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Rebeka Breder

26th June 2023

is the founder of Breder Law in Vancouver, one of the first full-time animal law private practices in Canada. Her entire legal practice is devoted to protecting and advancing the interests of animals through litigating animal law related disputes. When acting for individuals, Rebeka takes on cases such as the defence of dogs, condominium disputes, pet custody issues, wrongful death, and many other issues. When acting for organizations, Rebeka challenges government authority with respect to its actions or inactions regarding animals, such as the live export of horses or killing wildlife, and she provides general animal law-related consulting. Her cases have, and continue, to set positive precedent for animals, including courts recognizing the best interests of animals. Rebeka has been recognized by various awards including, the Top 25 Most Influential Lawyer in Canada by Canadian Lawyer Magazine, winning the Changemakers category (2019), Best Lawyers Canada (2022, 2023), and the SEEDS award by the International Society for Animal Rights (2019). She was also honoured to be a TEDx speaker in November, 2022. Rebeka helped start up the University of British Columbia Allard Law School Animal Law course in 2013, where she taught as an adjunct professor, and she has taught as an adjunct professor or guest lecturer at various other Canadian and international universities. She is the founder and current Chair of the first Canadian Bar Association animal law section (since 2008). Rebeka’s submissions to government have also been recently reflected in legislation dealing with the best interest of animals in pet custody disputes – a first of its kind in Canada. Rebeka provides her legal input on other animal protection issues at the federal, provincial and local levels. You may also see Rebeka featured by radio, television and print media, including in recent documentaries such as Part of the Pack (Knowledge Network), and CTV W5 on pet custody. Some of Rebeka’s work will be published in an encyclopedia (to be announced soon).