Episodes

  • Wayne Hsiung’s Landmark Animal Rescue Appeal Wins Some, Loses Some: What It Means for the Right to Rescue

    Wayne Hsiung’s Landmark Animal Rescue Appeal Wins Some, Loses Some: What It Means for the Right to Rescue
    Jun 26 2026
    Animal law attorney and activist Wayne Hsiung joins host Mariann Sullivan along with attorneys Chris Carraway and Steffen Seitz of the University of Denver’s Animal Activist Legal Defense Project to break down the California Court of Appeals decision in Hsiung’s criminal case—a pivotal ruling that overturned two of three trespass convictions stemming from actions at Sunrise Farms and Reichardt Duck Farm,…
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    1 hr and 21 mins
  • When the Law Fails Farmworkers: J-1 Visa Exploitation, Labor Trafficking, and the Hidden Cost of Cheap Meat

    When the Law Fails Farmworkers: J-1 Visa Exploitation, Labor Trafficking, and the Hidden Cost of Cheap Meat
    May 29 2026
    In this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, host Mariann Sullivan speaks with Amal Bouhabib, senior staff attorney at FarmSTAND, about a landmark federal lawsuit involving three young men from Guatemala who were recruited to the U.S. on J-1 cultural exchange visas and subjected to dangerous working conditions, fraudulent promises, substandard housing, and coercive threats at an industrial swine operation in…
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    58 mins
  • Court Strikes Down Trump ESA Regulations — A Win for Endangered Species

    Court Strikes Down Trump ESA Regulations — A Win for Endangered Species
    Apr 24 2026
    In a landmark ruling, a federal court in the Northern District of California struck down four of six challenged Trump administration regulations that had significantly weakened the Endangered Species Act’s core enforcement mechanisms. Host Mariann Sullivan speaks with Noah Greenwald, Endangered Species Program Director at the Center for Biological Diversity, about the case — what was challenged, what the court decided,…
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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • Canada’s Live Horse Exports: Fighting for Animal Transport Law Enforcement w/ Camille Labchuk

    Canada’s Live Horse Exports: Fighting for Animal Transport Law Enforcement w/ Camille Labchuk
    Mar 27 2026
    When Canadian animal rights lawyer and Animal Justice Executive Director Camille Labchuk discovered that a Manitoba horse exporter had shipped 97 horses to Japan in December 2022 — on a rerouted flight projected to exceed Canada’s 28-hour transport limit and without a legally required contingency plan covering the full journey — she did something almost unheard of in Canadian animal law:…
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • Understanding EU Farmed Animal Welfare with Dr. Neil Dullaghan

    Understanding EU Farmed Animal Welfare with Dr. Neil Dullaghan
    Feb 27 2026
    In this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, Mariann Sullivan sits down with Dr. Neil Dullaghan, political scientist and author of The Compassion Mandate: Remaking the European Union’s Leadership on Farmed Animal Welfare. Together, they explore the complexities and challenges of EU farmed animal policies. This episode explores: The historical progress and current state of farmed animal welfare in the EU.…
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • A Case of Significant Evil: Animal Law, Activism, and Constitutional Rights

    A Case of Significant Evil: Animal Law, Activism, and Constitutional Rights
    Jan 30 2026
    In this compelling episode, Mariann Sullivan interviews Wayne Hsiung and attorney Steffen Seitz about Wayne’s conviction following animal rescues at factory farms in California. The case hinges on several groundbreaking legal arguments, including the judge’s refusal to allow a necessity defense for rescuing suffering animals, constitutional concerns about the treatment of veganism as a belief system, and First Amendment implications for…
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    1 hr and 19 mins
  • The Case of the Lobster, a “Living, Sentient Creature”

    The Case of the Lobster, a “Living, Sentient Creature”
    Dec 26 2025
    In a bold legal challenge that could redefine animal protection law, PETA is taking on the Maine Lobster Festival for steaming 16,000 lobsters alive on public parkland. The case hinges on Maine’s unique animal cruelty statute that protects “every living sentient creature” – a definition that evolves with scientific understanding. PETA’s Director of Litigation, Asher Smith, explains their creative approach using…
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    54 mins
  • Animals and the Constitution with Michael Dorf

    Animals and the Constitution with Michael Dorf
    Nov 28 2025
    In this intellectually stimulating episode of the Animal Law Podcast, Mariann Sullivan speaks with constitutional law expert Michael Dorf about his innovative course “Animals and the Constitution.” Dorf shares how fundamental legal principles intersect with animal protection, revealing both the limitations and opportunities within our constitutional framework for advancing animal rights. This episode explores: Constitutional standing for animals: How courts determine…
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    1 hr and 3 mins