Animal law continues to grow as a legitimate branch of legal studies, with animal law courses increasing in popularity across Australian universities. This edition contains updated material on animal welfare studies, animal trials and new cases from the United States regarding the legal personhood of animals.
Legislation has been updated throughout, including discussion of provisions on cruelty to farm animals added to the Animal Welfare Act 1992 (ACT). The updated bibliography ensures students are aware of the most significant developments in the discourse relating to animal welfare. Other amendments include the following: Chapter 4, Overview of Animal Law in Australia, includes new commentary on the Australian Animal Welfare Strategy; Chapter 6, Regulation of the Treatment of Companion Animals, includes updated statistics on cruelty investigations, prosecutions and shelter numbers; Chapter 8, Regulation of Wild Animal Welfare, considers a proposed national approach to the regulation of exhibited animals and discusses the cases Animal Liberation ACT v Conservator of Flora and Fauna (Administrative Review) (about the killing of kangaroos) and Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v Japan: New Zealand Intervening) (addressing Japanese whaling in the Antarctic); Chapter 9, Regulation of Animal Testing, outlines contents of the 2013 edition of the Australian Code for the Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes. The second edition of Animal Law in Australia has been written for university law students undertaking animal law, animal welfare law or animal rights courses; and is relevant for academics interested in animal welfare and the environment in general; lawyers who are interested in animal welfare and the environment; animal rights advocates; and general readers with an interest in animal welfare.