Logo European Institute for Animal Law & Policy

A Brussels-based think tank to assist governments and NGOs in achieving better treatment for animals.

The first think tank specializing in animal law & policy based in Brussels, Belgium dedicated to assisting organizations advance the interests of animals in European law and policy.

The European Institute for Animal Law & Policy (Animal Law Europe) provides expert research, training, public affairs, and monitoring services to nonprofits, public administrations, and private companies to help them achieve better treatment for animals.

Our mission is to guide all parties involved in rule-making that affects the treatment of animals, such as legislation and regulations, private standards, or non-written common industry practices.

Our expertise focuses non-human animals used for all types of exploitative purposes: food and fiber, entertainment, science, and companionship, as well as wild animals, which are increasingly harvested as commodities.

Animal Law Europe is driven by values of non-violence, and the alleviation of suffering and exploitation. We also support and promote the development of animal law as an autonomous legal and academic discipline.

What we do

The European Institute for Animal Law & Policy provides your organization with the best service to bolster your work, always with the view of advancing the interests of animals.

  • Animal Law Europe provides top-notch legal research services in French and English, under the form of hourly consultations and weekly to monthly research projects.

    Deliverables are tailored to the clients’ needs. Formats include memoranda, reports, white papers, and oral presentation.

  • Animal Law Europe provides strategic expertise to assist clients in implementing legal and regulatory reforms.

    We identify upcoming reform opportunities and map out relevant actors whose actions can affect lawmaking (“stakeholders”). We then connect our clients to our vast network of professionals within the industry and the EU institutions.

    Animal Law Europe also advises clients in building advocacy pleas and pitching them to stakeholders.

  • Animal Law Europe’s core mission is to empower its clients through training and education. Training solutions are custom-made, for all levels and all group sizes.
    Available courses include animal law and European law classes for all levels, as well as practical sessions that would teach professionals how to navigate the EU institutions and its law-making process.

    Our goal is to make our clients more performant in their daily work in the short term, and fully autonomous in the longer term.

  • We provide monitoring services to EU Public Affairs professionals.

    Our targeted updates include ongoing and prospective public consultations, court rulings (European Court of Justice, European Court of Human Rights, and national courts when relevant to EU law), scientific publications, industry and NGO campaigns, and calls for contributions to publications or events.

Areas of work

    • The treatment of animals for food purposes in law and policies, including EU animal welfare legislation, the EU Green Deal and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
    • Animal welfare standards in voluntary certifications, such as the EU Organic and the EU Quality Signs regulations
    • The regulation of consumer information pertaining to the treatment of farm animals used as ingredients for food production, such as front-of-pack labeling
    • The treatment of animals for fiber purposes in law and policies
    • The regulation of the production and commercialization of alternatives to conventionally-farmed animal source products (plant-based and cell-based)
    • Efforts to contain and combat legal exemptions (including common industry practices and traditions)
    • The legal treatment of animals used for scientific purposes
    • The regulation of alternatives to in vivo models
    • The EU and Member States policies to phase out animal-based science
    • The legal treatment of wild animals in captivity for entertainment purposes (zoos, circuses, film industry, etc.)
    • The legal treatment of animals used in traditions and rites (bullfighting, cockfighting, ritual slaughters, etc.)
    • Laws and policies to curb biodiversity extinction
    • Laws and policies to combat wildlife trafficking
    • The laws and regulation regarding private ownership of wild animals
    • The legal treatment of so-called “invasive species”
    • Hunting laws
    • International law and policy instruments regulating the treatment of animals as tradable goods and natural ressources (UN Conventions, OIE Codes, Free Trade Agreements, etc.)
    • World Trade Organization rules and relevant interpretation of WTO agreements by the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body, and its articulation with EU and national laws

News & update

Conference's poster with a drawing representing the allegory of justice, with illustrations about agriculture. Logo: "Wageningen University & Research" Text: Conference May 25 and 26, 2023: The Future of Food Law: open for registration now!

Future of Food Conference

Alice Di Concetto will present on the topic of “Animals in the Future of EU Food Law” at the annual Future of Food Law Conference organized by Wageningen Research & University, in Wageningen (Netherlands), on May 26th.

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1024 512 Alice DiConcetto
European Journal of Consumer Law (front page)

EU Consumer Information as a Tool to Regulate the Treatment of Farm Animals

The Institute’s founder, Alice Di Concetto, co-authored a law review article with Prof. Aude-Solveig Epstein, entitled “EU Consumer Information as a Tool to Regulate the Treatment of Farm Animals: Potential and Limits.” The article was published in the European Journal of Consumer Law (2023/1).

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240 125 Alice DiConcetto
Two deer with a mountain in the background. One is looking at the camera while the other is looking at the mountain in the distance.

Our 2022 Annual Report is Out!

Our 2022 annual report is out now! This report includes a recap of our newsletters, media appearances, and our plans for the upcoming year. As we reflect upon our first year, and look forward to the next, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all our clients, donors, subscribers, and friends for your continued interest and support.

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751 735 Alice DiConcetto

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