COMC-501 Lessons

By Proclamation of The Ministry

Welcome back to Care of Magical Creatures! I hope your first week back has not been too hard on you, and that professors are slowly adding on to the assignment load. Like last term, the year-long project will be introduced this lesson. While Year Three’s Creature Journal helped you learn proper note-taking skills, and Year Four’s Circle of Life Ecology Project helped you understand how the parts work as a whole in the world, this year’s project will help you learn and understand how to draft laws and regulations to help improve creature welfare and practices. As many of you will end up in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, it is essential that you understand why new legislation is brought forth, and have a solid knowledge base of presently accepted legislation.

Today, I will be covering all of the different laws and regulations that are followed by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, and the Ministry of Magic as a whole, that directly relate to creatures, their welfare, and practices involving them. I am discussing them in chronological order, to help you understand how legislation has evolved. I will also be discussing legislation that was proposed and not passed, as well as proposed and passed.

Werewolf Code of Conduct - 1637

This set of rules was developed in 1637 by the Ministry of Magic. The purpose of this piece of legislation was to have a set of rules that outline the responsibilities of werewolves, such as appropriate public behavior and locking themselves up during their transformations so no one would be hurt. This legislation was ultimately not passed because werewolves had to sign it in order for it to pass. With the great stigma that surrounded werewolves at this time, no werewolf wanted to step forward, so the document went unsigned.

International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy - 1689, 1692

This piece of legislation was signed in 1689 and officially enacted in 1692 by the International Confederation of Wizards. The purpose of this set of laws and regulations was to protect the secrets of the magical world from the Muggle world. Before the enactment of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy, we saw the mass persecution of wizarding children by Muggles, Muggles forcing witches and wizards to perform magic for them or attempt to teach them magic, and the practice of burning witches at a stake. The last practice was seen heavily in Salem, Massachusetts, in what is called the Salem Witch Trials. As you may recall, you covered this during your first year of History of Magic. These events happened between 1692-1693, right after the enactment of the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy. The Ministry of Magic did try to negotiate with Muggle governments, asking them to include protection for wizards in Muggle law. With the failure of this, we saw the beginning of discussions about how to protect the wizarding world from the Muggle world. The International Confederation of Wizards discussed the statute for a long time before a decision was reached. The document was signed in 1689, but was enacted and enforced by ministries across the world in 1692. It is also known as the International Statute of Secrecy.

Clause 73 - 1750

This clause was added to the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy in 1750. It reads:

"Each wizarding governing body will be responsible for the concealment, care and control of all magical beasts, beings, and spirits dwelling within its territory's borders. Should any such creature cause harm to, or draw the notice of, the Muggle community, that nation's wizarding governing body will be subject to discipline by the International Confederation of Wizards."

This is why we subsequently saw regulations from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, such as the requirement that Fwoopers be kept with a Silencing Charm, or that Crups have to have their second tail removed when they are young. These measures make sure that our creatures do not draw attention to the wizarding world, or cause any suspicions to arise in Muggle governments or communities.

There have been several breaches of Clause 73, of which Tibet and Scotland are the worst offenders. Tibet, home to the Yeti, has caused the International Confederation of Wizards to place a permanent task force in the mountains because of the repeated sightings. Scotland is the homeland of the largest Kelpie known to the wizarding world, the Loch Ness Monster. In fact, this creature is featured as a cryptid creature in Muggle culture. There is also the incident of 1932, known as the Ilfracombe Incident. On the beaches of Devon, England, a Common Welsh Green Dragon got loose and attacked a group of sunbathers. This incident caused the largest Memory Charm of the twentieth century to be cast, and even then some spectators managed to escape the charm. One in particular, Dodgy Dirk, frequented bars and told the story of a time a “dirty great flying lizard” attacked him on a beach. He passed in 1991, though his story still circles around the bars in the area.

Ban on Experimental Breeding - 1965

This piece of legislation was passed in 1965 by the Ministry of Magic. The law was written by the famous magizoologist Newt Scamander, and it is the responsibility of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures to enforce it. As a side note, Scamander does feel that this is the greatest achievement of his career as a magizoologist. This law regulates the creation of new wizard-bred magical creature species.

While the purpose of the law is to prevent and reprimand the creation of new wizard-bred species, we see several people throughout history that have created new species with no penalties or punishments. Rubeus Hagrid, previous groundskeeper of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, created Blast-Ended Skrewts in 1994. These creatures were the result of breeding a Fire Crab to a Manticore, both very dangerous in their own right. Fred and George Weasley were also in violation of the law, with the creation of Pygmy Puffs as a part of their WonderWitch products line for their popular joke shop, Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes. Also included under the law is the creation of other dangerous beasts, like Basilisks and Acromantulas.

Anti-Werewolf Legislation - 1993

This legislation was drafted in 1993 by Dolores Umbridge. She is well-known for her irrational hatred of what she considers “half-breed” creatures, such as werewolves and centaurs. This legislation made it very difficult for those suffering from lycanthropy, or when a person finds themselves turning into a near-wolf, to find work, and forced many werewolves to either join Lord Voldemort or fall into poverty because they could only get lower paying work that was way below their skill level. This piece of legislation was repealed in 1998, after Kingsley Shacklebolt became the Minister of Magic.  

Law Fifteen B - 1990s

This legislation was passed sometime in the 1990s by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. It is unknown the exact year, as right after the drafting of the Anti-Werewolf Legislation, there was an infiltration of the Ministry of Magic by those aligned with the Dark Lord, so record keeping was not as strict as it should have been. It is believed this piece of legislation was drafted by Dolores Umbridge because of what it refers to. It stated that any intelligent non-human life form, such as merpeople or centaurs, can be punished for attacking humans. After Dolores Umbridge came back from teaching at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she told the tale of being carried through the Forbidden Forest by centaurs. With her hatred of ‘half-breeds” already well known, it is thought this was the final straw for Umbridge, who drafted Law Fifteen B in her rage. While the law is still in effect, it is often not enforced because there are hardly ever any issues with centaurs or similar creatures attacking humans without just cause.

Guidelines for the Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Humans - Early 2000s

This set of laws was passed after the Anti-Werewolf Legislation of 1993 was repealed. These regulations dictate how Beings, who are considered not truly human, are treated. This includes centaurs, hags, vampires, and werewolves. Because past legislation showed how some views on these types of creatures were so discriminatory, this set of regulations was drafted to help stop that discrimination and prejudice. The guidelines even explicitly state that killing vampires arbitrarily is prohibited.

Guidelines on House-elf Welfare - Early 2000s

These guidelines dictate how House Elf owners need to treat their House Elves, including no violence or aggression can be shown towards them, no relieving of duty without just cause, and required sick or vacation periods, especially for elderly elves. While this set of regulations has been around for several years, we did not see it truly enforced until after the Second Wizarding War, when figures like Hermione Granger came forward to elevate the quality of life for House Elves. Granger made sure these guidelines began to actually be enforced.

Non-Tradeable Materials

Legislation around Non-Tradeable Materials has no direct date affiliated with it, however, several different materials from creatures have been given this status. Items are given this status based on their value, or the danger level, and trading these materials is prohibited and punishable by the Wizengamot. There are three classes of Non-Tradeable Materials, A, B, and C, with A being the most dangerous and valuable, and C being the least. Dragon eggs, for example, are considered a Class A Non-Tradeable Material, because of how dangerous and valuable Dragons are.

Creature Licenses

Along with the Non-Tradeable Materials, Creature Licenses are also considered a part of regulation. The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures issues licenses to qualified individuals after they have filled out the appropriate paperwork and completed the necessary tests. Each application is different for each creature. You will have to renew licenses on a regular basis. Out of the creatures we have covered so far, Fwoopers, Kneazles, Glumbumbles, and Crups require licenses for ownership. Those are not the only creatures we will cover that require licenses, so be prepared to hear about them more often as we progress through the years.

I would now like to welcome Mr. Magnusson, the previous professor of Magical Law, to discuss the Law of Prevention of Animal Abuse with you!

Guest Lecture: Law of Prevention of Animal Abuse

Thank you, Professor Anne, for the opportunity to teach this wonderful class about the Law of Prevention of Animal Abuse today. I must admit it is a pleasure for me to be here.

The historical context of the Law of Prevention of Animal Abuse is rather noteworthy since it deviated from the usual process of Magical Law creation. Usually, innovations in law are created inside the scope of Magical Law, which is later adopted by Muggles upon noticing a certain social commotion and difference in the paradigms of our civilization. However, the ideas contained in the Law of Prevention of Animal Abuse originated in Muggle society, rather than Magical society, as it traditionally is.

Most of the tenets and principles defended by the Law of Prevention of Animal Abuse originated in France, and were later ratified in the International Meeting on Animal Rights that occurred in London in 1977. In this meeting, the Universal Declaration of Animal Rights was adopted, outlining the essential protections that humans should take in order to ensure the ethical treatment of animals.

However, declarations and conventions are not legally binding - that is to say, a person that breaks any of the rules in the Declaration would not incur any penalties (which are called “sanctions” in Law). The wizarding world, noticing the need for this kind of regulation and the lack of regulatory practices that protected magical creatures, started to work intensely to protect animals from harm, since it was already known by that time that animals were sensitive creatures - in essence, capable of having feelings. In this historical context, the Law of Prevention of Animal Abuse was drafted and approved.

This law protects animals, both magical and non-magical, from physical harm and abusive practices - some of the crimes defined by this law are the crime of “unethical killing of animals”, the crime of “torture against animals”, and the crime of “demeaning treatment of animals”, which encompasses many behaviours, such as subjecting animals to a strenuous period of work, depriving pets of food and water, and lack of preventive health care towards animals.

The sanctions enacted for a breach in this law can be either criminal or administrative. Lesser infractions are considered administrative infractions, and are defined by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. On the other hand, crimes that are more serious, such as the crime of animal genocide (“killing, either deliberately or without adhering to the required guidelines that define the levels of animal preservation, multiple animals of the same species in the same factual context”) are defined as criminal infractions, which are then judged by the Wizengamot.

While administrative infractions result in smaller penalties - such as the payment of a fine, the reparation of the damage and/or the loss of any creature licenses that the person possesses - the criminal infractions bear hefty sanctions, and might even lead to imprisonment in Azkaban. For that reason, it is recommended that you ensure to treat all animals in an ethical and responsible manner in order to avoid any problems with our judicial system.

In a nutshell, this is the Law of Prevention of Animal Abuse. I thank you very much for your attention and now I will return the class to Professor Anne.

Year Five Year-Long Project

Please give a hand to Mr. Magnusson for discussing the Law of Prevention of Animal Abuse. It is one of, if not the most important, law that we currently have, though we must not forget the Ban on Experimental Breeding, as that is protecting us from some potentially extremely dangerous creatures from existing.

Now, it is time to discuss the Year Five year-long project. Over the course of this term, you will develop a new law for consideration by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. At the end of the year, I will send every law proposed that meets the criteria provided for you to the DRCMC. This is a huge opportunity for all of you! It gives you a chance to make an impression early on at the Ministry of Magic, and get you thinking about what legislation is lacking in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and help remedy that.

To start off this project, you will identify three creatures that we have covered thus far that could use additional legislation to protect them or increase their welfare. This could include pests, or creatures that already have legislation, as long as they have been covered in CoMC from Years Two through Five. You cannot write accurate legislation for creatures you have yet to learn about!

Closing

There are two assignments today: discussing the three creatures as described above and a worksheet on the laws covered today. Please take your time deciding which creatures you are interested in writing legislation for, as great legislation is written not with intellect but with passion. As always, feel free to owl myself or Professor Cattercorn with any questions or concerns. Good luck, and until next time, farewell! I look forward to seeing you next class!

Main lesson content written by Professor Elizabeth Anne

Guest lecture content written by former Magical Law professor Apollo Magnusson