The Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics and the Animal Law Program at The George Washington University Law School (GW) are delighted to announce their Animal Ethics and Law Partnership.
The partnership aims to spotlight the impressive work being done at GW and the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics. The first stage of the partnership is GW sending five of its faculty and graduate students to present at the tenth Annual Oxford Animal Ethics Summer School held at Merton College, Oxford, in August 2025.
The topic of this year’s Summer School is the Ethics of Captivity with a special focus on the ethics of aquaculture. The Centre is delighted to be showcasing GW’s expertise in this field. Assistant Dean of the Animal Law Program, Professor Kathy Hessler, will be talking on “Aquaculture Hatcheries: The Need to Protect Animals throughout the System” shedding light on a relatively little considered area of research.
Dr Lori Marino, a neuroscientist and co-director of the Animal Law and Science Project at GW, will be speaking on “Law, Science and Ethics: The Three Pillars of Protection for Captive Cetaceans.” Amy Wilson, a member of GW’s Aquatic Animal Law Project and co-founder of World Aquatic Animal Day (with Dean Hessler) will also address aquaculture by presenting on “Factory Fins: Cruelty and Harm beneath the Surface.”
The partnership also highlights the work of GW law students. Hana Nabulsi will explore “How Captive Animals are Vulnerable to Zoonotic Disease,” and Emma DiGiovanni will focus on “Legal Protections for Plant-Based Foods as a Strategy to Reduce Farmed-Animal Captivity.”
Summer School Director, Dr Clair Linzey said “It is really exciting to be collaborating with GW and to highlight this much neglected area of captivity. I hope it is the start of a really fruitful partnership.”
The Oxford Annual Summer School has now been running for ten years and has been growing in international significance. Over 150 academics attend each year with delegates from over 20 countries, including India, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Austria, Taiwan, Ireland, USA, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. It is widely regarded as the premiere summer school on animal ethics in the world.
Professor Kathy Hessler commented “I am honored to be collaborating with the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics on this new initiative. I have seen firsthand the wonderful engagement the Oxford Annual Summer School promotes and supports, and I believe this new work will further those efforts and benefit our communities.”
Registration for the Summer School is now open and a few places are still available to book. https://www.
The Call for Papers is now closed and there is a waiting list for speakers. The provisional programme will be released shortly.
