The conference, organised by the Canadian animal rights organisation Animal Justice in cooperation with the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, was held for the fifth time. The aim of the event is to provide a platform for lawyers and other interested parties to discuss current legal developments in animal protection and the improvement and strengthening of the legal status of animals at a global level and share the findings with like-minded people.

This year, again, the varied programme of lectures offered the audience the opportunity to gain insight into a variety of problem areas in animal protection law. The range of topics covered questions from the areas of animal experimentation law and the keeping of so-called farm animals, as well as approaches to solutions with regard to the establishment of a more animal-friendly and sustainable food system. The talks dealt with the effects of legal restrictions regarding the detection of animal welfare violations by private individuals, the negative consequences of scientifically unfounded reservations about alien species and the possibilities offered by the recognition of the legal personality of ecosystems in certain countries for the further development of animal protection law. An analysis of various political strategies in the field of animal protection followed, and the significance of international legal agreements for the protection of animals was dealt with.

TIR, which was represented at the conference with a delegation of two, also contributed a presentation. Vanessa Gerritsen, member of the Executive Board, gave a talk in the panel "Global Perspectives on Animal Experimentation" on "Legal Boundaries and Moral Grounds: Regulating Animal Experimentation - a Swiss Perspective". She pointed out that there are major deficits in the implementation of animal experimentation regulations in Switzerland and proposed several possible approaches to improve the situation. Together with the other speakers on the panel, she also took part in the subsequent panel discussion and answered questions raised by an interested audience. 

TIR would like to thank Animal Justice and the University of Toronto Faculty of Law for organising this very successful conference. It yielded a number of profound insights, new international contacts were established and existing connections intensified. TIR is convinced that the networking between animal protection lawyers at such events - also across national borders - and the resulting exchange of information and ideas are an important contribution to the further development of animal protection law and thus also to the improvement of the human-animal relationship in the medium to long term.