We are delighted to announce the release of the special issue of the journal Quaderni di Diritto degli Animali (our association’s journal series), entirely dedicated to the Jean Monnet module WHALE – Working on non-Human Animals Law and rights in the EU (ERASMUS-JMO-2023-HEI-TCH-RSCH, Project no.: 101127161), organised by Ca’ Foscari University of Venice under the scientific direction of Prof. Sara De Vido, with the contribution of lawyer Monica Gazzola and in collaboration with Animal Law Italia.
The module, running since February 2024 and now in its second edition, addresses, in an interdisciplinary and critical way, the legal status of non-human animals in the European context, weaving together law, philosophy, ethics and the social sciences. Over these first two years – out of a planned total of three – WHALE has established itself as a dynamic space for training and exchange, bringing into dialogue academic knowledge, activism, professionals and students from a wide range of backgrounds.
Taking stock of the first two editions, between theory and practice
The first two editions of the WHALE course have involved:
- 25 university students;
- 38 lawyers, both in person and online;
- 41 speakers, from a range of disciplines, drawn from universities, research institutions, the legal profession and the non-profit sector;
The activities were organised into:
- 13 practical workshops, designed to stimulate critical reflection and the active participation of students
- 24 lectures, devoted to exploring themes at the heart of the contemporary debate on the relationship between animals, law and society.
The topics covered were many and wide-ranging: from the role of animals in Italian and European constitutional law to the protection of decapod crustaceans, from animal experimentation to slaughter, by way of bullfighting, hunting, the criminal and civil law dimensions of animal protection, industrial exploitation, the rights of Nature, the intersection with human rights and postcolonial perspectives in environmental law.
Another distinctive feature of the course was its experiential, workshop-based approach: during the workshops, students tried their hand at the legal rewriting of real judgments from an animal-centred and biocentric perspective, with the aim of demonstrating how existing law, when interpreted with awareness and openness, can open up far broader spaces of protection than is commonly believed.
WHALE has thus established itself as a laboratory of training and knowledge co-production, where university teaching has intertwined with the hands-on experience of legal activism and with the invaluable contribution of professionals and experts committed to questioning – and transforming – the dominant paradigms in the relationship between humans and animals.
The special issue of the Quaderni
The special issue of the Quaderni journal, entitled Animali non umani e nuove prospettive di tutela (Non-human animals and new perspectives on protection), brings together a selection of contributions arising from this educational experience. Edited by Dr Silvia Zanini (University of Trieste) and Dr Sara Dal Monico (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice), both members of the project’s scientific team, the issue features five contributions selected through a call for papers, all of which underwent peer review.
The contributions range from the transition towards animal-free science to the critique of anthropocentrism in environmental law, by way of a historical reconstruction of the relationship between religion and jurisprudence, an intersectional approach to animal subjectivity and the legislative evolution of the category of “sentient being”.
The issue closes with a collective work, born directly out of the course workshops and selected as the best final paper of the first edition, consisting of the eco-legal rewriting of a 2023 judgment of the Court of Rome on the protection of crustaceans: an exercise that testifies not only to the innovative approach of the WHALE project, but also to how existing law, when read with a critical eye and theoretical openness, can become an instrument of real change, capable of moving beyond anthropocentric logics and embracing new and necessary visions of justice.
A step forward for legal reflection on the animal question
This issue – available in open access – marks a significant milestone in the shared journey undertaken by academia, activism and civil society to build a deep, serious and up-to-date reflection on the role of law in the protection of non-human animals.
As Animal Law Italia, we are proud to collaborate on this project, which is unique in the Italian academic landscape, addressing the animal question as a structured, multidisciplinary and topical legal subject and marking a fundamental step: the institutional recognition of the legal significance of the discourse on the condition of animals.
WHALE thus demonstrates how crucial it is to bring these themes into the university, training new generations of jurists, lawyers and researchers able to read the law with critical tools and a systemic vision.
It is a journey that Animal Law Italia will continue to support with conviction, so that reflection on animal law becomes an ever more integral part of the contemporary academic and cultural debate.
Stay connected!
After two intense and well-attended editions, attention now turns with great interest to the third and final edition of the course, scheduled for 2026, which promises to be even richer in content and perspectives. In particular, greater involvement of the veterinary world is planned, with the aim of further exploring the interaction between the legal approach and scientific expertise, strengthening the interdisciplinary profile of the course – a distinctive hallmark of the WHALE project. For more information, contact whale.jm@unive.it or sara.devido@unive.it