The issue of animal rights touches numerous and varied aspects of society--ranging from underground dog fighting networks to the bottom line of corporate America--yet laws pertaining to animal treatment often are sorely lacking or sporadically enforced. In response to this void, and to educate future practitioners in issues presented in this “hotbed” of current litigation and debate, the DePaul University's College of Law has created the Dr. Florence Wissig Dunbar Program in Animal Rights Law.

The first such offering in Illinois, the Dunbar program will offer its first course this fall entitled, “Introduction to Animal Rights Law.” Topics will include a history of animal rights, legislation, constitutional law, environmental law, ethics, lobbying, as well as look at international models of animal welfare in the United Kingdom and Australia.

“Animal rights is a rather novel area of law and it is rapidly evolving,” says DePaul law professor Margit Livingston, director of the Dunbar Program and an authority on animal welfare. “With the Dunbar Program, DePaul is one of a handful of schools in this country that provides formal research and scholarship in animal rights and welfare.”

In addition to offering courses, the program will sponsor an annual essay contest for students and host conferences on animal law topics.

Chicago attorney Neal Levin will teach the program's first course. “So many practitioners today are presented with some form of an animal-related topic, yet find themselves surprisingly under equipped to competently represent their clients' interests,” he says. “The intent of this course is to teach tomorrow's lawyers how to think about animal rights in context of the law so their clients' interests will be better served.”

Levin, a 1989 DePaul law alumnus, who specializes in commercial litigation, creditors rights and asset recovery in his private practice, is also general counsel to the Friends of the David R. Lee Animal Care Shelter, the not-for-profit arm of Chicago’s Animal Care Commission, and serves on the development board of Pets are Worth Saving (PAWS). He also counsels major organizations and businesses with regard to animal welfare issues.

Some examples of jurisprudential issues involving animal rights include:

· The link between animal fighting and gang activity

· The connection between animal abuse and domestic violence and other criminal behavior.

· Humane butchering processes

· Product testing on animals

· Animals used in the entertainment industry (i.e., movies, television, circuses, zoos, etc.)

· Medical and scientific research

· Pet ownership responsibilities

· Land use and zoning ordinances

The Dr. Florence Wissig Dunbar Program in Animal Rights Law was made possible through a $25,000 gift from 1945 DePaul law alumna, Florence Wissig Dunbar. Dunbar, who earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Chicago, has enjoyed a long career as a lawyer and industrial psychologist. Currently she is an adjunct professor of ethics and jurisprudence at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. She also has worked in private practice as well as taught business law at Wilbur Wright College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago. Dunbar continues to be active in professional and civic organizations, particularly those promoting animal welfare.

The program will be officially launched at a 3 p.m. reception, April 26 at the DePaul College of Law, 25 E. Jackson 5th Floor.

Note to editors: Margit Livingston can be reached at 312/362-8746. Neal Levin can be reached at 312/421-2100.