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!

🌊 Science fiction? More like science. A new #NatGeo article dives into @projectceti.bsky.social's work decoding sperm whale communication—and the legal ripple effects. Proud to see NhRP attorney Spencer Lo quoted on what this could mean for #nonhumanrights www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/arti...

Thrilled to have received the first copies of my new book (co-authored with the wonderful John Adenitire). Very grateful to the team at #OxfordUniversityPress and the editors of the Oxford Constitutional Theory series for their support.

Bonobo societies are famous for being “female dominant.” But females are weaker than males, so how can this be? Study by Barbara Fruth and Martin Surbeck on wild bonobos explains how. Hint: it has to do with female solidarity. Paper ▶️ www.nature.com/articles/s42... www.ab.mpg.de/673281/news_...

Huge problems in the @slsauk.bsky.social conference Animal Law Stream... We've run out of chairs! What a problem to have for the first time we've ever had a dedicated Animal Law stream! #SLSA2025

Here’s how I fear it will go down SCOTUS: issues vague order for Trump regime Trump regime: prevaricate, prevaricate… SCOTUS (eventually): by 5:4 ‘Trump regime’s prevarication is consistent with our previous order’ result: lawless rendition-to-a-foreign-torture-prison policy rolled out.

Trump is a monster of the US Supreme Court’s creation. For years they’ve done everything within their power to place him above the law and now he’s plainly flouting their (half-hearted and hopeless) attempts to rein him in. Let’s never forget all those who’ve aided and abetted this criminal’s assent

Crows in a lab were able to distinguish shapes that exhibited right angles, parallel lines, and symmetry, suggesting that, like humans, they have a special ability to perceive geometric regularity.

The Trump regime's rendition of innocent people to a torture dungeon in El Salvador without due process is unspeakably barbaric. www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QmW...

1. Whenever you see really vicious and widespread "spontaneous" attacks on scientific findings that challenge powerful economic interests, you can be assured that corporate lobbyists have been busy behind the scenes. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

My new paper on "Animal Rights Before Legal Personhood" is recently out in the Cornell Law Review! This paper explores how rights in law probably have to precede "personhood," as the result in the Happy the elephant case shows us. Check it out if you're interested in animal legal protections.

Bad day to post about anything besides everyone's tanking 401(k)s, but: I have an illustrated piece on the life of a dairy cow, finally out in the world! The dairy industry is brutal. There's really no good reason to mass produce another mammal for its maternal milk www.vox.com/future-perfe...

Looking forward to discussing long-term strategies for animal freedom at #varc2025 this weekend with Birgitta Wahlberg and Steve Cooke!

A former PhD student has just published this opinion piece for the conservation. Fascinating to hear about these efforts to get rights for nonhuman entities recognised at the local government level. theconversation.com/rivers-are-i...

I am delighted to say that Sean Butler and I just signed the contract for the second edition of our Animal Rights Law textbook, to be published in 2027. We look forward to continuing our work with @hartpublishing.bsky.social!

An emotional day - I can announce I'll be the first director of The Jeremy Coller Centre for Animal Sentience at the LSE, supported by a £4m grant from the Jeremy Coller Foundation. Our mission: to develop better policies, laws and ways of caring for animals. (1/2) www.lse.ac.uk/News/Latest-...

Rosalind English discusses the Animal Sentience Act with Edie Bowles of the Animal Law Foundation and Dr Rachel Dunn of Leeds Beckett. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a...

Save the dates for our fifth European #AnimalRightsLaw Conference! 💾 This Conference will be held from 4-6 September 2025 at Magdalene College, #Cambridge 👏 These dates include full programming on the 4th and 5th of Sept, with a half-day on the 6th Sept 🗓️ Many more details to come!

Want to spend time doing research in Cambridge next spring? The Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law (@animalrightslaw.bsky.social) has released its call for applications for Visiting Researchers and Visiting Fellows. More information here: animalrightslaw.org/opportunities #animalrights

Come and have a look at some of the amazing things from the archive I’ve been working on for the past few years. There are some proper treasures heading up to the exhibition in Birmingham in May.

It sickens me when politicians talk about enacting 'tough decisions'. Targeting the unemployed, the sick, the disabled and people in extreme poverty receiving overseas aid rather than the wealthy and privileged is not a 'tough' choice, it's cowardly and unprincipled.