Celebrating World Animal Day at MSU Law

By Jake Jenkins

Oct. 4, 2022

[Editor’s Note: This is part of an on-going series of articles on MSU Law student organizations. Please let us know what your organization has planned for the year.]

World Animal Day is celebrated annually on October 4th. The day has become an international celebration for animal rights and welfare. World Animal Day unites the people who are advocating for better treatment of animals and working in the animal welfare movement.

The first World Animal Day took place on March 24, 1925, in the Sport Palace in Berlin, Germany. More than 5,000 people attended the event and was founded by animal activist, Heinrich Zimmermann.

At Michigan State University College of Law, there are multiple resources for students, faculty/staff, and the public to gain information surrounding animal law.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund’s mission is to protect the lives and advance the interests of animals through the legal system. MSU Law’s student chapter, Student Animal Legal Defense Fund (SALDF), does just that by educating those who may not know what is going on in the legal field surrounding animals as well as volunteer in the Greater Lansing community.

“There are a lot of different fields of law that animal law is related to, and many people don’t know” said Becca Sutton, ’23, President of SALDF. “People may not be interested in traditional animal law but may be interested in how it’s cross-sectioning with their interest of law.”

The Animal & Natural Resource Law Review (ANRLR) is a student-led journal that publishes one yearly issue and is one of only three journals nationally that is devoted to animal law topics. As a peer-reviewed publication, ANRLR has a collection of national animal law and natural resource law experts who review each volume before it is sent to publishing.

“We only focus on fields on animal law and natural resource law” said Destiny Sykes, ’23, Editor-in-Chief of ANRLR. “Topics like animal law, different aspects of environmental law, and even space law falls under our journal since it is a natural resource. The journal is focused on the world that we live in and the things that live on it.”

The Animal Legal and Historical Center recently celebrated their 20^th year anniversary back in March. This online database under MSU Law College receives more than 8,000 daily visitors and has earned the reputation as the largest animal law website on a global basis.

“You don’t know how many times I walk in somewhere and people are thanking me for the website” said David Favre, Professor of Law at MSU and Editor-in-Chief of the website. “Our primary audiences are law students who are doing research in animal law, but we also have an audience of non-lawyers in animal-related professionals as well.”

The Animal and Historical Center’s website features animal laws for all 50 states in the U.S. and is continuously updated for the public to visit and obtain necessary information.

As many around the world celebrate World Animal Day, MSU Law would like to highlight our resources surrounding the animal law field and extend our support to everyone who fights for the treatment and rights of animals.