Discussion with Leslie Rule and Gabriel Silva Moderated by Dr Raffael Fasel and Dr Sean Butler

Описание: This discussion with Leslie Rule (Council Member, Ojai, USA) and Gabriel Silva (former MP, Vamos Coalition, Panama) moderated by Dr Raffael Fasel and Dr Sean Butler (University of Cambridge, Co-Directors of the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law) was part of the 'Exploring enacted animal rights laws' block at our Centre's European Animal Rights Law Conference 2025.

About the speakers:
Gabriel Silva is a Panamanian politician, lawyer, and co-founder of the Vamos Coalition. He served as Congressman (2019-2024), where he became one of the youngest and most productive legislators, authoring landmark laws on education, mental health, conflict of interest, creative economy, rights of nature, and more. A strong advocate for transparency and LGBTQ+ rights, he has led the Independent Caucus and multiple committees. He also co-founded Teach for Panama and other NGOs, and currently works as Of Counsel at LOVILL.

Leslie Rule is an Ojai California City Council member. As an Ojai California City Council member and in collaboration with the Nonhuman Rights Project, Rule shepherded legislation granting elephants the right of bodily liberty - the US's first such law. She also passed Ojai's Rights of Nature ordinance, advancing natural entities as rights holders. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley and Harvard College where she studied existential phenomenology. Her ties to the UK legal system remain strong through her son, Thomas Mallon, a barrister practicing at Henderson Chambers in London.

About the moderators:
Dr Sean Butler is an Emeritus Fellow of St Edmund's College, Cambridge. He studied Law at Oxford and the LSE, Genetics at Cambridge, and holds a PhD in social science from Imperial College London. His expertise lies in intellectual property strategy in life sciences and technology-based start-ups. He is CEO of Cambridge Agritech, an investor syndicate in agritech ventures. A former Director of Studies in Law at St Edmund's, he continues to teach Roman Law and Animal Rights Law.

Dr Raffael Fasel is Assistant Professor in Public Law at the University of Cambridge, a Fellow of Jesus College, and holder of an SNSF Ambizione grant. He previously taught at Jesus College and the LSE. He gained hisPhD in Law from Cambridge (Yorke Prize), focusing on the history and theory of human and animal rights. He also holds degrees in law and philosophy from theUniversity of Fribourg, University College London, and Yale Law School. He co-directs the Centre.

The Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law is an academic centre dedicated to the study, understanding and promotion of fundamental rights for non-human animals, based in Cambridge, UK. Find more information at https://animalrightslaw.org/

The views expressed in these presentations are those of the respective speakers and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law.