Social Justice and Legal Responsibility for Animals

At its core, social justice broadly captures the ethos that everyone deserves equal rights, treatment, and opportunities, regardless of background or identity. Its aim is to create a just society with a collective conscience, where resources and opportunities are equitably shared rather than concentrated in the hands of a few. Achieving change requires systemic socio-legal-economic shifts.

As a longstanding animal lawyer and educator, my goal is to extend social justice to the furry, fluked, winged, and hooved animals with whom we share this planet. Animals must be seen through a wider social justice lens that embraces fairness, compassion, and ethical treatment for all sentient beings. How we treat animals reflects how just we are as a society. Expanding the moral-legal circle to include animals aligns with the broader goal of justice for all.

While traditional social justice movements concentrate on human rights, an expanded vision should include animals, reflecting an interconnected reality or a “One World, One Health” approach that connects health of animals, people and the earth.

Human Responsibility Toward Animals

Just as social justice demands fair treatment for all humans, it should also call for maximizing kindness and minimizing any harm to animals. Humans need to take responsibility, and this means challenging legal loopholes, cultural practices and industry norms that permit cruelty, such as in factory farming, laboratory testing and other exploitative industries.

Recognizing animals as sentient stakeholders in law is essential to a just society. Systemic legal reform recognizing animals as sentient beings deserving of moral and humane legal considerations should become embedded in the fabric of social justice. As The Honourable Catherine Fraser, OAE, KC, wrote in the Foreword to Canadian Animal Law:

“We can hardly claim the right to use animals for our needs or pleasure without accepting that we are then responsible—at a bare minimum—for treating them humanely throughout their lives. To meet this responsibility, we must, and can, do more to ensure a better future for the animals with whom we share this earth.”

The erudite words of the former Chief Justice of Alberta are a reminder that reform includes humans taking responsibility for animals.

How Animals Intersect with Social Justice

1. Intersectionality
   Social justice concerns like climate change and exploitation are linked to animal welfare. For example, factory farming pollutes communities, exploits marginalized workers, and inflicts suffering on billions of animals.  Slaughterhouse workers witness animal suffering daily, highlighting interconnected harms to humans and animals in the same system.
2. Access to Justice
   While individuals and corporations can participate in the legal system, animals, who lack legal standing, cannot. Without wider reforms granting animals access to justice, their interests remain overlooked.
3. Legal and Institutional Reform
   Social justice movements demand systemic change for marginalized humans. Animal advocates similarly seek stronger laws, protections, and enforcement to promote humane treatment.
4. Cultural Norms
   Challenging harmful traditions, whether against humans or animals, is part of social justice. Questioning entrenched practices is crucial to aligning society’s values with equity and compassion.
5. Indigenous Legal Traditions and Knowledge
   Broadly speaking, Indigenous knowledge emphasizes reciprocal relationships with animals, which sharply contrasts with colonial laws that view animals as mere property.

Three Examples of Socio-Legal Progress for Animals in B.C.

Expanding the circle of concern to include animals complements social justice’s wider purpose: building a world that is inclusive, ethical, and compassionate for all. The good news is that progress is happening in small but significant ways. Nearly a decade ago, when I first began teaching animal law at UBC’s Peter A. Allard School of Law, our seminar was included among several that form part of the social justice stream. Our Animal Law course continues to thrive, and I remain deeply inspired by my students, who are grounded in the principles of animal equity and social justice. Their commitment and insight give me hope for a more compassionate and equitable future for all beings.

The inclusion of legal considerations for companion animals in B.C.’s family law legislation in pet ownership disputes is another example of a socio-legal shift. Companion animals are now seen as more than inanimate property like toasters through the contextual “best interest for all concerned” standard.

We are proud to have established Canada’s first Animal Law Pro Bono Clinic with the Law Students’ Legal Advice Program in B.C. This pioneering project celebrated its fifth anniversary in autumn 2025. It provides free legal assistance to low-income clients with animal-related issues, strengthening the bridge between animal welfare and access to justice. We were honoured to celebrate milestones with leaders in the legal community: our first anniversary with the Honourable Chief Justice (as he then was) Robert Bauman, KC and our third birthday with B.C.’s Attorney General, the Honourable Niki Sharma, KC. Their presence underscores that senior members of the legal profession recognize animal protection as integral to justice. 

From shifting legal norms to expanding public awareness, the momentum to integrate animals into social justice is building. When people take responsibility for the most vulnerable, human or non-human, we take a significant step forward toward a more just society for all.