Wildlife as Property Owners: Legal Scholar Karen Bradshaw Proposes a New Conception of Animal Rights

Law Professor Karen Bradshaw (Arizona State U) discusses the innovative biodiversity solution from her book "Wildlife as Property Owners: A New Conception of Animal Rights" (Univ of Chicago Press, 2020). www.wildlifeaspropertyowners.com  This challenges the current system where only certain humans or nations are owners of the entire world. As part of the In Tune to Nature radio show, host Carrie Freeman questions Professor Bradshaw about why animals in nature need to (deserve to) be owners of the property they inhabit, how that would work within our legal system, how this is influenced by postcolonial scholarship, and some examples on land and in the sea. If wildlife were granted some legal standing as owners of their territories, their interests would be more heavily considered by human owners, land trust guardians, and the courts, having benefits for nonhuman animals as individuals and as a species group (and likely for biodiversity as a whole, including human life). These solutions are especially important in an era of mass extinction. 

This 25 minute interview was recorded in June 2021 for "In Tune to Nature" on Radio Free Georgia in Atlanta is hosted by Carrie Freeman and aired on 89.3FM-Atlanta on Wed. June 9, 2021 6:30pm EST (In Tune to Nature airs every Wednesday evening). You can donate to support this progressive, independent, non-commercial radio station at www.wrfg.org