Law Commons^™

It Takes A Village To Provide Quality Food For Our Pets, Diantha V. Ellis

Mercer Law Review

How much does your pet mean to you? In many American households, pets have risen from the status of possessions to the role of family members. For many people, pets have even taken the place of children or are treated as one of the children. For those of us who have pets who we love as family, it is deeply concerning when reports are issued about the dangerous chemicals or toxic levels of vitamins in their food. Reading the recall reports on a food that our dog or cat has trustingly eaten every time we place it in front of …

International Animal Law, Emily Bergeron, Daina Bray, Mayra Cavazos Calvillo, Judith Chiarito Evans, Jeffrey Flocken, Tim Franklin, Nathan Herschler, Linda M. Lowson, Laura Schierhoff, Marcy Stras

The Year in Review

No abstract provided.

Pulling The Trigger On Hunting Regulations For Lead Ammunition, Lydia Shields

Villanova Environmental Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The United States Of California: Ninth Circuit Tips The Dormant Commerce Clause Scales In Favor Of The Golden State's Animal Welfare Legislation, Tanner Hendershot

Pepperdine Law Review

In November 2018, California voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 12, the Prevention of Cruelty to Farm Animals Act. This law requires in-state and out-of-state farmers to provide additional living space for egg-laying hens, breeding pigs, and calves raised for veal by 2022 if the farmers wish to continue doing business within the state. In response, North American Meat Institute (NAMI), whose members account for approximately 95% of the country’s output of various meat products, filed a lawsuit in federal district court seeking a preliminary injunction against Proposition 12’s enforcement. NAMI contended Proposition 12 violated the Dormant Commerce Clause, a legal doctrine …

Roadside Zoo: A Term In Search Of Legal Definition?, Virginia C. Thomas

Library Scholarly Publications

This article uses the example of “roadside zoo” to highlight the importance of clear definition for terms used in a legal context.

Under-Enforcement Of Federal Animal Protection Laws: Agencies Abdicating Enforcement Authority, And An Outlier Eleventh Circuit ‘Serious Harm’ Rule, Rebekah Green

Catholic University Law Review

Congress enacted the Endangered Species Act, Animal Welfare Act, and the Marine Mammal Protection Act to protect and preserve endangered and threatened fish and wildlife, animals, and marine mammals. The United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) is the primary administrative agency in charge of regulating zoos, wildlife centers, and aquariums, yet fails to consistently enforce the Animal Welfare Act, which this Comment reviews. This means that private animal advocacy agencies are left suing zoos, wildlife centers, and aquariums under the “taking” clause of the Endangered Species Act in order to ensure animal safety and care. While most circuits agree upon …

Preview — Denezpi V. United States (2022). Double Jeopardy In Indian Country, Paul A. Hutton Iii

Public Land & Resources Law Review

On February 22, the Supreme Court of the United States will decide the single issue of whether a Court of Indian Offenses constitutes a federal entity and, therefore, separate prosecutions in federal district court and a Court of Indian Offenses for the same act violates the Double Jeopardy Clause as prosecutions for the same offense.

Letting The Cat Out Of The Bag: How Lack Of Access To Animal Companionship And Husbandry Fosters Inequality For Black Americans, Kelsey Goldman

UC Irvine Law Review

Throughout American history, animals have been used by those in power to harm and terrorize Black Americans. While state-sanctioned use of slave-patrol and police dogs have been a commonly discussed issue, there has been little to no analysis on the harms Black Americans have faced from the systemic deprivation of animal companionship and husbandry. Racism and capitalism in America have resulted in a confusing labyrinth of private actors, animal organizations, corporate industries, courts, and legislators who have worked collectively to cut off opportunities for Black Americans to benefit from animal companionship and husbandry.

In Part I, this Note …

Animal Sentience Science And Policy, Andrew Crump

Animal Sentience

Animal sentience research cannot be divorced from its ethical and political implications. For example, discovering which animals are sentient is vital for deciding which require welfare protection. Two legal case-studies illustrate the importance of scientists in such debates: the UK Animal Welfare (Sentience) Act 2022 had input from animal sentience researchers, whereas the US Animal Welfare Act 1966 did not. The former defined sentient animals much more plausibly than the latter. I accordingly argue that sentience researchers should inform policy, and that this is achievable without sacrificing scientific integrity.

Legal Recognition Of Animal Sentience: The Case For Cautious Optimism, Jane Kotzmann

Animal Sentience

Rowan et al.’s target article provides a valuable indication of the work that was required to reach the point where animals are recognised as sentient in various laws. To ensure this work was not in vain, the language of sentience needs to be used as a moral currency to demand further cultural change involving greater human respect for animals.

The Next Pandemic Might Be A Petdemic, Hillary Greene

Indiana Law Journal

A new scientific study shows that COVID-19 can be transmitted from cats to humans. Luckily, this channel of transmission seems extremely rare, at least thus far. But next time—and there will be a next time—we may not be so fortunate. This Article addresses this underappreciated risk of what I term a “petdemic”—a pandemic or epidemic that involves significant disease transmission between pets and humans. With nearly 70% of U.S. households owning pets, a petdemic could be catastrophic. One of our go-to responses for even perceived petdemics, honed over the last century, is to slaughter our pets. This pioneering Article proposes …

The Question Is Not “Can Humans Talk?” Or “Can They Suffer?” But “Can They Reason?”, Clive Phillips

Animal Sentience

In their target article, Rowan et al (2022) make a welcome attempt to chart the development of Western progress over the past two hundred years toward formally recognizing that animals feel. They outline the heroic efforts of Compassion in World Farming to gain for animals the status of sentient beings rather than merely human property. A broader view exists, from human prehistory to the present day, in which animals have been (and still are) understood to be sentient by indigenous peoples as well as by some Eastern religions. Growing recognition in the West that animals feel represents a new age …

Can Social Science Teach Congress New Tricks?: Addressing The Need For Educational Support Dogs In Classrooms, Elaina H. Wilson

Indiana Law Journal

In the United States, children with disabilities are afforded protections in three federal statutes: the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. However, these laws fail to provide for educational support dogs in public schools, despite the common and successful use of educational support dogs in other countries. The success of educational support dogs abroad is not suprising, as recent waves of social science research make clear the benefits of dogs in schools, from increased productivity within the classroom to improved morale within the school community …

Not For Human Consumption: How To Alleviate The Cruelty Plaguing The Pet Food Industry In The United States, Bailey Frank

Animal Law Review

More than 37 billion dollars of pet food was sold in 2019, a sum that increased to approximately 42 billion dollars in 2020. In fact, forty-two of the fifty states have pet food facilities producing more than 3 million tons of animal-based pet food ingredients. Yet, in the last decade, multiple pet food brands have been found to contain trace amounts of euthanasia ‘death drugs’ and are made from 3D or 4D animals — those that are dead, dying, diseased, or disabled. While this can often cause sickness or death in companion animals, an equally urgent issue is the welfare …

The Heart Of Animal Research And Testing Law: A Study Of The Animal Welfare Act, The Health Research Extension Act, And Proposed Solutions Supporting The Three Rs, 55 Uic L. Rev. 1 (2022), Lenore Montanaro

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Animal Sentience In Indian Culture: Colonial And Post-Colonial Changes, Nanditha Krishna

Animal Sentience

The Indian tradition has respected animal sentience and non-injury toward all life. It is repeated consistently in Sanskrit literature and the later literature of the Jains and the Buddhists. Change came with the advent of Islamic rule followed by the British, who built slaughterhouses. The hunting of wildlife increased and several wild predator species were wiped out. The result was the series of legislations for animals which were initially proposed by the SPCAs and later by NGOs. In 1976, the Constitution of India was amended to make the protection of wildlife and compassion for living creatures a fundamental duty. However, …

Piglet Castration And Pain Relief Drugs: Revamping "Safety Drug Approval Requirements To Address "Efficacy" Requirements For Nsaids, Zoë Sigle

Animal Law Review

This Article investigates the U.S. pork industry's routine practice of piglet castration without pain relief and why no nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in piglets to relieve pain associated with surgical castration. Some countries have approved and even require the use of NSAIDs for surgical castration in piglets. However, the U.S. veterinary pharmaceutical community claims to lack validated scientific methodology to quantify pain in piglets, leading to a lack of substantial evidence to demonstrate NSAID effectiveness and thereby barring FDA-approval of NSAIDs for pain relief in piglets …

What Comes After Defund? Lessons From Police And Prison Abolition For The Animal Movement, Michael Swistara

Animal Law Review

As the mass incarceration crisis skyrocketed, the animal protection movement adopted many of the mechanisms of the carceral state. Improving the status of animals was equated with pushing for lengthier sentences for those who caused harm to animals, placing more people into cages for longer periods of time. This disproportionally harmed Black, Indigenous, and People of the Global Majority (BIPGM) communities who are the most heavily policed, surveilled, and imprisoned. Allying with the carceral state has also harmed animals-advocates are labeled terrorists, potential allies are dissuaded from action, and companion animals are killed by officers of the state. This approach …

Overcoming Inertia To Deliver Sentience Policy Commensurate With Sentience Science, Claire Bass

Animal Sentience

Rowan et al’s target article makes clear that meaningful change in policy and practice to protect animals has failed to progress in lockstep with scientific understanding of their sentience and needs. The underlying causes for inertia in political and practical progress for animals in the UK context are multi-faceted and complex, including economic forces; lack of cross-departmental accountability for animal welfare; and challenges where it suits conservation scientists to dismiss or downgrade the impacts of management decisions on individual animals. All of these influences and more must be understood and addressed if we are to deliver meaningful and timely protections …

Motivated Science: What Humans Gain From Denying Animal Sentience, Uri Lifshin

Animal Sentience

Resistance to the idea that non-human animals are sentient resembles erstwhile resistance to the theory that the earth is not the centre of the universe, or that humans evolved from “apes”. All these notions are psychologically threatening. They can remind people of their own creatureliness and mortality and might make them feel guilty or uncertain about their way of life. An honest debate over animal sentience, welfare and rights should consider the human motivation to deprive animals of these things in the first place. I briefly review empirical evidence on the psychological function of denying animal minds.

Wyoming’S Wild Horse Ranch: History And Description Of A Socio-Ecological Experiment, Alex Sas-Jaworsky, John Derek Scasta

Human–Wildlife Interactions

The growing population of free-roaming horses (Equus ferus caballus) on western public rangelands has necessitated that federal agencies, such as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service, develop novel approaches to curb growth including reproduction management. However, bureaucracy has hindered effective research and application of horse management on public lands and examples on private lands may present new solutions. Here we present the history and current population management strategy for the Wild Horse Ranch (WHR) located in southeastern Wyoming, USA, as an example of an ongoing private entity managing horses. Prior to 1985, this ~6,000-ha …

Animals As Legal Beings: Contesting Anthropocentric Legal Orders, By Maneesha Deckha, Jodi Lazare

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Scholarship on animal rights has long been dominated by the widely held idea that justice for nonhuman animals will not be achieved until they are granted legal personhood. In Animals as Legal Beings: Contesting Anthropocentric Legal Orders, Maneesha Deckha provides an alternative legal classification for nonhuman animals. “Beingness,” rooted in relational feminism, post-colonial theory, and critical animal studies, recognizes nonhuman animals’ inherent value, while avoiding some of the downsides to legal personhood, namely, its embeddedness in the imperialist liberal individualism that characterizes western legal systems. Given its anthropocentric nature, personhood must be displaced as the aspirational classification for animals. …

Animal Rights Activism And The Constitution: Are Ag-Gag Laws Justifiable Limits?, Jodi Lazare

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Forthcoming in the Osgoode Hall Law Journal (2022).

It is a troubling time to be an animal rights activist in Canada. Recently, Alberta adopted legislation to create harsh penalties for trespassing onto private property, for obtaining permission to enter private property based on false pretences, and for interfering with vehicles on public highways. These laws relate to agricultural lands, to private property generally, and, where roads are concerned, to public property. Ontario, for its part, has adopted similar legislation aimed specifically at agricultural property. The legislation in both provinces purports to protect the security of farmers, their families, and rural …

Fur-Ever Homes After Divorce: The Future Of Pet Custody, Sara Mićković

Animal Law Review

More than ever, Americans are considering their companion animals to be members of their families. However, the majority of states plainly consider companion animals to be personal property under the law in custody disputes. Therefore, when a pet custody dispute emerges in these states' courts, separated couples proceed to divide companion animals the same way they would other material belongings. At the same time, married couples in the United States are divorcing at increasing rates making these types of pet custody disputes an increasing issue in family courts around the country. Despite most states adopting this approach where companion animals …

The (Symbolic) Legislative Recognition Of Animal Sentience, M.B. Rodriguez Ferrere

Animal Law Review

This Article will draw conclusions from the legislative recognition of animal sentience in animal welfare legislation of Oregon, New Zealand and Quebec. A range of jurisdictions have, in recent times, amended their animal welfare legislation to recognize that animals are "sentient." While seemingly a progressive and welcome advance, there are a range of reasons to doubt the actual impact of such amendments. The limited impact of the amendments within animal welfare case law in these jurisdictions appear to confirm these doubts. This Article questions whether such symbolic amendments are benign or have a damaging effect on the attempt to reform …

Front Matter

Animal Law Review

Front Matter includes Title Page, Masthead, advisors, and Table of Contents for Animal Law Review Volume 28, Issue 1, 2022.

Refortifying The Endangered Species Act: Its Degradation And How To Strengthen The Nation’S Most Comprehensive Law For Protecting Endangered Species, 55 Uic L. Rev. 317 (2022), Haley Molinaro

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Key Deer Is Headed For Extinction: How Repealing A Trump-Era Federal Rule Defining "Habitat" Could Allow Assisted Migration To Save Species Threatened By Climate Change, Kennedi Fichtel

St. Thomas Law Review

Climate change induced sea level rise is imminent. In fact, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has predicted that “[b]y 2045, the sea level in the Florida Keys will rise 15 inches . . . .” Such a projection usually invites questions about the implications for coastal residential homeowners. However, this projection means so much more for the voiceless inhabitants of the Florida Keys. Anthropogenic climate change that leads to sea level rise of this magnitude will be responsible for permanently destroying species’ habitats, and therefore impacting their ability to survive. For endangered and threatened species, this means extinction. As …

State Ballot Initiatives And Federal Preemption: How Colorado Voters Have Changed Cooperative Federalism In Wildlife Management, Lucas O'Brien

Natural Resources Journal

In United States wildlife management, there is a notion that the federal government manages land while states manage wildlife. While it is true that states have historically held authority over wildlife, federal agencies often also have the authority, and often an obligation, to manage and conserve wildlife. This overlapping jurisdiction has led to the frequent preemption of state wildlife laws and management tactics by federal statutes or objectives, eroding state authority in this area over the past century. In the 2020 election, Colorado voters passed Proposition 114, a state ballot initiative that requires Colorado Parks and Wildlife to reintroduce wolves …

Carceral Progressivism And Animal Victims, Benjamin Levin

Scholarship@WashULaw

This chapter places the criminalization of harm to non-human animals within a larger context of left and progressive efforts to use criminal law to address social problems. This chapter treats the animal welfare movement’s turn to criminal legal solutions as a case study of the broader phenomenon of “carceral progressivism.” Specifically, the chapter identifies this case study as reflecting two particularly common features of left or progressive criminalization projects: (1) the presence of a particularly vulnerable class of victims; and (2) the claim that criminal law can send a message about society’s respect for that class of victims and condemnation …