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Our Work So Far

We have completed several projects since the inception of our centre ranging across a spectrum of themes. A brief description of the work undertaken by us over the years is provided below for reference.


2018

Collaborations


  1. The centre signed an MoU with the International Center for Animal Law and Policy (ICALP), Faculty of Law at Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona.

Activities


  1. The centre offered a 2-credit course on ‘Animal Protection Laws’ with 32 enrollments.
  2. A lecture on “Philosophical Foundation of Animal Rights in Indian Law” by Mr. Krishnan Venugopal, Senior Advocate of Supreme Court, was organized by the centre on September 29, 2018, at NALSAR.
  3. The centre conducted a panel meeting with leaders in the field of Animal Welfare on October 6, 2018, to augment the syllabus for the proposed PG Diploma Course in Animal Protection Laws. Some of the experts who attended this event were Hon'ble Ms. Justice Anjana Mishra, Judge, Patna High Court, Senior Advocate Mr. Raj Panjwani, Ms. Sowmya Rao (MLA from Karnataka), Animal Activist, Ms. Gauri Maulekhi Mr. N.G. Jayasimha.
  4. A vaccination and Animal Birth Control Drive was conducted under supervision of the ALC Team for the dogs at NALSAR Campus.



2019

Activities


  1. The centre offered a one-credit course to NLSIU Bangalore students on Animal Law from January 8-12, 2019.
  2. With the Directorate of Distance Education, the ALC offered a one-year Post-Graduate Diploma on Animal Protection Laws through Open and Distance Learning. As part of the programme Ms. Gauri Maulekhi (Trustee, People for Animals), Ms. Vasanthi Vadi (Founder Blue Cross and People for Animals), Mr. N.G.Jayasimha (Co-Founder & COO of Global Food Partners & Research Fellow Harvard Law School), Ms. Alokparna Sengupta (MD of Humane Society International, India) and Vivek Mukherjee (Faculty, NALSAR) delivered lectures for the enrolled candidates.
  3. During the semester June-October 2019 the Animal Law Clinic was introduced as a one-year course for the students of NALSAR University. The course was designed around five projects to be completed under the guidance of expert clinic supervisors.
  4. Prof. Kristen A. Stilt from the Harvard Law School delivered a lecture on ‘Animal Welfare and Religion’ on July 26, 2019.
  5. The centre coordinator visited Tel Aviv University for a month to collaborate with Environmental Justice and the Protection of Animals Rights Clinic.
  6. The second round of Animal Birth Control drive was conducted at NALSAR to sterilize new dogs on campus.



2020

Collaborations


  1. The Centre signed an MOU with Animal Law and Policy Program, Harvard Law School.

Activities


  1. The Centre organised an online webinar series on Animal Laws in India on 30th September 2020 with the theme “Illegal Wildlife Trade and its Role in Zoonotic Disease Transmission”. The notable speakers for the webinar included Ms. Mridula Vijayraghavan from WCS-India and Sumanth Bindumadhav from the Humane Society International/India. The event witnessed participation from a diverse set of audience ranging across students, working professionals and academia.

Research


  1. A project on ‘Legal Personhood of Elephants in India’ in collaboration with Nonhuman Rights Project, USA. The main objective of the project was to file a petition for recognition of personhood in the apex courts. Mr. Raj Panjwani Senior Advocate Supreme Court agreed to be the lead counsel. The project has resumed in March 2023.
  2. A funded project on ‘Illegal Wildlife Trade and Zoonotic Diseases’ with Harvard Animal Law and Policy Program. The Primary goal of the country report was to provide a sense of diversity and types of cultural functions of market, as well as regulatory framework that governs them. NALSAR had signed MOU which includes this project and future projects that the Animal Law Centre and Animal Law Policy Programme, Harvard will take up collaboratively.
  3. The funded research project on ‘Farm Animal Protection’ in collaboration with Humane Society International, India continued this year.
  4. The center coordinator published an article in The Citizen: Vivek Mukherjee, 2020. “Towards Personhood: Humancentric Laws Cannot Resolve Our Conflict with Other Animals”, The Citizen. (Available at: https://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/en/NewsDetail/index/13/19022/Towards-Personhood-Humancentric-Laws-Cannot-Resolve-Our-Conflict-with-Other-Animals )



2021

Collaborations


  1. The Centre entered into collaboration with the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy for their open access digital legal resource called "Nyaaya".

Activities


  1. The Animal Law Centre, NALSAR and NLUO held a Seminar Course on Animal Protection Laws, open to law students across India. ALC acted as knowledge partners for the same. The course was successfully completed on June 7, 2021.

Research


  1. The Centre undertook preliminary research on fish welfare and was part of India's first Roundtable on Fish Welfare and Aquaculture 2021.
  2. The centre was represented in the team of researchers working on the South Asia case study for the Live Animal Markets Project conducted by the Harvard Law School- Animal Law and Policy Program. The project studied policy responses to live animal markets, which have been identified as sites that facilitate the transmission of zoonotic diseases such as avian influenza, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and COVID-19. It aims to provide a comprehensive assessment to aid policy makers considering regulatory decisions regarding matters of public health and civil society.
  3. The legal study examining intensive animal agriculture in India from the perspective of the egg production sector was concluded with empirical evidence and submitted for publication as the first paper in the series titled 'True Cost of Eggs: A Cost to our Environment'.
  4. A paper titled 'True Cost of Eggs: A Cost to Animal Welfare' reached the review for prospective publication with the UK Journal of Animal Law.
  5. A blog article on the Kerala High Court order declaring the unconstitutionality of ban on pets by RWAs is in review for prospective publication with the A-law News-board.
  6. The Center published an explanatory blog on Zoonoses and Animal law for World Zoonoses Day 2021.
  7. The Centre’s faculty coordinator published an article in The Citizen titled: “Vivek Mukherjee, 2021. “Why the Exotic Wildlife Trade is Rising Steeply in India”, The Citizen. (Available at: https://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/en/NewsDetail/index/13/20511/Why-the-Exotic-Wildlife-Trade-is-Rising-Steeply-in-India )



2022

Collaborations


  1. Signed MOU with People for Animals, Uttarakhand.
  2. In June 2022, Animal Law Centre was a recipient of the ACE Movements Grant of $6000 for the year 2022-2023.

Activities


  1. The center received a grant amount of Rs. 15 lakhs to conduct three projects: (a) Aquaculture- in collaboration with HSI India and FWI India. (b) Enforcement of Transport of Animal Rules in India (c) Violence against animals as a gateway crime to future criminal behavior.
  2. Giveaway arranged in collaboration with Blue Tribe, where 12 plant-based products were given to the 12 winners in March 2022.
  3. The Centre launched its first newsletter in October 2022.
  4. The Centre’s faculty coordinator was invited for an interview at the Food Law and Policy Clinic (HLPC), Harvard Law School for a project led by Prof. Emily Broad Leib, Faculty Director of HLPC on “Food Law and Policy in Legal Academia Globally”.
  5. The centre organized the contact classes for the 2nd Ahimsa Fellowship which is a 9-month leadership program that aims at creating a network of effective animal welfare leaders adept at working closely with state governments and district administrations to enforce animal laws in India.

Research


  1. The legal study examining intensive animal agriculture in India from the perspective of the egg production sector has been completed. The first paper in the series titled 'True Cost of Eggs: A Cost to our Environment' was submitted for publication and internal review with the HSI-US.
  2. The Centre contributed a chapter on Indian Animal Laws in the works published by the UK Centre for Animal Law on international animal law perspectives.
  3. The Concept note on “Aquaculture Policy Paper” in potential collaboration with Fish Welfare Institute of India completed in March 2022.
  4. The Centre published a short explainer blog on Zoonoses and Animal Law for World Zoonoses Day 2021.
  5. First Draft of the “True Cost of Eggs: A cost to our Public Health” completed with the internal team review in March 2022. The paper is currently slated for internal review with HSI and review with HS-US.
  6. The Centre’s faculty coordinator Mr. Vivek Mukherjee published a paper with Ms. Akansha Singh: 2022. “Impact of FDI Policy on Animal Husbandry Sector in India: A Post COVID-19 Scenario”, 13(1), Journal of Indian Law and Society, NUJS.
  7. The Centre’s faculty coordinator won the Global South Scholarship to present a paper titled “An Indian Perspective to Entry of Animals into Constitutions” at the World Congress of Constitutional Law held every four years, held at Johannesburg, South Africa between 4-9th December 2022.



2023

Collaborations


  1. The Animal Law Centre signed an MoU with the Fish Welfare Initiative.

Activities


  1. The 2nd and 3rd newsletters for the months of February 2023 and March 2023 respectively were released.
  2. After consultation with the experts, students and administration, the centre successfully implemented institutional feeding for dogs at the NALSAR Campus.
  3. The centre is actively engaging in resolving the human-animal conflict in a scientific manner. For instance, the centre in consultation with other stakeholders, helped to create consensus on the introduction of a new model of dustbins which can’t be accessed by animals, reducing the chances of animals inhabiting human spaces in search of food.
  4. The 3rd Webinar Week was organized from 16th to 18th March 2023 on “Constructing Animals in the Law- Personhood and Beyond”. The speakers were Prof. Annie B. Satz on "Animals as vulnerable subjects beyond interest, convergence, hierarchy and property", Prof Maneesha Deckha on "Animals as Legal Beings”, Prof Jessica Eisen, on "Constitutional Protection of Animals", Prof. Visa J. Kurki, "The role of legal personhood in recognizing Animal Rights", Jake Davis, on "Why personhood is important for the Animal Liberation Movement", Paola Cavalieri, on "The Great Ap Project and its contribution to the Animal Liberation Movement", and Mr. Vivek Mukherjee on "Skipping Personhood: Nagaraja and its Flaws" The participation was from a wide range of audience from law students to academia.
  5. Continuing the webinar series, the 4th Webinar Week was organized from 24th to 25th March 2023. The panel consisted of Prof. Jeff Sebo on "Different Approaches to Animal Protection", Prof. David Favre on "Historical References to Animal Welfare", and Mr. Vivek Mukherjee on "Ethical Consideration for the Entry of Animals in the Indian Constitution".

Research


  1. In collaboration with the FWI, the centre contributed to submission of comments on the Draft National Fisheries Policy 2020, which is at present under consideration with the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
  2. The working paper on the Cruelty at the Pet Shops is at the final stage of drafting.







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