GUEST BIOGRAPHIES
MARIANN SULLIVAN
Mariann Sullivan is the deputy chief court attorney at the New York State Appellate Court in New York City and an adjunct professor of animal law at Brooklyn Law School and Cardozo Law School.She is the former chair of the Committee on Legal Issues Pertaining to Animals of the New York City Bar Association and a current member of that committee as well as chair-elect of the American Bar Association's Animal Law Committee.
With David Wolfson, she is the author of "What's Good for the Goose . . . The Supreme Court of Israel, Foie Gras, and the Future of Farmed Animals in the United States," in the 2007 volume of the Duke Journal of Law and Contemporary Problems; "Foxes in the Henhouse: Animals, Agribusiness and the Law, A Modern American Fable," in Animal Rights: Current Debates and New Directions; and "If it Looks Like a Duck: New Jersey, The Regulation of Common Farming Practices, and the Meaning of 'Humane'" in Animal Law and the Courts.
Dr DAVID BILCHITZ
David has a BA (Hons) LLB cum laude from Wits University. He graduated with an MPhil in Philosophy from St John's College, University of Cambridge in 2001 and with a PHD in political philosophy and law from the same university in 2004.His book on 'Poverty and Fundamental Rights: the Justification and Enforcement of Socio-Economic Rights' was published by Oxford University Press in February 2007. He has several other publications in areas that include the Law of Evidence, Socio-Economic Rights, and Persons and Family law. His current research focuses on the relationship between business and human rights. His research interests include the intersection between political philosophy and constitutional law and the institutional implications in a wide-range of diverse areas.
David is also a committed activist working towards social reform with his involvement in feminist, gay rights, poverty and animal rights issues. Recently, he was one of the key drivers in the campaign for civil marriage for same-sex couples in South Africa and acted as legal adviser to the Joint Working Group (a coalition of 17 lesbian and gay organisations). He has also campaigned for shelters for the homeless, has taught literacy and numeracy skills to streetchildren, has worked on improving dialogue between Jews and Palestinians surrounding the Arab-Israeli conflict and is a founder member of the Legal Alliance for Animal Welfare.
CORMAC CULLINAN
Cormac Cullinan is a lawyer with 15 years' experience in environmental law and governance. He is a director of the law firm Cullinan & Associates and of EnAct International, an environmental law and governance consultancy. He is best known internationally for pioneering the emerging field of Earth jurisprudence through his book Wild Law. His work in developing this field and in promoting it abroad (where it is being increasingly influential in the United Kingdom, USA as well as in other African countries) lead to his inclusion as one of the world's all-time inspiring environmentalists in the recently published book Planet Savers: 301 Extraordinary Environmentalists.KAREN TRENDLER
Karen is recognized internationally as an expert in wild life rehabilitation - from rhinos to hedgehogs. She has presented numerous papers and lectures, both on general and specialized wildlife care and nursing.CORA BAILEY
Cora Bailey is the founder of CLAW (Community Led Animal Welfare), and organisation that provides primary veterinary healthcare and humane education to indigent communities in informal settlements and townships in and around Johannesburg.In many of these areas, CLAW is the only organisation that visits on a regular basis, and is therefore often called upon to assist with other services, such as child abuse and neglect.
SANDRA GORE
Sandra Gore is a senior associate at Bowman Gilfillan and a member of the environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change practice area.Sandra specialises in a wide range of environmental law issues, including biodiversity; environmental management; pollution; water; carbon emission reduction issues; waste and environmental impact assessments.
She has been published and gives seminars on several aspects of environmental law.
She completed a master of laws in environmental and developmental law. This included a focus on the protection of animals.
Sandra was a founding member of the Legal Alliance for Animal Welfare, which aimed to develop the laws in South Africa relating to animal welfare. She has represented various environmental NGO's on a pro bono basis, including the Black Eagle Society in a review of the decision to grant authorization for residential developments near the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens.
MICHELE PICKOVER
Michele has been campaigning on behalf of animals for the past 20 years. She is a co-founder of Animal Rights Africa. She is the author of "Animal Rights in South Africa," a pioneering book nominated for the 2006 Alan Paton Award for Non-Fiction. Michele has trained as an historian and archivist and also has a Masters in Environmental Sociology. She is the Director of the Historical Papers Archive at Wits.CHARLOTTE NIKSCHTAT
Charlotte qualified as a veterinarian from the University of Pretoria in 1999. She worked as a veterinarian while studying an LLB through WITS University. She joined Bowman Gilfillan in 2004 and is now a senior associate in the litigation department. She does mainly medico-legal, insurance and commercial work but has retained her interest in animal-related matters.DR MAGDIE VAN HEERDEN
Dr Magdie van Heerden has a doctorate in social work in the field of human-animal interaction and many years of experience in dog training. She is a part-time EduPet associate and works mainly as dog training instructor for the puppy classes and clicker training courses. She is also a pet bereavement counsellor and offers workshops in humane education and animal-assisted therapy.STEVE SMIT
Steve has been actively involved with animal rights, animal welfare, wildlife conservation and animal rescue organizations in a voluntary capacity for over thirty years.He has served on the management committee of the Durban and Coast SPCA; was chairperson of the Durban branch of the Wildlife Society of Southern Africa; was on the committee of the Durban branch of Beauty Without Cruelty; and was an honorary officer with the Natal Parks Board.
He founded South Africa's first animal rights organization, Front for Animal Liberation and Conservation of Nature (FALCON) in 1985. FALCON subsequently became Justice for Animals which then amalgamated with SAAV and Xwe to become Animal Rights Africa.
He is a founding Trustee of Animal Rights Africa and jointly coordinate the two Durban-based ARA animal rescue projects, Monkey Helpline and Animal Rescues Unlimited.