The Rutgers Animal Rights Law Project, launched in 1990, provided law students with academic credit for work on real cases involving the legal status of non-human animals. Gary L. Francione, an American academic born in New York in 1954, spearheaded this initiative to apply his theoretical work on abolitionism to the practical sphere of litigation.
Academic and Legal Career
Francione earned his Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from the University of Rochester and later received his Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law. During his time at Virginia, he served as articles editor of the Virginia Law Review. His early professional experience included clerking for Judge Albert Tate, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and for Justice Sandra Day O'Connor of the U.S. Supreme Court. He practiced law at the firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore before entering academia, where he joined the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1984, earning tenure three years later. In 1989, he moved to Rutgers University.
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In 1989, Francione became the first academic to teach animal rights theory in an American law school. His scholarship centers on the premise that animals currently exist as human property, a status that renders legal protections for their interests largely ineffective. He argues that existing laws regulating animal treatment primarily serve to facilitate their use as commodities by ensuring they remain economically viable. He posits that the only meaningful moral shift involves acknowledging sentience as the sole criterion for basic protection, thereby rejecting the necessity of complex cognitive characteristics.
Critique of Animal Welfare
Francione distinguishes between the abolitionist approach and what he terms the new welfarist position. He contends that efforts to regulate animal exploitation under the guise of humane treatment are counterproductive, as they mask the reality of animal use and decrease public concern. His work, including titles such as Animals, Property, and the Law and Rain Without Thunder, emphasizes veganism as the moral baseline for the movement. He frames the animal rights movement as a continuation of the peace movement, advocating for non-violence and the recognition of non-human animals as ends in themselves rather than resources.
Fast facts
- Born: 1954, New York
- Citizenship: United States
- Alma Mater: University of Rochester, University of Virginia School of Law
- Notable Membership: Phi Beta Kappa Society
- Academic Fields: Law, Philosophy
- Key Movement: Abolitionism
- Employers: Rutgers University, University of Pennsylvania, University of Rochester
Questions readers ask
What is the core of Francione's abolitionist theory?
He argues that animals should not be regarded as human property and that veganism is the moral baseline required to end their use as resources.
How does he view animal welfare regulation?
He believes such regulations are practically and theoretically unsound, as they serve to make the public comfortable with continued exploitation.
Achievements
- Held posts at Rutgers University, University of Pennsylvania and University of Rochester
