The University of Toronto Bora Laskin Law Library, in partnership with Professor Angela Fernandez and Animal Law Research Associate Sam Skinner, is proud to announce the launch of the Animal Law Research Guide, a resource for those researching Canadian animal law. The Animal Law Research Guide seeks to provide a collection of secondary sources as well as primary legislation in the field of animal law.
https://guides.library.utoronto.ca/c.php?g=727309
While the Animal Law Research Guide provides a collection of Canadian animal law resources, the Brooks Animal Law Digest Canada Edition provides up-to-date information on developments in Canadian animal law. Published twice monthly, the Digest provides updates on animal law legislation, litigation, enforcement, academic publications, and international news. The Digest is published by the Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law & Policy in partnership with the University of Toronto Faculty of Law. The Digest is available online and emailed to subscribers upon publication.
Secondary sources listed in the Animal Law Research Guide include books, edited book collections, book chapters, book reviews, graduate theses, encyclopedias, journal volumes, and individual journal articles. Authors include prominent animal law professors and practitioners, including Angela Fernandez, Angela Lee, Camille Labchuk, Jessica Eisen, Jodi Lazare, Katie Sykes, Lesli Bisgould, Maneesha Deckha, Peter Sankoff, Sarah Berger Richardson, Sophie Gaillard, Sue Donaldson, Will Kymlicka, and more. Open access links are provided where available, however some resources are subscription-based and may be available through institutional libraries.
The Guide also includes legislation that targets animals from both the federal and provincial levels. Federally, legislation includes the Health of Animals Act and Regulations, the Criminal Code, and various other statutes related to animals, food, the environment, and more. Provincially, legislation includes various statutes related to animal protection, food regulations, wildlife regulations, veterinary services, and more.
In addition to enacted animal law, the Guide also lists federal bills that have been proposed but either (i) were not passed into law or (ii) are currently active and have not yet been passed into law. Each piece of proposed legislation is briefly described and linked to LEGISinfo where available.
While the Guide is not a case law database, it does offer a page of leading cases in Canadian animal law. Leading cases range from early development of criminal animal cruelty in the 1950’s, to the Harvard oncomouse case in 2002, the Lucy the Elephant decisions, prosecutions against activists, and more. The cases are categorized into various topics of areas of law, such as criminal law, constitutional law, family law, administrative law, trade law, property law, patents, and municipal law. Each case is briefly described and linked to CanLII or a PDF of the decision is provided.
Several additional resources are provided. This includes an Animal Law Playlist on the UTorontoLaw Youtube Channel. The Animal Law playlist is a collection of long-form videos focussing on animal law in Canada. The videos include lectures, panels, podcasts, speeches, webinars, and more. Speakers featured in the playlist include animal law professors (e.g. Angela Fernandez, Jessica Eisen, Jodi Lazare, Katie Sykes, Maneesha Deckha, and Peter Sankoff), animal law lawyers (e.g. Camille Labchuk, Lesli Bisgould, and Sophie Gaillard), animal advocacy organizations, politicians, and more. The Animal Law playlist was created by the University of Toronto Faculty of Law with special thanks to Nina Haikara, Sam Skinner, and Angela Fernandez.
Many thanks to the team at the Bora Laskin Law Library for their work on this Research Guide, Sooin Kim, Alexia Loumankis, John Bolan, and Gian Medeves.
