Dr. iur. Antoine F. Goetschel was born on
August 24th 1958 in Zurich, Switzerland and is the managing director of the
Foundation for the Animal in the Law.
From 1994 – 2004 he was a partner in the
Zurich law firm “Goetschel & Raess” and is a specialist in the field
of animal rights since 1984. As of 2004 he has been
running his own law practice in Zurich (Wildbachstrasse 46, P.O. Box 412,
CH-8034 Zürich, Switzerland, Phone + 41 43 443 06 44, Fax: +41 43 443 06 46,
e-mail info@afgoetschel.com). He is the author
of numerous books and essays in the field of animal welfare legislation (for Swiss and international law) as well as the co-author of many publications.
For example:
- the Legal Comment on the Swiss Animal Welfare
Act (1986)
- the Compendium of the Swiss Animal Welfare
Law (1987)
- his Dissertation on Animal Welfare Law and
Fundamental Rights (1989)
- the „Bill Regarding the Human Animal
Relationship" (1993)
- the opinion for a "Lawyer for Animal Welfare
in Criminal Cases in the Canton of Zurich (1994)
- the book "Our Dog"
(2001)
- the book "The Dignity of Animals"
(2002)
- the Legal Comment on the German Animal
Welfare Act (2002)
- the book "The Animal in the Law - 99 Aspects
of Human-Animal-Relationship" (2003)
- the Swiss Bill
for a an appropriate, innovative and viable animal welfare legislation
(2004)
- the ANIMAL-CD-ROM
(2004)
- www.tierschutz.org (2005) and www.tierimrecht.org
(2002)
- and more than thirty scientific
contributions, essays and legal opinions, on cantonal, national, German,
Austrian, and European animal welfare legislation.
All books and opinions are
listed in the virtual library of the Foundation of the Animal in the Law (www.tierschutz.org;
www.tierimrecht.org).
He was a guest lecturer for animal welfare
legislation at the jurisprudential faculty of Zurich University (1996,
1997, 2005 and 2007) and is a frequent speaker not only at the veterinary
faculty of Zurich University, where he gives lectures about the human-animal
relationship in the law, but also at numerous national and international
conferences, e.g. held by the German Judges Academy, Trier, the
European Biomedical Research Association EBRA and the Federation of European
Laboratory Animal Science Associations FELASA, the Swiss Veterinary
Association, the German Association of Practising Veterinarians, Hannover
(2001), and by the International Association of Human Animal Interaction
Organisations (IAHAIO).
He appears before the public whenever matters concerning
the human-animal relationship in the law or ethics are debated. He was involved in several initiatives of personalities, which were implemented with the help of the Foundation for the
Animal in the Law. He holds a seat on the legal board of the International
Association of Human Animal Interaction Organisations IAHAIO and is a board member of the Foundation for Dog Wellbeing.
As of 1985 he has committed up to 50% of his work
capacity for the cause of the Animal in the Law. In the remaining time he
attends to his law firm, overseeing mandates in the fields of succession law,
individual rights, law on associations and foundations, family
law and business consultancy.
On 20th January 2005 he was awarded the
“Margaret and Francis Fleitmann Prize” for his “tireless and outstanding
commitment for contemporary animal welfare legislation, especially for his
pioneer work for the animal in the law”. The prize was endowed with the amount of
CHF 50’000 and is highly regarded in animal welfare circles.
