Companion animals getting their own advocate

A new platform providing citizens and animal welfare organizations free legal guidance and court representation through a specialized network of lawyers regarding animal abuse cases has been set up by the Dogs' Voice nonprofit organization. 

The initiative includes the first animal law workshop with the participation of students and professors from Greece's three law schools.

"While there are so many of our fellow citizens who believe that no animal should be abused and treated as a thing, we find that there are very few who have the training to defend animal rights before the Greek justice system," said Elena Dede, lawyer and founder of Dogs' Voice.

"There is undoubtedly a gap in the provision of legal services, the promotion of animal protection law as a discipline worth studying at university and in the direct access of citizens and organizations to lawyers...