Promoting the circulation of knowledge, dialogue among scholars and the building of international academic networks is one of the fundamental goals of WHALE, alongside the provision of high-quality teaching activities. From this perspective, the opportunities for scientific exchange that have emerged over the course of the project represent an important opportunity to disseminate the topics addressed during the module and to open up to European and international legal debate.
Within this framework lies the participation of Prof. Sara De Vido, head of the WHALE module, and Dr. Silvia Zanini, a member of the WHALE team and of ALI’s Board, in the V Clínica de Investigadores/as en Derecho Animal, organized by dARC – Derecho Animal Research Center, a research center founded and directed by Prof. Marita Giménez-Candela, one of the leading scholars of animal law at the international level.
The Clínica represents an original experience of collaborative research, structured through a series of thematic meetings dedicated to some of the most current issues in animal law, bringing together researchers and professionals from different countries with the aim of discussing ongoing research, fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and promoting the development of animal law.
The Challenges of the Legal Protection of Marine Animals
The session in which Prof. De Vido and Dr. Zanini took part, held on May 28, 2026 and entitled The Life We Don’t See: Creatures of the Deep Sea, was dedicated to the legal protection of marine animals and the challenges posed by their protection in international, European and comparative law.
Participation in this session represented an important opportunity for exchange, allowing some of the reflections developed during the module to be brought into an international context, fostering dialogue with scholars from different countries and demonstrating how the training and research promoted by WHALE can extend well beyond the university classroom.
During the session, two complementary contributions were presented.
Prof. Sara De Vido, with her paper The Protection of Whales in International Law from an Ecofeminist Perspective, addressed the issue of whale protection through an ecofeminist perspective. Her presentation, starting from the international regulation of whaling – historically oriented more towards regulating exploitation than protecting these animals – offered a reflection on the tensions between animal protection, indigenous peoples’ rights and the critique of anthropocentrism, placing at its center the ecofeminist approach, which proves to be a particularly effective tool for overcoming dichotomous readings that pit animal protection against the safeguarding of cultural diversity. From this perspective, the paper highlighted the need to overcome the logics of domination inherent in the anthropocentric paradigm, favoring a legal model based on interdependence among human beings, animals and ecosystems.
Dr. Silvia Zanini, with her paper Crustáceos destinados al consumo en la Unión Europea: ¿Alimentos o animales?, analyzed instead the evolution of the legal status of decapod crustaceans intended for food consumption in light of the most recent scientific findings on animal sentience and the resulting transformations in comparative and European law. The presentation highlighted how new scientific knowledge is making it increasingly difficult to justify the absence of specific protection for these animals under European legislation. Despite growing evidence of their capacity to feel pain and suffering, these animals continue to be considered by law as food and not animals, with the consequence that European animal welfare rules are inapplicable to them. The paper therefore stressed the need for European Union law to progressively adapt to scientific findings and ensure more coherent and ethical forms of protection.
Participation in the Clínica represented a significant opportunity for the international dissemination and promotion of the expertise developed within the WHALE project. The exchange with scholars from different legal systems made it possible to share and discuss some of the reflections developed during the module, testing their relevance within the broader international debate on animal law.
Further Reading
A complete account of the V Clínica de Investigadores/as en Derecho Animal, describing the various sessions, speakers and main topics addressed, is published in the Varia section of the latest issue of the journal DALPS – Derecho Animal. Animal Legal and Policy Studies, available online on the journal’s website.