Despite 200 years of animal welfare laws, which require “humane” treatment and prohibit the imposition of “unnecessary” suffering, animal exploitation is occurring in more horrific ways than at any time in human history.

On Friday, April 11, 2014, Rutgers School of Law–Newark will host a conference on “Animal Ethics: Abolition, Regulation or Citizenship” at which emerging approaches to acknowledging the moral value of animals will be explored in an interdisciplinary setting by some of the foremost scholars in the field.

These new approaches include: 1) arguing for the status of nonhuman animals as right-holders and challenging the use of animals as human resources and not just the treatment of animals whose use is assumed to be morally permissible (the rights or abolitionist approach); 2) retaining a welfarist framework of “humane” use but modifying it in certain ways (the regulationist approach); and 3) promoting a theory of animal rights that allows fora continued relationship between humans and nonhumans in various contexts and explores the various relational duties involved (the citizenship approach).

Speakers will include (in alphabetical order):

Anna E. Charlton, Adjunct Professor of Law, Rutgers School of Law–Newark, and former Director, Rutgers Animal Rights Law Clinic

Luis E. Chiesa, Professor of Law and Director, Buffalo Criminal Law Center, SUNY Buffalo

Sherry F. Colb, Professor of Law and Charles Evans Hughes Scholar, Cornell University

Sue Donaldson, independent researcher and author (co-author with Will Kymlicka of Zoopolis: A Political Theory of Animal Rights)

Michael C. Dorf, Robert S. Stevens Professor of Law, Cornell University

Gary L. Francione, Board of Governors Professor, Distinguished Professor of Law, and Nicholas deB. Katzenbach Scholar of Law and Philosophy, Rutgers School of Law–Newark

Will Kymlicka, Professor and Canada Research Chair in Political Philosophy, Queen’s University (Canada)

David Nibert, Professor of Sociology, Wittenberg University

Gary Steiner, John Howard Harris Professor of Philosophy, Bucknell University

The Conference will start at 10 am and conclude at 6 pm. Admission is free and open to the public but registration is required. You can register here as seating capacity will be limited.

A vegan lunch will be available from the Law School cafeteria. The cost of the lunch is approximately $6.00 exclusive of any beverages or other items.