ANIMAL LAW TALK
A leading animal advocate from India will visit Auckland next month to give a free lecture at the University of Auckland. Raj Panjwani will explore the current state of animal protection in India and the implications of the global expansion of agribusiness for farm animals. He will draw upon his experience as a voice for wild and domesticated animals used for food production, entertainment, hunting and research and discuss his long advocacy career dedicated to protecting animals from cruelty.
His visit will mark the end of a ten-day speaking tour organised and sponsored by Australian based group Voiceless, the fund for animals, that takes Mr Panjwani to many of Australia's leading law schools as part of the 2008 University of New South Wales animal law lecture series. The University of Auckland will be his only stop in New Zealand. An advocate for animal protection over the past 25 years, Mr Panjwani says: "India is a nation that is largely committed to the principle of non-violence. It also has possibly the largest vegetarian population. Despite this, animals in India continue to suffer enormously and in staggering numbers even though the Constitution mandates that every citizen have compassion towards all living creatures."
Relying on the notion of compassion for animals, Mr Panjwani has over the last two decades continually broken new ground for animals in the courtroom, working as legal counsel for India's peak environmental and animal protection organisations. In 2002, the Supreme Court of India Bar Association acknowledged his remarkable efforts by awarding him a citation for ‘Adding Knowledge to the Practice of Law'. Mr Panjwani's notable Supreme and High Court successes in India include:
· banning the use of tigers, lions, panthers, bears and monkeys in circuses (Supreme Court, Kerala High Court, Karnataka High Court & Delhi High Court); · obtaining a right of choice for school students opposed to dissection and experiments on animals (Delhi High Court); · securing the imprisonment of Sansar Chand, one of India's most notorious wildlife criminals (Delhi High Court); · acquiring the mandatory labelling of animal-derived food products (Delhi High Court); and · defending a legal challenge by traders seeking to reinstate the trade in ivory and the fur and skins of endangered animals (Delhi High Court). Mr Panjwani will be introduced by Peter Sankoff, a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Law, who has taught Animals and the Law for the past three years. Animal Law Talk: An Indian perspective7-8.15pm, Tuesday 3 June 2008. Public lecture hosted by the Faculty of Law and the Animal Rights Legal Advocacy Network (ARLAN), University of Auckland, Faculty of Law, Stone lecture Theatre, 17 Eden Crescent, Auckland. More information click here |
