Sheep are among the most familiar animals in Europe, yet their legal status depends on the category in which they are placed. When grazing in a field, they might be treated as part of agricultural property. When used for wool or meat production, they are classified as commodities subject to trade and animal welfare regulations. However, as potential carriers of diseases like scrapie or foot-and-mouth disease, sheep are governed by biosecurity rules that prioritize public health over animal well-being.

These shifting categories raise profound questions: How can the same being simultaneously represent economic utility, legal risk, and a living, sentient creature? And what does it mean for the law to treat sheep not as individuals, but as food products that can be bought and sold?

This leads us to the more general question: do animals have legal rights? And if so, who can represent them in court? 

We will discuss these and other questions during the Summer School in Animal Law, Rights and Representation at the University of Antwerp. You will get a comprehensive overview of animal law as a legal discipline, familiarize yourself with the different theories of animal rights law, and think about ways to represent animals in court. You will also get the chance to defend animals yourself in a moot court setting, before a professional jury.

The Summer School is organised by Dr Eva Bernet Kempers, (postdoctoral researcher in Animal Law at the University of Antwerp and Junior Research Associate at the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law), who teaches the sessions together with several international guest lecturers who will be announced soon.

Find out more!​