University of Birmingham Hosts the Paula Sparks World Moot on International Law and Animal Rights

The Paula Sparks World Moot on International Law and Animal Rights took place from 10–12 March at Birmingham Law School, hosted by the Multispecies Collective. The event brought together leading researchers, practitioners, and students for three days of expert talks, panel discussions, and competitive mooting.

The Sparks Moot is the world’s first global competition dedicated to legal advocacy and policy negotiation on animal rights. Alongside its international mooting rounds, the initiative offers specialised training programmes that integrate traditional legal frameworks with contemporary debates in animal protection. Its aim is to equip future practitioners with the skills needed to navigate complex legal, ethical, and policy challenges affecting animals and the environment.

This year’s event combined policy negotiation exercises and courtroom‑style moots with a programme of lectures and panels delivered by experts from across law, policy, and animal protection. Key themes included international and constitutional law, comparative animal law, social policy, animal ethics, and animal science.

Distinguished speakers included Anees Ahmed, Chief of the Rule of Law and Security Institutions at the United Nations Mission in South Sudan; Karla Andrade Quevedo, Vice President of the Constitutional Court of Ecuador; and Professor David Bilchitz, former Acting Judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa.

Reflecting on the significance of the event, Dr Iyan Offor, founder of the Multispecies Collective, said: “Mooting competitions are one of the ways aspiring legal professionals can gain training in creative and progressive thinking about the interpretation, application and evolution of the law. This is a crucial skill for those considering how law can respond to some of today’s most pressing societal issues, including public, planetary, and animal health.”

Anees Ahmed, Chief of the Rule of Law and Security Institutions at the United Nations Mission in South Sudan

The Sparks Moot was hosted at the University as part of the Multispecies Collective’s events programme, which invites partners to collaborate with its researchers in delivering large‑scale initiatives on campus. Its arrival follows the Collective’s relaunch on 5 March, marking Birmingham Law School as its new institutional home.

The event strengthened connections across the Collective’s global network and highlighted the University of Birmingham’s growing role in shaping the future of animal and environmental law.

This story was also shared by the University of Birmingham