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Award-winning author welcomes lawyers to age-old battle
WITH LAWYERS on their side, it is impossible to believe that justice and compassion for animals will not triumph, Nobel Prize for Literature winner John Coetzee has claimed. In a message to an…
Lawyers Weekly
WITH LAWYERS on their side, it is impossible to believe that justice and compassion for animals will not triumph, Nobel Prize for Literature winner John Coetzee has claimed.
Coetzee said that two groups had traditionally spoken out in defence of animals, being philosophers and animal activists. But he welcomed the addition of the legal profession, noting that “there has been a blossoming of conferences and symposia on the place of animals in our legal systems, courses of animal rights at law schools, books and articles everywhere.
“Philosophers are full of ideas, activists full of energy. Lawyers add a third necessary quality. They are astute, good at working out where in practice to apply ideas for maximum effect. Together thinkers, lawyers and activists make a good team,” the writer said.
He praised the legal component of organisation Voiceless, which he said has been at the forefront in the struggle to advance animal rights in Australia.
The award-winning author said the way has not been easy for those fighting for the legal rights of animals, noting that it may become more difficult. “The animal exploitation industries have huge resources behind them, and have the ear of government,” he said. But he argued that with the three intelligent groups behind the cause, he believes that justice and compassion will triumph.
