Law Schools With Animal Law Courses & Programming

Most Canadian law schools now offer an animal law course, although it may not be available every year—sometimes animal law is offered in alternate years. Here’s a list of schools with an animal law course. For more information, we suggest contacting the institution.

University of Victoria Faculty of Law

Professor Maneesha Deckha teaches Animals, Culture and the Law. The school is also home to the Animals & Society Research Initiative, a research forum and working group founded by Professor Deckha that offers talks, workshops, and film screenings that touch on animal law.

University of British Columbia, Peter A. Allard School of Law

Animals and the Law is regularly taught by practitioners Victoria Shroff and Amber Prince.

Thompson Rivers University Faculty of Law

Professor Katie Sykes is teaching Animals and the Law in Fall 2024. The Thompson Rivers University Journal of Comparative and Contemporary Law also recently published Canada’s first-ever entire journal issue devoted to animal law.

University of Alberta Faculty of Law

University of Alberta is an animal law hotspot. Professor Peter Sankoff teaches Animal Law, while professor Jessica Eisen writes and publishes extensively on animal law topics. Professor Angela Lee also writes on food law and animal law topics, and Professor Cameron Jefferies writes about and teaches marine mammal protection and wildlife conservation.

Robson Hall, Faculty of Law at the University of Manitoba

Professor Mary Shariff teaches Animals and the Law.

Bora Laskin Faculty of Law at Lakehead University

Professor Daniel Dylan is teaching Animal Law in the 2024-25 academic year.

University of Windsor Faculty of Law

The University of Windsor has offered an animal law course in past years, but it is not currently available in the 2024-25 academic year.

University of Toronto Faculty of Law

Introduction to Animals and the Law is being taught by professor Angela Fernandez in Fall 2024. Professor Fernandez also runs an animal law-focused working group that meets regularly throughout the academic year.

Osgoode Hall Law School

Professor Andrée Boiselle is teaching Animals in the Law in Winter 2025. In years in which the course has not been offered, Osgoode has allowed students to enroll in the University of Toronto course for credit.

Lincoln Alexander School of Law at Toronto Metropolitan University

Lincoln Alexander doesn’t currently offer an animal law course, but the school does house the Pro Bone-O Pet Dispute Clinic—a free, student-run legal clinic offering support people navigating pet custody issues with their former partners.

Queen’s Faculty of Law

Professor Will Kymlicka teaches Animals, Politics and the Law. Professor Kymlicka and Sue Donaldson also convene Animals in Philosophy, Politics, Law, and Ethics (APPLE)—an interdisciplinary group focused on the ethical, legal, and political dimensions of human-animal relationships.

University of Ottawa Faculty of Law

Professor Daphne Gilbert is teaching a course on Animals and the Law through the common law program in Fall 2024. The school also offers a seminar animal law course through its civil law program.

McGill University Faculty of Law

McGill is not offering Animal Law in the 2024-25 academic year. The course was taught in 2023-24 by professor Daphnée Menard. In previous years it has been co-taught by Alanna Devine and Sophie Gaillard, both lawyers with extensive experience in animal law and advocacy.

Université de Sherbrooke

Professor Stéphanie Roy is teaching Animal Law in Fall 2024.

Université de Montreal Faculté de droit

The French-language law school offers a course entitled Éthique et droit de l’animal. The school is also home of animal law ethicist and philosopher Valéry Giroux, assistant director of the Centre for Research in Ethics.