This article argues that legal education must reclaim its public role through critical and transformative pedagogy. Drawing on interviews with animal law educators from five Australian universities, it examines the disconnect between how educators describe their teaching – often in neutral terms – and the reality of their classroom practices, which reflect critical and transformative approaches. These practices foster ethical reflection, emotional engagement and justice-oriented learning. The article calls for greater recognition and support of such pedagogies as essential to preparing students to question legal norms and challenge injustice within and beyond the law.
