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Animal rights lawyer Steven M. Wise will be in the Whitlock Building's O'Donnell Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. for a special screening and discussion of the documentary film "Unlocking the Cage," in which he stars. 

The film screening and discussion are a special event in the Chautauqua Lecture Series 

"Unlocking the Cage" is a documentary about Wise's efforts to challenge the legal standing of non-human beings to have rights of person-hood. 

Wise is founder and president of the Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) and the subject of the HBO Films documentary, "Unlocking the Cage." He has practiced animal protection law for 30 years throughout the US and is the author of four books: "Rattling the Cage – Toward Legal Rights for Animals"; "Drawing the Line – Science and the Case for Animal Rights"; "Though the Heavens May Fall – The Landmark Trial That Led to the End of Human Slavery"; and "An American Trilogy – Death, Slavery, and Dominion Along the Banks of the Cape Fear River." 

He holds a J.D. from Boston University Law School and a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the College of William and Mary. Watch Steve's TED Talk on nonhuman animal rights here and follow him on Twitter here. To view a trailer of the film, click here: https://www.imdb.com/video/vi4131306009?playlistId=tt5016028&ref_=tt_ov_vi

The event is free and open to the public. It's sponsored by the Department of History, Philosophy and Religious Studies and the Honors Program.