Animal Welfare Lawyering Project

As part of the Advanced Lawyering 2 in Spring of Year 4, Law Plus students opt to be involved in a group project or write a solo research article. This year, 17 students opted to take part in the Animal Welfare Project run by Dr Laura Donnellan and Dr Ger Coffey. The students individually researched and wrote an essay on an aspect of animal welfare in a European Union Member State. The essays examined topics including the regulation of zoos in Bulgaria, the legal obligations concerning companion animals in Spain, Italy's approach to animal welfare, chick culling in Germany, an analysis of Ireland's Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013, German law on animal experimentation, the Legal Status of Animals in Divorce Proceedings in Spain, Farm Animal Welfare in Ireland, the illegal puppy trade in the Czech Republic, the legal protection of fois gras under French law, the protection of animals under Dutch law, Religious slaughter under Belgian law, animal protection under the German Constitution, the criminalisation of bestiality in Denmark, the regulation of animal welfare and horseracing in Ireland, and the legal protections for cats and dogs in Sweden.

The students worked in groups to produce an information booklet on an aspect of EU law and animal welfare and presented their findings. Emma Mullahy, Dylan Murphy, Louise Torpey, and Emma Fitzgerald's brochure provides a valuable guide to the legal framework concerning the Transport of Farm Animals in the European Union. Ronan O'Sullivan, Patrick Boland, Susan McCarthy and Amber Stauch created an informative brochure on the Fur Free Europe Initiative. Anne-Marie Pierse, Derbhila Donnelly, Eve O'Sullivan and Jane Tupper's brochure focused on Cosmetic Testing on Animals in the European Union, the group created a user-friendly guide on the Cosmetics' Regulation. Lorcan Beirne, Sarah Kelly, Aoife Glennon, Fionn O'Brien and Aoife Donohue's brochure provides a practical guide to the rules relating to the transport of farm animals. All the brochures were visually stunning and approached difficult areas of EU law in a succinct yet eloquent manner.