Empirical scientific data has now established that animals share with human beings features of intelligence, insight, and understanding, a capacity to feel pain, and emotions such as love, grief, and fear. Thus, there is an increasing concern to spread the protection of animal welfare law beyond the traditional circle of domestic animals to farm animals, circus and experimental animals and animals caught up in the corporatised processes of slaughter. This has given rise to new laws to protect animals, new organisations to speak for their rights, new challenges before the courts and through the media, new political campaigns, and the increased teaching of animal welfare law in universities. This lecture will describe how the speaker came to be more conscious of these issues, and the important role that lawyers have in advancing the interests of animals. 26 March 2013.