Law Commons^™

Exploited: The Unexpected Victims Of Animal Agriculture, Caitlin Kelly

Animal Law Review

Awareness of how nonhuman animals suffer in animal agriculture has been growing for years. But are they the only victims? Selling the products and parts of hundreds of millions of animals in the United States every year requires someone to manage those animals. It requires someone to kill those animals. And it requires someone to dismember those animals long before they ever reach the neat rows of plastic wrapped packaging at the grocery store. To accomplish this process at an industrial scale means hundreds to thousands of animals are together in barns which reek of their waste and create biohazards …

2015 State Legislative Review, Malorie Sneed, Jessica Brockway

Animal Law Review

The past year’s state legislative sessions and court dockets bore witness to a wide variety of initiatives concerning animal welfare and animal issues more generally. The increasing prevalence of ag-gag bills continued in 2015, as Colorado attempted to pass a mandatory reporting bill and North Carolina passed its own ag-gag bill that applied to all businesses, not just agricultural facilities, over the governor’s veto. Animal welfare advocates had reason to celebrate this year, however, when the district court of Idaho overturned its ag-gag bill on constitutional grounds. Tennessee, in amending its “Good Samaritan” law to extend coverage to animals trapped …

2015 Federal Legislative Review, Alescia Dichmann

Animal Law Review

The American political newspaper, The Hill, named the 114th Congress as “the most diverse Congress ever set to take power.” This Congress has 108 female lawmakers, more than ever before, alongside 430 men as well as 46 African American and 33 Hispanic lawmakers. While this Congress has made strides in the diversity of its members, we have yet to see whether this Congress’s legislative activity will benefit animals. The fate of the proposed animal legislation discussed in this Review will ultimately be decided by the time this 114th Congress concludes in 2017.

Giving Slaughterhouses Glass Walls: A New Direction In Food Labeling And Animal Welfare, Zak Franklin

Animal Law Review

Modern industrial animal agriculture and consumer purchasing patterns do not match consumers' moral preferences regarding animal welfare. Cur­rent production methods infiict a great deal of harm on animals despite widespread consumer preference for meat, dairy, and eggs that come from humanely treated animals. Judging by the premium pricing and market shares of food products with moral or special labels (e.g., 'cage-free,' 'free range,' and 'organic'), many consumers are willing to pay more for less harmful products, but they are unable to determine which products match this preference. The labels placed on animal products, and the insufficient government oversight of these …

2014 Federal Legislative Review, Jessica Brockway

Animal Law Review

The 113th Congress escaped the designation of "least productive Congress in modern history" thanks to a particularly active lame duck session. During its session, the 113th Congress enacted 296 laws, 212 of which were "categorized ... as substantive " by the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan "fact tank." This legislative activity, however, did not benefit animals. Of the pieces of proposed legislation discussed in this Review, none passed and, unless otherwise specified, all died in Committee.

2014 State Legislative Review, Aaron C. Johnson

Animal Law Review

Several state legislatures addressed animal welfare issues in 2014. A young fifth-grader, motivated by a documentary, inspired her community and state legislature to attempt to pass legislation protect­ing orcas. Two states decided to blaze a new trail when they deter­mined that the federal government was not going far enough to stop the ivory and rhino horn trade. The battle between freedom of speech and property rights reared its ugly head as several states took on the polemical issue of 'ag-gag.' Lastly, we witnessed breed-specific legisla­tion become illegal in three more states, with science trumping the availability heuristic.

Dog Meat Trade In South Korea: A Report On The State Of The Trade And Efforts To Eliminate It, Claire Czajkowski

Animal Law Review

Within South Korea, the dog meat trade occupies a liminal le­gal space-neither explicitly condoned, nor technically prohib­ited. As a result of existing in this legal gray area, all facets of the dog meat trade within South Korea-from dog farms, to transport, to slaughter, to consumption-are poorly regulated and often obfuscated from review. In the South Korean context, the dog meat trade itself not only terminally impacts millions of canine lives each year, but resonates in a larger national con­text: raising environmental concerns, and standing as a proxy for cultural and political change. Part II of this Article describes the nature …

Empowering Market Regulation Of Agricultural Animal Welfare Through Product Labeling, Sean P. Sullivan

Animal Law Review

In many Western nations, rising public concern about the welfare of agricultural animals is reflected in the adoption of direct regulatory standards governing the treatment of these animals. The United States has taken a different path, tending to rely on a “market-regulation” approach whereby consumers express their desire for specific welfare practices through their purchasing decisions. This Article explores the failure of market regulation and the welfare-preference paradox posed by consumers who express a strong preference for improved animal welfare in theory, but who simultaneously fail to demand heightened welfare standards in practice. It argues that market regulation is failing …

2012 State Legislative Review, Laura Hagen

Animal Law Review

No abstract provided.

Hot, Crowded, And Legal: A Look At Industrial Agriculture In The United States And Brazil, David N. Cassuto, Sarah Saville

Animal Law Review

Over the last sixty years, industrial agriculture has expanded in the United States and throughout the world, including in Brazil. Any benefit this expansion has brought comes at significant environmental and social costs. Industrial agriculture is a leading contributor to global climate change, air and water pollution, deforestation, and dangers in the workplace. This Article discusses the impact of industrial animal agriculture in the U.S. and Brazil. It also examines the laws pertaining to industrial agriculture in both countries and provides a comparative analysis of the two legal regimes. Finally, this Article concludes with the observation that although the price …

The Regulation Of Kosher Slaughter In The United States: How To Supplement Religious Law So As To Ensure The Humane Treatment Of Animals, Melissa Lewis

Animal Law Review

It is often argued that one of the most humane methods of killing an animal is through the performance of kosher slaughter. Indeed, the Humane Methods of Livestock Slaughter Act (HMLSA) of 1978 goes so far as to define kosher slaughter, and handling in connection with such slaughter, as humane, and consequently fails to provide any regulation over this method of killing. It is thus concerning that a number of kosher slaughterhouses have, in recent years, been discovered to be using blatantly inhumane practices, which the relevant religious authorities have insisted are completely kosher.

This Article examines the Jewish law …

Dog Meat In Korea: A Socio-Legal Challenge, Rakhyun E. Kim

Animal Law Review

This article explores the dog meat debate in Korea from a socio-legal perspective. It first examines the legal status of dogs and dog meat, and the legal protection for dogs under the old and new legislative frameworks. It then discusses socio-legal challenges to banning dog meat in the Korean context, employing examples of both legal approaches taken by other countries and the politics of dog meat in Korea, specifically. The article argues that the controversy over dog meat must be reframed and dog meat be socially redefined in order to protect dogs, which are currently caught in the conflict over …

Got Organic Milk? "Pasture"-Ize It! An Analysis Of The Usda's Pasture Regulations For Organic Dairy Animals, Fatema Merchant

Animal Law Review

Trouble brews, on the other hand, for those advocates who aim farther afield, who demand that animals be granted formal legal rights. Graphics and adjectives alone are vastly insufficient to validate just how that project would operate under the law or how science and logic would support a formal position on animals as “rights-holders.” Unhappily, the animal rights movement, as it takes such aim, has shown that it is weaker, not stronger, for the effort. Separate from its vulnerability to criticism by those politically opposed, a call for legal rights for animals is without justification on the very two pillars …

The Ethical Case For European Legislation Against Fur Farming, Andrew Linzey

Animal Law Review

In recent years, several member states in the European Union enacted legislation to regulate or prohibit fur farming. This article calls for further action to ban the practice throughout the European Union. The Author notes animals’ inabilities to protect their own interests and the role of law to protect these vulnerable interests. The Author concludes by responding to the objections of fur farming proponents, ultimately finding no legitimate justification for the documented suffering of animals raised on fur farms.

To What Extent Does Wealth Maximization Benefit Farmed Animals? A Law And Economics Approach To A Ban On Gestation Crates In Pig Production, Geoffrey C. Evans

Animal Law Review

A law and economics approach in the current animals-as-property realm could be the most efficient way to gain protections for the billions of farmed animals that need them now. The wealth maximization theory allows for this because it recognizes human valuation of nonhuman interests. However, evidence shows that a market failure exists because of the discord between public will and animal industry practices. Where human valuation of nonhuman interests is underrepresented in the market and, therefore, a market fix is needed through legislation, animal advocates should evaluate the legislation’s economic impacts. In the case of a ban on gestation crates, …

2000 Legislative Review, Alicia Finigan

Animal Law Review

Our third Legislative Review reports the passage and de- feat of several state and federal, administrative and legislative actions. Ms. Laurie Fulkerson has researched and written on four major pieces of federal legislation; Mr. Chris Brown has discussed additional federal advances, and a re­view of state initiatives which both advance and undermine animal welfare; Ms. Amy Baggio has reviewed the passage of state anti-cruelty statues. Finally, Ms. Alicia Finigan has reported on the United State's Pelly Amendment certifica­tion of Japan for violating the International Whaling Com­mission's resolution to cease its illusory "research whaling" for minke, sperm and Bryde's whales.

Environmentally Friendly Ranching? An Interview On The High Desert, Lisa Johnson

Animal Law Review

The following is an interview with Doc Hatfield about his views on raising cattle and his association with Oregon Country Beef, a cooperative organization that his wife, Connie, helped start in 1986. Doc was on his cell phone while we talked, as he and Connie were on their way to Portland from their High Desert Ranch in Brothers, Oregon to give a talk to an agricultural group. Connie was driving while Doc and I spoke. They have a rule against driving and talking on the phone at the same time. I agreed that was probably a good policy.

Feedlots -- Rural America's Sewer, Marilyn Lee Nardo

Animal Law Review

Over one billion tons of animal waste is produced each year in the United States by animal feedlot operations (AFOs). In 1995 alone, 63.5 million gallons of manure spilled from AFOs. Manure spills poison rivers, lakes, and ponds, seep into groundwater, causing fishkills, human disease, and death. The United States Environmental Protection Agency, reports that AFOs are a primary factor in the impairment of forty percent of the nation's waterways. Despite these conditions, there are no federal standards for the storage, application, or management of animal waste. This Comment evaluates the existing regulation of AFOs under the Clean Water Act …

Free Speech, Animal Law, And Food Activism, Howard F. Lyman

Animal Law Review

No abstract provided.

Don’T Fence Me In -- Appllication Of The Unlawful Inclosures Of Public Lands Act To Benefit Wildlife, Chandra Rosenthal, Kara Gillon

Animal Law Review

The Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service manage millions of acres of public land across the United States. Most of this land seres more than one purpose-grazing, mining, recreation, timber, wildlife-and thus must remain available for these uses. Historically, the Unlaujul Inclosures Act (UIA) preserved access for ranchers and homesteaders. More recently, the UIA has also protected access for wildlife whose movements are impeded by fences or other illegal obstructions. This article argues that such protection should be extended to the Sonoran pronghorn antelope in the southnwestern United States.

Mclibel, David J. Wolfson

Animal Law Review

In 1991, McDonald's sued two pro se defendants in England for defamation in relation to, among other things, allegations that McDonald's was culpably responsible for cruel common farming practices. The case took seven years and the appeals still continue, Though McDonald's spent over $16 million on legal representation and had significant legal advantages, it lost major portions of the case, including the issue of animal cruelty. Mr. Molfson discusses the background and holding of "MeLibel" in relation to cruel common farming practices, its unique legal context, and the impact of the holding on animal law in general and state anti-cruelty …

Examining The Viability Of Another Lord Of Yesterday: Open Range Laws And Livestock Dominnance In The Modern West, Coby Dolan

Animal Law Review

In this comment, the author explores the development of open range laws in Oregon and other western states and argues such laws should be abolished or drastically amended. Common law requires ranchers to fence livestock in or face liability for damages caused by strays. Hvever, historical customs and practices of Western states were shaped by vast open lands and sparce populations, leading to open range customs which required a landowner to fence "out" livestock to protect their property. This comment focuses on the case of Dr. Patrick Shipsey, an Oregon landowner convicted of shooting cattle that wandered onto his land. …

Tracking The Adc: Ranchers' Boon, Taxpayers' Burden, Wildlife's Bane, David Hoch, Will Carrington Heath

Animal Law Review

Approximately thirty five million dollars are spent each year by the Animal Damage Control division of the US Department of Agriculture to destroy predator animals that supposedly kill livestock. The methods by which the ADC kills these "predators" are appalling. Mr. Hoch argues that the funding for this program is excessive, irresponsible, and raises serious ethical questions. He concludes that ADC activities should be terminated immediately.