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Judges Say the Darndest Things!
April 15, 2021 @ 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM EDT
Great apes, elephants and cetaceans (whales and dolphins) all demonstrate autonomy – a classic hallmark of personhood. Yet the effort to recognize nonhuman animals as legal persons in courts of law remains an uphill struggle to overcome the inherent biases in how we humans view other animals.
None of us are exempt from experiencing bias, but judges are in the unique position of weighing and deciding upon scientific, philosophical and legal arguments put forth on behalf of nonhuman animals.
In its work to secure legal rights for other animals, the Nonhuman Rights Project has the unenviable task of not only delivering cogent arguments about the cognitive characteristics of elephants, great apes and cetaceans, but also overcoming inherent confirmation biases in our society about the abilities of these animals, including the “giggle factor” that prevents us from even taking the matter seriously.
In this live webinar, we will explore these issues from a scientific, philosophical and legal perspective, focusing on the ways many courtroom judges reflect our society’s biases against animals. We give examples of what judges have said that reveal this mindset. And we discuss ways we can overcome these challenges to attain legal rights for animal clients.
This webinar is a joint event between the Whale Sanctuary Project and the Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy.
Register for the webinar here.
Bring your questions, too, or send them in advance by email.
And then join us on Thursday, April 15th at 4:00 pm EDT.