ICARE develops practical learning opportunities for people working, or preparing to work, on legal, policy and advocacy efforts for animals and on the transition towards more just and sustainable food systems.

Our courses, workshops, seminars and lectures combine rigorous academic foundations with practical and applied learning. Depending on the programme, participants may analyse legislation and case law, examine comparative legal and policy approaches, develop advocacy strategies, work through litigation or legislative scenarios, and apply their learning to concrete issues in their own jurisdictions.

Our programmes include the Contemporary Issues in Animal Rights Law (CIARL) live and on-demand courses, the Governing the Food Systems Transition course and policy clinic, and our Litigating & Legislating for Animal Rights Seminar Series, alongside other specialised lectures, workshops and learning opportunities.

We are also expanding our capacity-building work through regionally adapted programmes, including CIARL cohorts for Africa and Latin America, with the aim of making high-quality animal rights law education more accessible and relevant across different legal, political and advocacy contexts.

Our applied programmes are primarily designed for advocates, NGO professionals, lawyers, policymakers, researchers, practitioners and advanced students who are working, or preparing to work, on issues affecting animals. At the same time, our open learning opportunities and resources make animal rights law, ethics and related fields accessible to a broader audience.

Learning should not depend solely on participation in a course.

ICARE's Resource Library brings together original educational and research-based resources designed to make foundational and useful animal law research, legal and policy developments, and key concepts in animal rights law and ethics easier to find, understand and use.

Its growing collections include Key Concepts for Animal Rights Law, Legal News About Animals, curated bibliography recommendations, and resources exploring the intersection of artificial intelligence, animal law and animal ethics.

Through these resources, we aim to help students, researchers, advocates and practitioners build their knowledge, follow developments across jurisdictions, and access information that can support their research and advocacy.

ICARE's support does not necessarily end when a course does.

Our Animal Rights and Vegan Advocacy Network (ARVAN) is a mentorship and collaboration community for ICARE course alums working to advance animal rights and food systems transition through law, policy, research and advocacy.

ARVAN provides a space for alums to remain connected, find peers and collaborators, exchange resources and experience, seek feedback on projects and strategies, and continue developing their knowledge and skills after completing an ICARE programme.

The network also includes learning and mentoring opportunities, including periodic mentee calls and a pilot 1:1 mentorship programme connecting selected alums with experienced professionals who can support their strategic and professional development.

By strengthening continued learning, collaboration and access to support, ARVAN seeks to help bridge the gap between completing a training programme and applying knowledge in real-world legal, policy and advocacy work.

ICARE conducts legal and interdisciplinary research on emerging and underexplored questions affecting animals and uses research and legal analysis to inform advocacy, policy development and public debate.

Our research examines how laws, institutions and political systems can better recognise and protect animals and their fundamental interests. Current and developing areas of work include the political representation of animals and mechanisms for democratic participation, animals in disasters and climate-related emergencies, and wider questions concerning animal rights law, legal and political representation, and systemic reform.

Where research identifies opportunities for change, we seek to translate evidence and legal expertise into practical contributions to policy and advocacy. Our work may include legal and policy analyses, research publications, policy recommendations, submissions to public consultations, engagement with decision-makers and civil society organisations, coalition work, and public advocacy.

We also respond to pressing legal and policy developments affecting animals where timely, evidence-based intervention can contribute to better decision-making. In doing so, we work independently and with partner organisations to bring animal interests into legal, political and public discussions from which they are too often excluded.

Our aim is not simply to produce research, but to make rigorous knowledge usable by those working to secure stronger legal and political protection for animals.