Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Some Preliminary Thoughts On Permitting Animals To Sue In Contract And Tort, Henry Cohen

Laws and Legislation Collection

Animal protection statutes are of course extremely valuable, and they might be made even more so if they were formulated to give private rights of action to their beneficiaries--the animals themselves. But what I would like to explore here is the idea of extending common law rights of action to animals. Admittedly, permitting animals to sue in contract and tort now seems fanciful, but my hope is that this article will provide an initial step toward bringing it about.

Does Wildlife Have Legal Standing? - The Penguin Case In Patagonia, Pedro Tarak

Laws and Legislation Collection

The Magellan penguin populations in the Patagonian province of Argentina were recently threatened by a proposed joint Japanese-Argentine venture to exploit them on a massive scale. The firm, Hinode Penguin Argentina, wished to begin slaughtering what it termed "excess" penguins, and to process the dead birds into skins for the world market; the carcasses were to be converted to a protein extract for local consumption.

Upon learning about this venture, Argentine conservation groups mobilized their forces quickly- formulating and implementing media campaigns, soliciting scientific opinions from local and worldwide experts, and concocting legal strategies. The legal tactics alone, although initially …

Updating The British Cruelty To Animals Act Of 1876: Can The Center Hold?, Judith E. Hampson

Laws and Legislation Collection

Long experience with unsuccessful attempts by British animal welfare groups to promote private members' bills for reform or rep I a cement of the 1876 Cruelty to Animals Act (Viet. C. 77, 1876) has convinced reformists that achieving this kind of change by lobbying Parliament may be impossible. It was for this reason that a small reformist group- spearheaded by the ex-chairman of the Labour Party, Lord Houghton, and an eminent surgeon, the late Lord Platt- was formed and drafted reform proposals in a document widely known as the Houghton/Piatt Memorandum (paper submitted to the Home Secretary, 1976). This report …

The Limits Of Legislation In Achieving Social Change, Theodore S. Meth

Laws and Legislation Collection

This paper is about law, not laboratory animals or philosophical ethics. It proceeds from the premise that law is an appropriate, perhaps inevitable, instrument for dealing with ethical issues related to the use of research animals.

History And Development Of Federal Animal Welfare Regulations, Pierre A. Chaloux, Max B. Heppner

Laws and Legislation Collection

In recent years, Congress has passed a number of laws that direct various government agencies to safeguard animal welfare. Our own agency has been involved principally in enforcing the Animal Welfare Act and the Horse Protection Act, and therefore we will limit this discussion to these two laws.

The Animal Welfare Act was passed in 1966 and amended in 1970 and 1976. The Act uses a system of licensing and registration to regulate a number of nonfarm businesses and organizations. These groups are required to provide humane care and treatment to regulated animals, which include hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits, dogs, …

Use Of The Legislative Process In Protecting Animals, Hugh Mcnamee

Laws and Legislation Collection

The statements that I shall make in this address are based upon experience gained by me as a lawyer, and as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives. That experience was applied to the successful pioneer attempt to enact the Ohio Rodeo Law of which I was the author and the pilot. Ohio is the first state in which a law has been passed to prohibit certain cruelty practices prevalent in rodeos and thus virtually eliminate them as a medium of public entertainment.

The origin of legislation is in some comprehension of a condition that needs correction by law. …