Animal Law

Events

Past Events

• Fall 2021

  The Cutting Edge of Animal Activism On September 9, 2021, we hosted Wayne Hsiung, co-founder of Direct Action Everywhere (DxE). Wayne discussed both his work with DxE along with the civil liberties and political concerns that are intertwined with animal activism in the United States.
  Volunteering at Broken Shovels Farm Sanctuary On September 12, 2021, students joined the DU Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Animal Law Program to kick off National Farm Animals Awareness Week by helping Broken Shovels Farm Sanctuary paint resident goat barns before winter.
  Lunchtime Animal Law Career Talk with Jay Tutchton On October 6, 2021, we hosted the first speaker of our Lunchtime Animal Law Career Talk series, Colorado Parks & Wildlife's Jay Tutchton. Jay discussed with students his work as the Preserve Manager for the Southern Plains Land Trust (SPLT). He manages SPLT’s reintroduced bison herd and works to improve its 32,000-acre network of protected lands for the benefit of all native wildlife species. Jay outlined his animal law path and offered advice for students pursuing a career in the public interest field. Watch Here
  Lunchtime Animal Law Career Talk with Amy P. Wilson On October 14, 2021, we hosted the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)'s Amy P. Wilson for our Lunchtime Animal Law Career Talk series. Amy discussed with students her work as the Brooks Institute Animal Law and Policy Fellow at UCLA School of Law's Animal Law and Policy Program. Her research focuses on the intersection of the rights of animals, humans, and the environment in law and policy. Amy gave a thorough explanation of animal law, outlined the many animal law career possibilities, and offered advice for students. Watch Here
  Lunchtime Animal Law Career Talk with Alene Anello On October 25, 2021, we hosted Alene Anello for our Lunchtime Animal Law Career Talk series. Alene discussed her current work as the founder of Legal Impact for Chickens (LIC), a nonprofit aiming to make factory farm cruelty a liability. LIC intends to systematically develop, refine, and use doctrines that allow plaintiffs to sue in civil court for violation of a criminal law to fight factory farm cruelty, and it will bring strategic lawsuits for chickens and other farmed animals. Alene also described how her two beloved avian family members, Conrad and Zeke, inspired her career path and she offered students advice for pursuing a career in the animal law field. Watch Here
  A Dog's World: Jessica Pierce and Marc Bekoff Event On October 27, 2021, we hosted Jessica Pierce and Marc Bekoff to discuss their recent publication, A Dog's World: Imagining the Lives of Dogs in a World without Humans. Drawing on biology, ecology, and the latest findings on the lives and behavior of dogs and their wild relatives, Jessica and Marc explained who dogs might become without direct human intervention into breeding, arranged playdates at the dog park, regular feedings, and veterinary care. They revealed how dogs are quick learners who are highly adaptable and opportunistic, and they offered compelling evidence that dogs already do survive on their own ― and could do so in a world without us. Watch Here
  Hog Haven Documentary Screening with Filmmaker and Director Q&A On November 4, 2021, the Animal Law Program and DU Animal Legal Defense Fund hosted the premiere screening of Hog Haven. Hog Haven is a documentary feature film about Erin, a Colorado woman who founded an animal sanctuary for pigs when her pet pig Pippy nursed her back to health after a car accident. We followed Erin and Hog Haven Farm's 120 resident rescue pigs through several seasons and learned more about the events that profoundly changed her life. We also had the pleasure of hosting a resident therapy pig named Katie for the evening!

   

   

• Spring 2022

  Lunchtime Animal Law Career Talk with Kristina Bergsten On February 8, 2022, we hosted Kristina Bergsten for our Lunchtime Animal Law Career Talk series. Kristina discussed her current work as owner and founder of The Animal Law Firm, a Denver-based firm that specializes in pet custody, dog bite defense, service animal representation, veterinary malpractice, and more. Kristina also described what inspired her animal law path and she offered students advice for pursuing a similar path.
  Animal Law and Environmental Law: Parallels and Synergies with Randall Abate On February 23, 2022, we hosted animal law scholar, Randall Abate for our Lunchtime Animal Law Career Talk series. Randall also gave an evening talk — "Animal Law and Environmental Law: Parallels and Synergies." Animal law stands to gain valuable insights from the environmental law movement. Drawing on lessons from history, politics, and law, Randall's book, What Can Animal Law Learn from Environmental Law (2d ed.), examines how environmental law's successes and shortcomings can inform animal law, and during his talk he explained how the two fields can work together to secure mutual gains in the future. Watch Here
  Effective Humane Education Panel Discussion On March 3, 2022, we hosted leading experts for a discussion on how effective humane education means controversial reforms to our system, and how this is the best way to protect animals and ensure biodiversity and nonhuman autonomy. Watch Here (Access Passcode: evh^Y3A2)
  Lunchtime Animal Law Career Talk with Mike Harris On March 7, 2022, we hosted Vermont Law School's Mike Harris for our Lunchtime Animal Law Career Talk series. Mike discussed his work as the prior Wildlife Law Program Director at Friends of Animals. He also gave a great explanation of what it means to advocate for animals and what students should consider if they plan to pursue a career in animal law. Watch Here
  Nature Day at Cherry Creek State Park On April 2, 2022, we visited Cherry Creek State Park to hear from representatives of the Attorney General's office, the Department of Natural Resources, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife about their work and what opportunities exist for students interested in pursuing animal and environmental law. We also had the opportunity to participate in a cleanup of the park.

   

• Fall 2022

  Tiger King Discussion with Jessica Blome On September 9, 2022, we hosted Greenfire Law's Jessica Blome. In 2016, Jessica and her legal team won a precedent-setting victory establishing that Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act applies equally to privately possessed threatened and endangered wildlife. During her talk, she discussed how she established the applicability of Section 9 to captive species and what that precedent meant for the litigation against "The Tiger King” and his Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park in Oklahoma. Watch Here
  The Wild Animal Sanctuary Visit On September 10, 2022, the Animal Law Program and Jessica Blome visited The Wild Animal Sanctuary. Currently, there are over 25,000 tigers, lions, wolves, bears and other large carnivores living outside of the United States zoo system. These animals can be found in people's apartments, basements, garages, backyards, roadside zoos, and other unnatural places. The Wild Animal Sanctuary specializes in rescuing and caring for these large predators. During our visit, students learned about the residents and the situations that brought them to the Sanctuary.
  Luvin Arms Animal Sanctuary Visit Animal photojournalist and We Animals Media founder Jo-Anne McArthur visited the University of Denver as a Distinguished Practitioner in Residence September 24–30, 2022. She kicked off her visit on September 25 with a trip to Luvin Arms Animal Sanctuary to take photographs and learn about its residents.
  Animals in the Anthropocene: A Journey with Jo-Anne McArthur into Animal Photojournalism On September 27, 2022, Jo-Anne McArthur took us on a journey through animal photojournalism. During her discussion, she covered the history of this field and described how she documents our complex relationship with animals around the globe. Her latest book, HIDDEN: Animals in the Anthropocene, was awarded "Photography Book of the Year" by Pictures of the Year International. She is also the founder of We Animals Media, the world's leading animal photojournalism agency whose mission is to document the stories of animals in the human environment and to connect those stories to the individuals and organizations who can amplify their reach. Watch Here
  Lunchtime Animal Law Career Talk with Alex Cerussi On October 26, 2022, we hosted Alex Cerussi for our Lunchtime Animal Law Career Talk series. Alex discussed her current work as a State Policy Manager for Mercy for Animals' Government Affairs and Public Policy team. She also described what inspired her animal law journey and offered students advice for pursuing a similar path. Watch Here
  Racial Equity and Animal Law On November 2, 2022, Akisha Townsend Eaton discussed how racial, economic, and environmental justice are often viewed as tangential rather than an essential part of a sustainable animal advocacy movement. Her discussion provided a basic overview of how these issues are critically connected and interdependent. An emphasis was placed on the human and animal well-being movement as it applies to humans and companion animals. However, the themes covered could easily extend to many other areas of animal advocacy. Watch Here
  Colorado Wolf Reintroduction: Implementing Voters' Intent On November 9, 2022, Lindsay Larris, Wildlife Program Director for WildEarth Guardians, and Aubyn Royall, Colorado State Director for the Humane Society of the United States, discussed both the Colorado wolf reintroduction and a conservation-backed wolf restoration plan that restores a self-sustaining population of gray wolves to the state — a place where they have been functionally extinct for 76 years. Lindsay and Aubyn informed students about what they could do to ensure that decision-makers follow the will of the Colorado public in finalizing a wolf restoration plan.

   

• Spring 2023

  Lunchtime Animal Law Career Talk with Lesley Tse On January 24, 2023, Lesley Tse, staff attorney with the Animal Defense Partnership, an organization that protects animals by providing free legal services to nonprofits that advocate for animals and plant-based diet change, described her work to students and what lead her to a career in the field of animal law. Watch Here
  Animal Legislation Lunchtime Career Talk with the ASPCA On February 10, 2023, the ASPCA joined us for a lunchtime talk to discuss legislative advocacy opportunities. Students heard from Amie Farquhar and Ali Mickelson of the ASPCA about their work and how to get involved in animal legislation. They also heard from a couple Colorado lawmakers who virtually joined the discussion. Watch Here
  Lobby Day at the Colorado State Capitol On February 16, 2023, we hosted a Lobby Day with the ASPCA at the Colorado State Capitol. Students toured the Capitol, attended the Colorado Legislative Animal Welfare (CLAW) caucus, during which Animal Law Program Manager Jess Beaulieu gave a presentation, and met up with legislators and Governor Polis to hear about their work.
  Lunchtime Animal Law Career Talk with Jennifer Best On March 1, 2023, Jennifer Best, Wildlife Law Program Director for Friends of Animals, an international animal advocacy organization that advocates for the rights of nonhuman animals, joined us for a discussion about her work as an animal law attorney. Watch Here
  Jo-Anne McArthur Art Exhibition & Evening Talk March 6–9, 2023, Jo-Anne McArthur visited the University of Denver and we, along with the Department of Art and Art History, co-hosted an exhibition of Jo-Anne’s photography and an evening talk she gave about animal photojournalism.
  Humans & Other Animals: Where Did We Go Wrong? with Seb Alex On March 8, 2023, Seb Alex, head of Campaign Management and Lectures for the Middle East Vegan Society, an organization that focuses on reducing and eliminating the suffering of animals, as well as reducing our impact on the environment with our day-to-day choices, discussed how human rights and animal rights are related. Watch Here
  The Smell of Money Film Screening On April 12, 2023, we were pleased to screen “The Smell of Money,” a documentary about corporate hog farms in North Carolina and the unjust impacts they have on local communities of color, the environment, and animals. The film was followed by a panel discussion featuring producer Jamie Berger, the Waterkeeper Alliance’s Larry Baldwin, and local environmental attorney, Manny Rutinel.

   

Research

• Ag Gag Past, Present, and Future (Justin Marceau)

  While the animal rights and food justice movements are relatively young, their political unpopularity has generated a steady onslaught of legislation designed to curtail their effectiveness. At each stage of their nascent development, these movements have confronted a new wave of criminal or civil sanctions carefully tailored to combat the previous successes the movements had achieved.

  Through this descriptive essay, Professor Justin Marceau reviews the history of animal rights advocacy and prosecution, describes the agricultural disparagement, or "meat libel," statutes, and discusses both the current status and future of Ag Gag legislation.

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• Animal Rights and the Victimhood Trap (Justin Marceau)

  Through this Article, Professor Justin Marceau examines the work of a notable segment of the animal-law field, which has prioritized law and policy achievements that recognize animals as victims of crime. On the one hand, animals are unquestionably victims. They endure considerable suffering at the hands of humans, and civil liability or non-carceral recognition of this victimhood is a distinct topic. The question this Article takes up, by contrast, is whether the crime victims' rights framing — imbued as it is with the rhetoric and logics of a tough-on-crime movement — represents a material gain for animals. Is the victims' rights turn in animal law exclusively or primarily rhetorical or expressive, or are there concrete, measurable gains for animals?

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• Beyond Cages: Animal Law and Criminal Punishment (Justin Marceau)

  For all the diversity of views within the animal protection movement, there is a surprising consensus about the need for more severe criminal justice interventions against animal abusers. More prosecutions and longer sentences, it is argued, will advance the status of animals in law and society. In Beyond Cages: Animal Law and Criminal Punishment (Cambridge UP, 2019), Professor Justin Marceau demonstrates that a focus on 'carceral animal law' puts the animal rights movement at odds with other social justice movements, and may be bad for humans and animals alike.

  For a review of this publication by legal scholar Angela Fernandez, click the button below.

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• Carceral Logics: Human Incarceration and Animal Captivity (Justin Marceau)

  Carceral logics permeate our thinking about humans and nonhumans. We imagine that greater punishment will reduce crime and make society safer. We hope that more convictions and policing for animal crimes will keep animals safe and elevate their social status. The dominant approach to human-animal relations is governed by an unjust imbalance of power that subordinates or ignores the interest nonhumans have in freedom.

  In this volume Lori Gruen and Justin Marceau invite experts to provide insights into the complicated intersection of issues that arise in thinking about animal law, violence, mass incarceration, and social change. Advocates for enhancing the legal status of animals could learn a great deal from the history and successes (and failures) of other social movements. Likewise, social change lawyers, as well as animal advocates, might learn lessons from each other about the interconnections of oppression as they work to achieve liberation for all.

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• Cost-Effectiveness in Animal Health (Govind Persad)

  Through this chapter of The Routledge Handbook of Animal Ethics, Professor Govind Persad evaluates the ethical issues that using cost-effectiveness considerations to set animal health priorities might present, and its conclusions are cautiously optimistic. While using cost-effectiveness calculations in animal health is not without ethical pitfalls, these calculations offer a pathway toward more rigorous priority-setting efforts that allow money spent on animal well-being to do more good. Although assessing quality of life for animals may be more challenging than in humans, implementing prioritization based on cost-effectiveness is less ethically fraught.

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• Friends of Every Friendless Beast Carceral Animal Law and the Funding of Prosecutors (Justin Marceau)

  In the mid-nineteenth century, the founder of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Henry Bergh, saw criminal punishment as the lynchpin of the protection of animals. Bergh lobbied the New York legislature for the adoption of animal cruelty laws, and took it on himself to enforce those laws. Animal law has evolved considerably since then, but Bergh’s tactics have experienced a renaissance. The animal protection movement's reliance on criminal law and incarceration to prop up animal status is the subject of a book-length critique by Professor Justin Marceau in Beyond Cages: Animal Law and Criminal Punishment.

  Picking up on the book's call for greater scholarly attention to the relationship between criminal justice and animal protection, this essay focuses scrutiny on three aspects of the modern animal protection's fixation with criminal justice: (1) the animal protection movement's renewed interest in privatizing the prosecutorial function; (2) the view that by framing the animal as a victim, social change will be more readily possible; and (3) more generally, the view that prosecutors will serve as catalysts for the sort of radical social change the animal protection movement is pursuing.

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• High Value Lies, Ugly Truths, and the First Amendment (Alan Chen & Justin Marceau)

  Lying has a complicated relationship with the First Amendment. It is beyond question that some lies such as perjury and fraud are simply not covered by the Constitution's free speech clause. But it is equally clear that some lies — even intentionally lying about military honors — are entitled to First Amendment protection. Until very recently, however, it has been taken for granted in Supreme Court doctrine and academic writing that any constitutional protection for lies is purely prophylactic — it provides protection to the truth-speaker by also incidentally protecting the liar. What remains unresolved is whether other rationales might also justify First Amendment protection for lies.

  Through this article, Professors Justin Marceau and Alan Chen argue that some lies — what they call high value lies — have instrumental value that advances the goals underlying freedom of speech. The article develops a trifurcated doctrinal taxonomy of constitutional protection for lies. Some misrepresentations receive no protection at all; some false statements are protected only because the protection of the liar ensures that the speech of the truthful person is not indirectly chilled; and, in their view, some lies must be protected for their own sake. This framework is descriptively novel and doctrinally important because Professors Marceau and Chen provide the first comprehensive look at the wide range of lies that may raise First Amendment issues in the wake of United States v. Alvarez, and analyze the proper level of constitutional scrutiny applicable to regulations of each type of lie. Beyond doctrine, they advance the thesis that constitutional protection for high value lies is firmly rooted in First Amendment theory because false speech can paradoxically facilitate or produce truth.

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• Killing For Your Dog (Justin Marceau)

  Legal fields as divergent as family law, torts, contracts, and trusts have each, to varying degrees, addressed the unique legal status of pets. The rights and obligations of pet owners are a topic of increasing legal interest. Even the criminal law has grappled with the uniqueness of animals, to a limited extent, by criminalizing animal abuse. Legal developments such as these tend to counter the anachronistic view that animals are merely property. However, substantial pockets of the law have not yet grappled with the unique status of animals as something more than property but, perhaps, less than human.

  Through this Article, Professor Justin Marceau is the first to analyze the operation of the criminal defenses — the doctrines of exculpation — for persons who use serious, or even lethal, force in defense of their pets. By exploring the intersection of criminal defenses and the status of animals, the ambiguities in our common law doctrines of exculpation and the status of animals in America become apparent. The Article is less an argument for greater animal rights (or increased violence) and more a call to understand how the law’s current treatment of pets and pet owners is discordant with our social values and in need of reassessment.

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• Pardoning Dogs (Sarah Schindler)

  Through this Article, Professor Sarah Schindler is the first to consider extending the pardon power to non-human animals, and the expressive function such an act might carry with it. This work analyzes the limits of the pardon power, and specifically the power of the chief executive to pardon a dog.

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• Smithfield Trial Juror Interviews

  In September of 2022, Wayne Hsiung and Paul Darwin Picklesimer were put on trial for removing two pigs from a Smithfield production facility. The pigs were removed, given veterinary care, and are now living out their lives in a sanctuary. Despite the fact that there is video footage showing the pigs being removed from the facility, a Utah jury unanimously acquitted both Paul and Wayne of all charges, which included burglary and theft.

  The verdict has been celebrated by activists as recognizing a "right to rescue," and the case has been decried by factory farms as justifying, even encouraging, more efforts to rescue animals. The case has also been covered repeatedly by the New York Times, and it has spurred legislation in Utah attempting to prevent acquittals in similar circumstances in the future. This trial and the resulting acquittal are landmark moments for the field of animal law. Indeed, the very definition of animal law, or what it means to use the law to protect animals and improve their social standing, could be shaped by this case, or the backlash to the case, or the response by activists to the backlash from the case. The acquittal marks a rare win in a high stakes case for those who seek to shine a light on industrial animal slaughter.

  As part of an effort to memorialize the case and preserve the insights that can be gleamed from the process, the University of Denver's Animal Law Program took up the project of formally interviewing the jurors from the Smithfield trial. Professor Justin Marceau formally interviewed every juror who volunteered to participate in an interview within two months of the trial. Five jurors agreed to be interviewed. What follows are transcripts of the interviews. The IRB process at the University of Denver was fully complied with. The interviews are anonymized and have been modified slightly to remove any identifying information and to improve readability, but otherwise reflect a verbatim transcription.

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• What Can Animal Law Learn from Environmental Law? 2nd Edition (Jess Beaulieu)

  With its intricate layers of international, federal, and state protections, environmental law is more established than animal law. Yet, animal law faces many of the same legal and strategic challenges that environmental law faced in seeking to establish a more secure foothold in the United States and abroad. As such, animal law stands to gain valuable insights from the lessons of the environmental law movement.
  
  In the Second Edition of this book, Professor Randall S. Abate has assembled an experienced team of academics, advocates, and legal professionals from the environmental and animal law fields to examine the experiences of these two fields. Jess Beaulieu is one of those contributing authors and through her chapter examines how wildlife can be protected through the Public Trust Doctrine, and more specifically, what animal law can learn from Juliana v. United States.

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Media & Reports

Animal Law Program Annual Reports

2021-2022     |     2022-2023

• Jurors’ Reflections on the Smithfield Piglet Rescue Trial

  A qualitative analysis of interviews with five jurors who sat on the trial regarding the alleged theft of two piglets from a Smithfield Foods factory farm.

• Denver Law Students Join the ASPCA to Advocate for Animal Welfare Laws in Colorado

  The Sturm College of Law recently collaborated with the ASPCA Government Relations team for a two-part legislative advocacy event.

  On February 10, we co-hosted a luncheon presentation, where the ASPCA and special guests, First Gentleman Marlon Reis, Rep. Valdez, and Rep. Bird, discussed animal welfare laws in Colorado, how the legislative process works, and how students can get involved. We had a tremendous turnout with a number of students excited to get involved and eager to learn more about career paths in animal welfare.

  

  
  As an extension of the collaboration, on February 16, a group of seven Denver Law students joined the ASPCA at the Colorado State Capitol for a lobby day, where students sat in on a live hearing, met with several legislators, and had the privilege of chatting with First Gentleman Marlon Reis and Colorado Governor Jared Polis. The also listened in on a Colorado Legislative Animal Welfare (CLAW) Caucus meeting where the ASPCA introduced their policy work.

  

  
  We look forward to our continued collaboration with the ASPCA to continue driving awareness and engagement in animal welfare legislation in Colorado!

• Animal Rights Issues

  An Evolving Topic Podcast

  Humans are animals — animals with rights. So what kinds of rights do non-human animals deserve? The right to liberty? The right to nurse their young? The right to socialize?

  In this podcast, animal rights experts Sarah Schindler and Steve Wise are interviewed about chimps, cats, and personhood. They discuss common law, Jurassic Park, Ancient Rome, woolly mammoths, and the Animal Welfare Act of 1966.

  Listen Here

  
  What Happy the Elephant's Legal Case Tells Us About the Future of Animal Rights

  Justin Marceau and Angela Fernandez discuss how Happy became the first animal to have a case for animal rights decided by a court of last resort in North America. New York's highest court, the New York Court of Appeals, unequivocally recognized that "elephants are intelligent beings deserving of proper care and compassion" and noted that under existing law, "they are not the equivalent of 'things' or 'objects.'"

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• Factory Farming News

  An Animal Rights Activist Was in Court on Criminal Charges. Why Was the Case Suddenly Dismissed?

  "Matt's investigation of ventilation shutdown is probably the most important [factory farm] investigation in more than a decade," said Justin Marceau.

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  Animal Rights Activists Rescued Two Piglets from Slaughter. They Wanted to Get Caught.

  "Major institutions like the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Humane Society of the United States pushed to criminalize discrete animal abuse while generally leaving 'the capitalist structures that were pushing animal exploitation' unconfronted," said Justin Marceau.

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  Why the Anti–Factory Farming Movement Needs Direct Action

  By breaking unjust laws, activists want to confront a jury of regular citizens with the question: "Is it really right to send someone to prison for saving a suffering animal?" This is hard to do when regressive judges suppress evidence of animal cruelty, but as animal law scholar Justin Marceau asserts, it only takes one judge ruling a different way to start to change that.

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  Five Things to Know About the SCOTUS Challenge to California's Ban on Extreme Farm Animal Confinement

  "Given that a strong case can (and will through amicus briefs) be made that animal welfare is an extremely substantial interest, it would seem under existing law that the law would be upheld," Justin Marceau from the University of Denver said. But that's if the court adheres to the established doctrine on interstate commerce, which he called "a big if."

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• University of Denver Magazine Articles

  Animal Law Program

  At DU's Sturm College of Law, a new program trains a lens on animal rights.

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  Philip Tedeschi

  After years of service to the DU and Denver communities, Philip Tedeschi's companion and coworker, Samara, is retiring. Over the years, she's helped build bridges with people experiencing homelessness, and created a safe space for people recovering from trauma.

  Read Here