The second regional rounds of the WMILAR took place at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) between 18 and 19 November 2024, bringing together top animal rights law practitioners and scholars with the brightest legal minds of the future. Hosted by the Global Environmental Law Centre (GELC) of UWC and Animal Law Reform South Africa (ALRSA), the event saw inspirational addresses and spirited mooting. University teams from South Africa and Ethiopia took part in lively mooting sessions presided over by expert judges, where these students could put their learning into practice.
Here’s a fun little highlights video.
Following a welcome from Ms. Lu Shegay of the WMILAR and Prof. Angela van der Berg of UWC, at the start of the event, an all-star opening ceremony introduced the participants to some of the most pressing issues in animal rights law.
Dr. Eduardo Kapapelo, Research Fellow at the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), delivered an inspiring address on ‘Thinking beyond Anthropocentric Nations of Justice’. This was followed by Mr. Armand Tanoh, Assistant Counsel at the International Criminal Court (ICC), who spoke convincingly on ‘The importance of Adopting and Enforcing a Wider Legal Framework to Protect Animal Rights’.
A host of respected legal professionals came together to judge the moot competition, including Prof. Angela van der Berg, Ms. Nancy Makuvise, Dr. Eduardo Kapapelo, Dr. Rochine Melandri Steenkamp, Mr. Armand Tanoh, and Ms. Ankita Shanker.
Many congratulations to all participants for their thoughtful and enthusiastic contributions. At the end of the event, the judges named the University of Cape Town (UCT) of the Republic of South Africa as the Regional Champion; and the Haramaya University of Federal Democratic Republic Ethiopia as Runners-Up. These teams will also represent Sub-Saharan Africa in the World Finals in 2025.
Congratulations too to the individual award winners: Haramaya University for Best Memorandum and Kyla Damonse from UCT for Best Oralist.
The participants won internships with Animal Advocates International (AAI), Lawyers for Animal Protection in Africa (LAPA), and the WMILARs.
At the Closing Ceremony, participants had the honour of listening to Judge David Bilchitz, former Acting Judge at the South African Constitutional Court, and Professor of Fundamental Rights and Constitutional Law, University of Johannesburg (UJ) and the University of Reading (UoR), present on ‘Transforming Non-Human Animals from Objects to Subjects: Constitutional Possibilities in South Africa’. The Closing Address of the WMILAR @ UWC was delivered by Ms. Amy P. Wilson, Acting Executive Director, Animal Law Reform South Africa (ALRSA) and Senior Adjunct Lecturer, UWC, with a masterclass on ‘Animal Law in Practice: A (South) African Perspective’.
Thanks were then given from the WMILAR’s Ms. Ankita Shanker, and from Prof. Amanda van der Berg of UWC.
One participant summed up their experience as “fascinating”. They added: “The moot program has already started to open up some important conversations in our law school about animal rights, a topic which has never before been discussed. Thank you for that.”
Another acknowledged the WMILAR’s efforts to build capacity around animal rights law in Sub-Saharan Africa. “We also want to thank you for giving Africa a chance to shine in the realm of animal rights,” they commented. “The continent is often overlooked in these discussions, and your efforts to include and highlight our perspectives are greatly appreciated.”
In fact, participating students and their coach even wrote to us to discuss ideas on implementing their learnings to helping close down a local zoo.
