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Unit Synopsis
In this unit you will examine law and policy related to human obligations to non-human animals in Australia. The assessment structure and unit content emphasises the development of critical thinking skills through scholarly engagement with contemporary policy and law reform debates. You will develop research skills in an area of your choosing within the scope of the topics examined. You will also be supported to reflect on and articulate reasoned positions in relation to a range of legal, regulatory, and ethical questions raised by animal protection and the law. Module One considers the history of animal law and the role of ethics, science, ideology and politics in shaping animal law and policy in Australia. Module Two explores animal law as framed by two concepts: animal welfare and animal cruelty. It examines the integration of these concepts into legislative and regulatory regimes, and animal law and policy reform. Module Three involves a weekly focus on a specific area of animal law: farmed animals, companion animals, wildlife, animals as ‘pests’, animals used in scientific research, and animals used in sport and entertainment. The unit fosters a global perspective by reflecting on relevant international law and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 1 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 4 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
Co-requsite: LAWS11057 Introduction to Law. Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework). |
| Class Timetable | View Unit Timetable |
| Residential School | No Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2020
Term 3 - 2021 Profile
Term 3 - 2023 Profile
Term 1 - 2025 Profile
Term 1 - 2026 Profile
Term 1 - 2027 Profile
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Online discussion forum | 10% |
| 2. Research Assignment | 40% |
| 3. Take Home Exam | 50% |
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Source: SUTE
Assessment 3 would be more effective if integrated across the entire term, encouraging us to stay up to date and apply the material in a more practical and enjoyable way.
Assessment 3 is a discussion forum. It currently covers two weeks' content. I agree with this student's feedback and have contacted the School of Business and Law's educational development team to work on a revised assessment that will address this gap.
I changed this assessment to a Critical Reflection diary worth 20 mark. The reflection was integrated across four weeks of the week content.
Source: SUTE
The guest speakers were exceptional and knowledgeable in their respective fields.
I will continue to invite guest speakers.
Continued to invite guest speakers and increased the number of speakers.
Source: SUTE
I appreciate Alex's thoughtful, insightful and constructive feedback. Her time, effort and genuine care that she invests in her teaching has made a significant difference in my learning experience.
Nil required. It is rewarding to receive this feedback.
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Alex provided some great guest speakers which gave students valuable insights into real world applications of animal law.
Nil required. This feedback highlight the real world aspects of this unit
In Progress
Source: SUTE
I enjoyed the video content as I found that easier to follow than a lot of the web pages and other readings we had to do for every topic. I thought there was too many things to click on to read as you were going through and found it a bit disruptive to the flow.
The links are in the Study Guides to help students identify sources they can use to begin their research. However, I will review the number of links in the Study Guides.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Identify and discuss the various ethical perspectives, scientific and international developments, and politics shaping contemporary animal law and policy in Australia
- Identify and explain federal and state responsibilities for law and policy relating to animal protection
- Critically analyse the legal status of animals and their protection under anti-cruelty statutes and animal welfare regulations, drawing on case law, legislation, and relevant scholarly sources
- Develop a research question and undertake a suitable research project on one of the specific areas of animal law examined in this unit, drawing on reputable legal and inter-disciplinary sources and knowledge
- Demonstrate appropriate communication skills and present persuasive arguments on animal law issues.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Online discussion forum | • | ||||
| 2 - Research Assignment | • | • | • | • | |
| 3 - Take Home Exam | • | • | • | • | |
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | ||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | • | • | ||
| 4 - Information Literacy | • | • | • | • | |
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | • | ||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | • | • | • | ||
| 9 - Social Innovation | • | ||||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |
| 1 - Online discussion forum | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||
| 2 - Research Assignment | • | • | • | • | • | ||||||
| 3 - Take Home Exam | • | • | • | • | |||||||