Presentation by Jordan Snyder to the Animal Law Section of the Florida Bar

Meet Jordan Snyder, Attorney and Shark Ally

Jordan Snyder, a devote Shark Allies team member, is an attorney in Orlando focusing on Animal and Environmental Law. He attended law school at Nova Southeastern University’s Shepard Broad College of Law and received his B.A. in Biology and a minor in Environmental Science from Brandeis University. While he has an appreciation for all animals and their conservation, there is a special place in his heart for sharks. He did multiple years of shark research at Florida Atlantic University’s Shark Research Laboratory. Once in law school, he focused his interest in sharks through law and had multiple legal and general article publications on various shark legislations. He is a member of Shark Allies, a non-profit organization, which has worked to end the shark fin trade in Florida and various other states and nations. Jordan is also an avid shark diver, who loves to photograph them to give people more insight in to their beauty rather preconceived fears.

The Animal Law Section of the Florida Bar, who have been supporters of #NoFinFL since the beginning, asked Jordan to do this presentation. The majority of those in attendance were law students or attorneys that have an interest in animal protection laws. It essentially was a rundown of a type of law that most people don’t deal with on a daily basis, and an explanation of why sharks are important for the oceans and the economy. Jordan broke down all of the laws in relation to protecting sharks, in Florida and around the world, and most importantly why each law has its strengths and weaknesses, but are all essential to protecting these animals. On the tails of the #NoFinFL campaign wrapping up just weeks ago, our Executive Director, Stefanie Brendl joined the conversation to shed a light on the hurdles she faced when dealing with the legislature in Florida, versus our past experiences in California and Hawaii. The relationship that Florida has with their sharks is vastly different to the spiritual aspect that Hawaii has. The biggest take away from this presentation is this, international law doesn’t do nearly enough, although it is a great step forward. When you look closely at each aspect of international law, or agreements, there are a ton of loopholes in each of them. The theory of the United States government is to leave it up to the states to protect their native populations, making a case for strong state fin bans.