Center for Animal Rights and the Environment (CARE)

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CARE welcomes John Hader, Katherine Hermans and Finn Nina Hasler to its team. Bringing diverse academic and professional backgrounds, they strengthen CARE's research and coordination activities.

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On 15 January 2026, CARE celebrated its official launch with the international conference “Animal Rights: Between Idealism and Realism” at Casinotheater Winterthur. Around 100 participants came together to discuss current issues in animal rights.

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The “Defund Meat” symposium on Verfassungsblog brings together contributions examining public funding and support for the meat industry. The symposium opens with an introductory article by CARE Director Saskia Stucki, outlining the idea behind “Defund Meat”.

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CARE is a third-party funded research and learning center. We thank Martin Haefner, Dr. Florentina Dietrich and the Haldimann-Stiftung for their generous donations, which enable the long-term funding of CARE.

We welcome expressions of interest from scholars whose work broadly connects with CARE’s research at the intersection of animal rights, human rights, and the environment. If you are interested in a visiting research stay with us, please get in touch with a brief outline of your proposed project, your CV, and your preferred dates. Visiting research stays are primarily self-funded, though limited scholarships may be available for scholars from the Global South.

CARE welcomes expressions of interest from visiting researchers whose work connects with animal rights, human rights and the environment. Stays are primarily self-funded, but limited scholarships may be available for scholars from the Global South.

Further Information on the Visiting Researchers Programme

• 15 January 2026 Animal Rights: Between Idealism and Realism, Inaugural conference of the Center for Animal Rights and the Environment

What guidelines and trends shape Swiss case law on animal rights? How are key concepts such as “animal dignity” or “animal welfare” interpreted, and what role do they play in case law? The research project “Animal Case Law in Switzerland” examines relevant court decisions to find answers to these questions.

About the project

The CARE Workshop offers established and early-career researchers a forum to present work-in-progress and research ideas in animal law and discuss them in a small, collegial setting. The hybrid workshop is open to international and interdisciplinary researchers. The workshops seek to foster academic exchange and provide space for constructive feedback.

Further information on individual workshops will follow.

The Praxis-Workshops aim to bring together researchers and practitioners to discuss current questions and challenges in animal welfare law. The exchange is intended to make research findings useful in practice while also providing new perspectives for future applied research.

Further information on topics and dates will follow.

Agora Animalia – A Forum for Questions about Animals, Law and Society

Agora Animalia provides a space for open dialogue between academia and the public on questions concerning animals, their rights and their role in society.

CARE invites everyone interested to discuss current issues and developments relating to animals, law and society.

Please note: Events are held in German.

The CARE Award is awarded yearly to an outstanding scholarly publication in the field of animal rights law (or closely related areas) selected by an international jury. More information on eligibility and a call for nominations will follow soon.

ZHAW students interested in writing a bachelor’s thesis on a topic related to animal law are invited to contact us with an initial topic idea or to discuss possible topics.