So I wrote about it and what it means and says about science, etc. gift link: www.vox.com/future-perfe...

Are humans really the only rational animals? Our NEW PAPER 🎉 out in @science.org suggests otherwise! In a large collaboration led with my joint first author @hanna-schleihauf.bsky.social, we show that “Chimpanzees rationally revise their beliefs” 🧵

Very sad to hear this act of compassion was deemed criminal by a jury. Telling though that she wasn't charged with theft/burglary - animals are 'property' right? AFAIA no animal rescuer has been convicted for theft or burglary since 2021 (for a 2018 rescue). www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

This is the most stunning legal turn-around I'm aware of. AR activists are charged with burglary for freeing dogs from Ridglan. The charges are dropped. The activists succeed in getting a special prosecutor appointed to investigate Ridglan for animal cruelty. Now Ridglan will close. Incredible.

(a month ago) Six animal rights activists unanimously acquitted by jury for disrupting a grand national race. They were charged with public nuisance but raised the 'reasonable excuse' defence that they were trying to prevent the suffering and deaths of horses. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crim...

“I hope this case will shine light on what these animals experience every moment of their lives. So much of what happens in factory farms is happening behind closed doors in the dark. No one ever gets to see it, no one ever gets to hear these animals’ stories.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Book Launch for International Protection of Socio-Economic Rights (Routledge 2025) by Dr Aristi Volou. 20 November 2025, 12.15-2:00 pm (UK), Leicester Law School (room TBC) or online (see comments for link). Presentations from Aristi Volou, Helen Flynn, Katie Boyle & Rory O’Connell. Open to all.

BREAKING: We submitted a habeas corpus petition on behalf of five elephants imprisoned at the Pittsburgh Zoo. Existing laws regulate care, but do not address their freedom. #FreeThePittsburghElephants 🐘 Join us as we fight for their right to liberty: bit.ly/4ovht20

Video recordings from our European Animal Rights Law Conference 2025 are now up on #YouTube! 📺 This year's Conference was on the theme "Animal Rights in Legislation" and featured political representatives, government officials, prominent academics, and lawyers from around the world. (1/2)

Michigan Court of Appeals denies that animals can be 'persons' in law because they cannot participate in the social contract. Again with that tired old chestnut? www.courts.michigan.gov/siteassets/c...

HUGE: Poland has voted 339 to 78 to ban #FurFarming! This bill will end the suffering for millions of animals who are bred for their #fur (like here). 🥹 It now just needs Senate & Presidential approval. Congrats to @otwarteklatki.bsky.social for their advocacy on this. Massive step for animals. 🧡

Bitterly disappointing ECJ ruling: “The Montréal convention clearly refers to persons and baggage. It therefore follows from the clear wording of this provision that the term ‘persons’ covers ‘passengers’, such that a pet cannot be considered a ‘passenger’. www.theguardian.com/law/2025/oct...

It's good to be on a platform where people express normal human empathy and dismay at the horrific synagogue attack rather than on one where they weaponise it for their grubby, divisive purposes and try to turn a tragedy into an opportunity

Goodall was such an icon because she did & said things that were heresy in the scientific community. Her work on animals' capacities represented not just an abstract finding but a practical ethic that led her to advocate for veganism &vocally oppose animal experimentation www.vox.com/future-perfe...

“The behaviour depicted is wholly unacceptable & clearly breaches the values, standards & animal welfare practices that we uphold across our business.“ - would be more convincing if this wasn‘t the third time they‘ve been exposed *since May*. The cruelty is systemic. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Anybody who watches this video and doesn’t shed a tear has a heart of stone: youtu.be/bCVmfDuRpBc?...

"I stopped eating meat some 50 years ago," wrote Jane Goodall, "when I looked at the pork chop on my plate and thought: this represents fear, pain, death." Best as I can tell, not one obituary or article on her passing mentions this fact. It's worth knowing. news.janegoodall.org/2017/04/28/w...

RIP to Jane Goodall whose pioneering work in primatology led to a paradigm shift in how we understand animals. Her work on animal subjectivity, emotions and relationships was intially dismissed as ‘anthropomorphic’ by the male-dominated field but now has widespread support. youtu.be/bCVmfDuRpBc?...

This is great. It naturally follows that Musk can only get out of our politics if politicians and political journalists stop using the social media site he controls.

A groundbreaking legal victory has just seen 6 people found not guilty of public nuisance, after disrupting the Grand National horse race in 2023! #grandnational #protest

In the interview, Raffael discusses his book More Equal Than Others: Humans and the Rights of Other Animals? (2024). 📙 Read the interview here: www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/anim... Want to check out the book? Go to global.oup.com/academic/pro... (2/2) #AnimalRightsLaw #PsychologyToday

Hey, look! A piece on the connection between wonder, moral motivation, & justice for animals, published at @justiceeverywhere.bsky.social and based on my paper in @the-joap.bsky.social - justice-everywhere.org/general/usin...

People who know reptiles well say they don't only experience fleeting pains and pleasures, but also lasting emotional states: happiness & sadness, or at least good & bad moods. But how do you show this in a scientific way? My latest for @nytimes.com on a clever @coldbloodedcog.bsky.social study:

Saskia Stucki, a researcher and senior lecturer at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences has won the Latsis Swiss Science Prize 2025 for her scholarship laying the theoretical foundations for recognising animal rights in law. Huge congratulations to Saskia! www.snf.ch/en/CUcsljTmj...

How can anyone - especially non-fascist politicians - justify continuing to use Musk’s platform? In the UK we already saw its role in fomenting the racist riots of last year. This should be the final straw. Serious legal action needs to be taken against the platform.

Very sad to hear of the passing of Conor Gearty. A brilliant legal scholar and a lovely man. His and Keith Ewing’s ‘The Struggle for Civil Liberties’ was one of the key texts that inspired me to go into academia.

The Scottish government are really at the forefront of animal welfare reform in the UK. In recent years they've banned snaring (as did Wales), trail hunting and now are backing a ban on greyhound racing too. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Fascinating selection of amicus briefs supporting an appeal by US animal rights activist Wayne Hsiung. Issues raised include whether the necessity defence applies to animals and whether anti-vegan animus from the prosecutor violates the 1st amendment: docs.google.com/document/d/1...

My paper ‘Animal Rights, Moral Motivation, and the Experience of Wonder’ onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... has just been published at @the-joap.bsky.social In it, I argue for fostering a sense of wonder at individual nonhuman animals, & for making this the basis of a reverence-based respect.

Tomorrow's front page 📰 Convicted US felon to arrive in Scotland

My book reviewed in @forbes.com. "This is not only the best book I’ve read this year but it’s the best book I’ve ever read about the morality of ethical veganism and of animal rights. It is so compelling, so coherent, and so crammed full of relevant information...." www.forbes.com/sites/grrlsc...

"Colombia has taken a major step forward in animal protection laws by declaring pets legally unseizable, even during legal or debt-related proceedings... 'They cannot be removed from their family environments due to court-ordered actions,' states the law." discoverbaq.com/new-colombia...

🚨 RIGHT NOW opposite Labour Party HQ in London. We’ve turned their street into Jabaliya camp in Gaza. A genocide is happening, but the Labour government is supplying weapons, intelligence and diplomatic cover to the perpetrator. Protesting this is not terrorism.

I would like to see a legal order in which these farms are principally recognised as violating the rights of *pigs*, but until then, many more of these rulings please. www.euronews.com/green/2025/0...

The Trump admin has sued California to overturn a number of its animal welfare laws, alleging that these laws caused egg prices to skyrocket nationwide. Researchers say overturning Prop 12 might decrease prices slightly, but only in California. sentientmedia.org/trump-suing-...

The Supreme Court said it was unlawful for the Biden administration to forgive student loans because it lacked congressional authority but has no problem with the Trump administration gutting the entire Department of Education without congressional approval. This is a lawless court.

"This might be the best book I've ever read about our relationship with animals, and I'm not just saying that." -- Mariann Sullivan, Our Hen House Podcast Best to listen to (not watch) my interview with Mariann, because it was 90 degrees in my office at the time! www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Cic...

On 8 July 2025, we attended the Royal Courts of Justice on behalf of The Animal Law Foundation. After considering the arguments, the judge agreed with our client that there was an arguable case and granted permission for judicial review. We will continue to share updates as the case progresses.

The 51st annual Vegan Summerfest begins tomorrow. In today's essay on the blog, I preview the first talk I'm giving ("Free Speech for Animals") and describe the others. I also announce and describe my fall seminar at Cornell ("Animals and the Constitution"). 👇

The Spanish Parliament is poised to debate a significant bill that would prohibit the farming and commercial trade of octopuses. 🐙 #spain #octopuses #octopus #animalrights #farming

I love a conversation about animals that dares to think big, and this is definitely one. Thanks to John Adenitire and @raffaelfasel.bsky.social for expanding our horizons.

If you are not concerned by the proscription of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation because you think it doesn’t impact you, you are wrong. This is an authoritarian abuse of power by the government & it curtails all of our civil liberties #r4today

Very cool ruling just out of New York recognising that companion animals are 'immediate family' members. The court notes that 'New York’s legal framework concerning household pets has significantly evolved from treating them as mere property'. www.nonhumanrights.org/wp-content/u...

Very sorry to hear of the passing of Paula Sparks. Paula was the chairperson of the UK Centre for Animal Law and she worked tirelessly in promoting public education and awareness raising about animal law in Britain. She was tenacious, humble and compassionate, and will be deeply missed.

📅 23 June, 5 pm CEST | ICARE Seminar Series for Animal Rights: Strategic Litigation for Chickens & Hens 🐔 With Edie Bowles (Advocates for Animals) & Kathryn Evans (Legal Impact for Chickens) 🔗 Register: lu.ma/p2rl9rza 🔗 More info about the seminar series: icare-animals.org/seminar-series

🧠 Grades of Mind: Agency, Memory, Sentience Free LSE Philosophy Workshop organised by @birchlse.bsky.social 📅 28 May (full day) Hybrid and open to all! ▶️Link to the programme: www.lse.ac.uk/philosophy/e...

My comic on the life of a dairy cow is out from behind the hard paywall! I wrote this as a hopefully definitive answer to a question I've gotten for many years: "What's wrong with dairy?" Once you really see what dairy is, it's like the scales falling from your eyes www.vox.com/future-perfe...

Matthew Liebman has a nice new paper on representing animals out at Michigan Law Review - worth checking out!