Friday 20th November 2026 CASJ/Schweitzer Institute Conference Programme: ‘Acts of Omission: Assessing 20 Years of the Animal Welfare Act'

08:45 Registration & coffee

09:00 Benedict Rattigan (Schweitzer Institute) and Dr Dan Lyons (CASJ) - Welcome & Introduction 

09:30 Dr Stephen M. Gardiner (2026 Schweitzer Fellow, Peterhouse)

Research presentation: the Schweitzer Fellowship and Dr Gardiner’s current work

09:45 Rachel Hevesi (Wild Futures)

“Primates as pets - a case history illustrating the limitations of generalised legislation such as the Animal Welfare Act 2006”

10.30 Edie Bowles (The Animal Law Foundation)

"Putting Animals Back Into The Animal Welfare Act"

11.10 Tea/coffee break

11.30 Professor Jane Holder (UCL)

"Developing animal welfare impact assessment: Advancing a Multilevel and Principled approach"

12.15 Dr Bidda Jones/Dr Jed Goodfellow (Australian Alliance for Animals)

“From Capture to Independence: Australia’s Campaign for a National Animal Welfare Commission”

13.00 Vegan Lunch in Tamburlaine Restaurant

14.00 Professor Christine Nicol (RVC and ASC) and Professor Anna Meredith OBE (Keele  University and ASC)  

“From Sentience to Scrutiny: the Establishment, Work and (Emerging) Impact of the Animal Sentience Committee”

14.40 Gisella Marinuzzi (The Schweitzer Institute)

Topic: "From Recognising Animal Welfare to Protecting Animals: Why Governance Matters and the Case for an Animal Protection Commission"

15.25 Tea/coffee break

15.45 All speakers and participants - Chairperson: Dr Dan Lyons (Centre for Animals & Social Justice) Participatory plenary: From diagnosis to action — what should effective animal protection  governance look like?

16.30 Benedict Rattigan

Closing reflections and next steps

16.40 Conference ends

17.15 Post-conference drinks (196 Bar, Mill Rd – 15 Minute walk from conference)

Conference venue: The Marlowe Room, Clayton Hotel, 27-29 Station Rd, Cambridge CB1 2FB

T: +44 (0) 1223 792888 See https://schweitzer.institute/conferences for further details.