Year in Review

SALDF had a busy and fruitful 2007-2008 season. Heather Veleanu of the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida gave a lecture on dog fighting, the Michael Vick controversy, and upcoming Florida legislation dealing with animal welfare. In September, SALDF executive board officers and members attended the 15th Annual Animal Law Conference hosted by Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, OR. Topics covered at the conference included Advancing Criminal Prosecutions, Factory Farms, and Fighting Breed Specific Legislation: Addressing the Real Issues Behind "Dangerous Dogs." For more information about the conference, visit http://www.lclark.edu/org/saldf/conference.html.   SALDF VP of Community Affairs, Jessica Klein, and SALDF VP of Events, Jane Graham, represented SALDF at the University of Miami Canes Carnival, where neighborhood kids enjoyed playing “Bunny Bucketball” for candy.  SALDF had a vegan bake sale fundraiser, offering a variety of delicious cupcakes, brownies, carrot cake, and other goodies, all of which were homemade by SALDF members. In February, SALDF VP of Events Jane Graham participated in the 2008 Animal Law Closing Argument Competition at Harvard Law School. For more information on the competition, visit: http://www.lclark.edu/org/ncal/mootcourt.html. In March, guest speaker, Lt. Sherry Schlueter of the Broward Sheriff's Office discussed the investigation of animal cruelty cases, lobbying for the passage of Florida’s felony animal cruelty statute, and the link between animal cruelty and domestic violence. Throughout the year, SALDF members volunteered at the Humane Society of Greater Miami, Soffer and Fine Adoption Center.  SALDF also collected donations for The Humane Society of Greater Miami and Miami-Dade Animal Services as part of the Canes Angels program. On April 18th, SALDF hosted its annual Spring Symposium. This year, it was ‘Balancing Animal Law and the First Amendment: A Double Edged Sword”. See SALDF’s blog at http://saldf.umlaw.net/ for more details.

President: Jane Graham
Vice President of Events: Nick Lewis
Vice President of Community Affairs: Laura Tsai
Publicity Chair: Megan Hamilton
Treasurer: Angelica Fiorentino

Historian: Jonathan Tanoos