On this episode of Free Range, Mike Livermore speaks with Karen Bradshaw, a Professor of Law and the Mary Sigler Research Fellow at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Bradshaw’s work examines the intersection of environmental law and property law. Her most recent book, Wildlife as Property Owners: A New Conception of Animal Rights, contends that property rights can be a useful tool in the protection of endangered wildlife.

Bradshaw begins by providing a summation of the central argument of her book, and explaining how the conclusions she comes to are, in fact, a continuation of trends that have been gaining legitimacy in both property rights law and trusts and estates law. She also describes how many of the ideas discussed in the book were well-established in non-Western legal systems and property regimes, such as those of many pre-colonial indigenous communities. This would constitute an expansion of the original understanding of environmental law as it was conceived in the 1970s (:55 – 10:04). The conversation then focuses on what steps the United States government, which owns nearly a third of the country’s land area, could take to ensure that wildlife interests are adequately protected against future land takings. Bradshaw describes the process through which the status quo could be changed, so that property can, in fact, be owned by animals and managed on their behalf. Bradshaw argues that the understanding of who (or what) has a right to own property is in constant evolution, and much of the publicly-owned land in the United States is already being managed for the benefit of animals. This part of the discussion incorporates a variety of legal concepts, including conservation easements and the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment (10:13 – 30:14). This leads to questions about how the legal system would define ownership, and what sorts of natural entities would be entitled to ownership rights. Bradshaw claims that the example offered by approaches to animal rights within the context of the high seas — areas of the ocean outside national boundaries — might be indicative of the path to take within national boundaries. Bradshaw also talks about her own experience with this issue, as she is in the process of titling her own property to incorporate the animals that live on it (30:20 – 37:12). Using her firsthand experience as a reference point, Bradshaw compares the animal-ownership regime with more traditional means of protecting land for wildlife, such as donation to a conservation trust, emphasizing the importance of a move away from anthropocentric understandings of land ownership. This leads to a more in-depth discussion of the legal responsibilities and practical realities of managing animal-owned land (37:40 – 55:40). The conversation concludes with a broad discussion about how we approach animals generally, touching on such ideas as whether blue jays have an easement to the trees in someone’s backyard and the extent to which prairie dogs are able to speak, rather than simply communicate, with one another (55:50 – 1:06:53).

Professor Michael Livermore is the Edward F. Howrey Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law. He is also the Director of the Program in Law, Communities and the Environment (PLACE), an interdisciplinary program based at UVA Law that examines the intersection of legal, environmental, and social concerns.