
About Us
A team of lawyers, experts and volunteers united to build a future of respect for animals.
Animal Law Italia ETS (ALI) is a non-profit organisation founded in 2016 by a group of lawyers active in animal protection, together with experts in animal welfare and bioethics, to bring to Italy a new, innovative approach to animal protection and to advance the ethical debate on the treatment of animals within society. Our team is still composed almost entirely of volunteers and independent researchers.
2016 – 2026
Ten years of Animal Law Italia
Our organisation was founded on 27 June 2016. We have come a long way since then! Discover our journey and the impact we have made.

Animals are sentient beings
Science has shown that other animals are far more similar to us than we like to admit, and bioethics argues for their inclusion in the sphere of moral consideration: we should grant them at the very least a life worth living.
Yet in reality animals are exploited, mistreated and killed without any valid reason. Almost always in a perfectly legal way. All of this is unjust and must urgently change.

Moving beyond the anthropocentric view
We believe it is both possible and necessary to define a new relationship with other species based on respect rather than exploitation.
We want the law to fully recognise and protect the needs, interests and dignity of other animals, building a fairer society for all.

How We Act
We work every day to bring the animal question to the centre of public debate and the political agenda, in order to achieve fair laws for animals, in step with the evolution of scientific knowledge and adequate to today’s social reality.

Values and Transparency
Our organisation is secular and non-partisan, democratic, egalitarian and entirely non-profit, as set out in our Statute (in Italian).
Our 2024 financial report is available. You can consult previous reports and all other organisational data on the portal of the Italian National Register of the Third Sector (RUNTS) (no registration required).
Since 2022, ALI takes part in Italy’s 5×1000 tax-donation scheme. We receive no contracted funding from the State, the European Union or other public bodies.
Our Team

Alessandro Ricciuti
President, Head of Institutional Relations

Annalisa Di Mauro
Vice President

Antonella Paparella
Press Office

Elisa Scarpino
Editor-in-Chief of the journal "Diritto degli Animali. Profili etici, scientifici e giuridici"

Silvia Zanini
Head of Research and University Relations

Mariagrazia Distante
Head of the "Rete Felina" project

Ermanno Giudici
Strategic advisor — Crustacean Project

Laura Cuttini
Donor relations manager

Lorenzo Fruscella
Scientific advisor on aquatic animals

Paola Sobbrio
Head of Animal Welfare Policy

Samuele Fondelli
Head of the Vote for Animals project

Aurora Rosaria Loprete
Member of the Legal Team

Francesca Romana Dresda
Member of the Legal Team

Maria Cristina Giussani
Member of the journal's Editorial Board
Enrico Moriconi
Animal welfare advisor
Join us
Become part of our community of lawyers, activists and supporters committed to the legal protection of animals.