Spotlight: Isabella Niven

Isabella Niven is a 2024 recipient of the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Advancement in Animal Law Scholarship.

This award honors students who demonstrate a commitment to the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s mission “to advance the interests and protect the lives of animals through the legal system.” Recipients are actively involved in their Animal Legal Defense Fund Student Chapter while in law school and show promise in the field after graduation.

Isabella (Bella) Niven is entering her third year of law school at the University of San Francisco School of Law (USF Law), where she will serve as the president of her school’s Animal Legal Defense Fund student chapter. She also serves as Comments Editor for her school’s Volume 59 Law Review and is part of USF Law’s Justice for Animals Program.

What Animal Legal Defense Fund student chapter activities are you proudest of and why?
As vice president of my Animal Legal Defense Fund student chapter, I feel fortunate to have organized many informative and engaging events this past year. However, the activities that I am most proud of are our chapter’s monthly animal law discussions. Each month, we hosted a presentation given by one of our members followed by a group discussion, attended by both SALDF members and non-animal law peers alike. These discussions covered a wide range of topics such as the intersection between environmental law and animal law, the exclusion of poultry from the Animal Welfare Act and the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, Prop 12 and the EATS Act, and Afroveganism in animal law.

I thoroughly enjoyed presenting on poultry issues for our November Animal Law Discussion, because I was able to focus the conversation on turkey welfare and the laws that fail to protect the millions of turkeys slaughtered for just one holiday alone. Many attendees were excited to try a more vegetarian-forward Thanksgiving after the discussion, and stated their intentions to support future laws and policies that would grant stronger legal protections to turkeys and other birds.

Although many attendees of our discussions knew a bit about animal advocacy, they were less familiar with animal law issues. It was so rewarding to be able to provide spaces for people to learn more about how the law can be used to better strengthen animal protection and encourage them to either pursue animal law or incorporate animal law into their future pro bono projects.

Any other noteworthy experience?
A couple years ago, our school’s chapter was not active, and now we are the most active student organization on campus. This year, we have been able to host community events, animal law discussions, screenings, speaker events, tabling activities, and vegan bake sales. I tried to make our tabling activities more engaging by creating a spin-the-wheel game where people can spin the wheel to receive an animal law-related question for the chance to win a stuffed animal. For Speak Out For Farmed Animals Month, we asked people questions about the Animal Welfare Act, the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, the 28 Hour Law, and farmed animals in general. In my past advocacy experience, I have found the general public to be very uncomfortable with discussing animal slaughter; however, when slaughter topics were presented as a game, people were very determined to face the issues and learn as much as they could to win. People still ask us when our next spin-the-wheel activity will be, and I cannot wait to continue to implement this for future tabling next year.

What is an animal law related goal of yours for the upcoming academic year?
This upcoming academic year I will be the president of my SALDF chapter, and I am not only hoping to continue the great legacy that our previous president left behind, but I am also hoping to create spaces for our members to participate in animal law activism such as writing public comments and supporting animal protection legislation, and I also hope to organize more legal-focused discussions. Although we are very fortunate to have two animal law courses offered at our school led by ALDF’s former director of litigation, Professor Matthew Liebman, not every SALDF member or person interested in animal law is able to take these courses due to scheduling. Therefore, I would like to provide more opportunities to educate students on animal law fundamentals. I am also interested in collaborating more as a student chapter with our school’s Justice for Animals Program, as well as with other student organizations. Last year, we led animal law discussions with the Environmental Law Society, the Student Employment Law Association, the Disability Rights and Advocacy Law Student Association, and the Black Law Student Association. This collaboration enabled many interesting conversations to be shared among law students, and I would love to continue and expand these collaborations.

What are your plans/goals for post-graduation?
After graduating from law school, I am excited to pursue a career in animal law and focus specifically on strengthening animal protection legislation. I value litigation as an advocacy tool, but I am particularly drawn to legislation after reading various cases in my animal law classes in which judges stated that animal rights and welfare issues were better handled by the legislature. I am primarily interested in advancing farmed animal welfare, continuing the efforts of the Big Cat Public Safety Act to prevent the exploitation of big cats in the U.S., and strengthening federal legislation such as the Animal Welfare Act and the Endangered Species Act. There is so much suffering that animals endure in this country, and I am devoted to reducing this suffering for all species in any way I can.

I am also excited to maintain a connection with my student chapter and ensure that there is always an inclusive space for animal law at my school. Mentorship is so important, and I would love to offer support as a person in the animal law space to our future SALDF community.

What is one piece of advice that you would like to pass on to other Animal Legal Defense Fund student chapter leaders?
If I was to give one piece of advice to other student chapter leaders, it would be to resist and overcome feelings of discouragement. I think this sounds quite simple, but as of now (but certainly not forever), our local animal law spaces may appear small and this can cause us to feel inferior to other groups, or that we as leaders have failed. If you have an event that was attended by only a few people, firstly, do not dwell on who else could have come; rather, focus on what was learned by the people who did attend. Be proud of your chapter for educating, inspiring, and shedding light on animal issues that are often disregarded. Do not let your discouragement win! Secondly, ask yourself how you can improve attendance in the future. Perhaps consider collaborating with other student organizations, advertising your event in other ways (such as physical flyers, class announcements, or with tabling), providing free vegan food at your events, or implementing more engaging activities (such as the spin-the-wheel discussed above) to encourage even more people to learn from your chapter.

The work we do as animal advocates may seem slow, but every time you create a space for discussions about animal sentience, legal rights, welfare, or the animal protection movement itself, you have contributed to the advancement of animal law as a whole. Let your passion for animals drive you to work hard, and do not let feelings of discouragement slow you down.

Learn more about the other 2024 Advancement in Animal Law Scholarship winners.