“A Worldview of Animal Law”: Interview with Bruce Wagman (vegan), Part 2 of 2

“We saved 350 dogs; that made a positive impact, not just on animals. But that case was very important because it opened up the idea that this could be done, and a lot of people followed along with that.”

In 2018, over 60 percent of Californians voted for the proposition to protect farmed animal-people. “And so farm animals are being treated better because of the law, currently. And number two, they’ve given other states the knowledge that that’s a possibility.”

“There are so many challenges. Challenges include a lack of enforcement sometimes, where we’ll have an animal law, like the animal cruelty laws that exist in every state, but that they won’t be enforced sufficiently. Likewise, in a lot of states there just aren’t protective laws.” “So, many of the groups I work with are constantly trying to get new laws enacted and introduced, but if you’re not going to have people who believe in them and support them, then you’re not going to get anywhere.”

Animal-people law has become one of the fastest growing areas of study in the US, greatly due to the actions of attorneys like Bruce Wagman. “What I would say to new animal lawyers is start early and always have your eyes on the prize. What I try to do in my work is I try to place myself in the bodies of the animals I’m trying to help. And if you think about that and think about what you could do for them, then that’s going to keep you going.”

“It’s important for us each as individuals to feel like we’re not engaging in any harm to animals. I mean, I think that’s a very important psychological aspect of veganism, and it’s why I do it, because I don’t want to engage in any suffering.” “I think everybody can participate in this movement, and part of that definitely is going vegan or even going vegetarian, doing something in the direction of less harm to animals. I also think everybody can get involved with laws, with supporting laws, with programs that are supporting animals. There’s that saying that saving one dog will not change the world, but it will change that dog’s world forever. So, everybody can do that.”