Paula Sparks World Moot on International Law and Animal Rights (WMILAR)

The WMILAR combines traditional aspects of International Law (including but not limited to International Human Rights Law and International Environmental Law) with contemporary issues of animal rights. It does so through a mooting competition aimed at law students, and a 2-pronged training course aimed at law students and law teachers. Driven by our mission to ensure full recognition and protection for animal personhood and rights, the WMILAR equips future lawyers to effectively advocate for animal interests through an understanding of the intricacies of interdependence, competition, and conflict that exist among the inhabitants of our planet. Without such holistic understanding, solid legal arguments cannot be made and legal battles cannot be won. Our main objectives: Train future generations of lawyers in animal rights research and advocacy from a globalized perspective. Highlight issues of animal rights and their interrelationship with other global concerns such as human rights and environmental protection. This can also help current and future judges get exposed to developing animal rights arguments so they are better prepared to adjudicate when the matters reach their courtrooms. Ensure the unified, rather than fragmented, development of International Animal Rights Law as an emerging field, by bringing together lawyers and law students from across the world to learn from each other's perspectives and strategies, and engage in meaningful discussions on animal rights. Build capacity in regions with underdeveloped or developing mooting cultures and/or Animal Law. We do the former by offering training to law students and coaches, and by encouraging easy access to moot court participation at accessible bases in geopolitical regions across the world. And we do the latter by introducing Animal Law everywhere, including places where it is a new discipline, so law students can engage in the debate in the formative stages of their career.