Law Commons^™

The Rise Of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, Their Effects, And How We Can Stop Their Growth, Andrea Prisco

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Dramatic changes in the agricultural industry over the last century have led to the rise of concentrated animal feeding operations– industrial facilities that raise a large number of animals in confined spaces. Animals raised in these facilities suffer from poor quality of life and abuse. For humans, these facilities have had adverse effects on the environment and public health, but they are also associated with high productivity and low food costs. This Comment analyzes the effects of concentrated animal feeding operations on animal well-being, the environment, and public health. This Comment also analyzes current federal legislation that helps combat the …

All Dogs Get Regulatory Protection—And This Means Wolves Too: Extending Species- Specific Animal Welfare Act Protections, Megan Edwards

Pace Environmental Law Review

No abstract provided.

Bringing Animal Protection Legislation Into Line With Its Purported Purposes: A Proposal For Equality Amongst Non-Human Animals, Jane Kotzmann, Gisela Nip

Pace Environmental Law Review

The United States has a strong history of enacting laws to protect animals from the pain and suffering inflicted by humans. Indeed, the passage of the Massachusetts’ Body of Liberties in 1641 made it the first country in the world to pass such laws. Nevertheless, contemporary animal protection laws in all jurisdictions of the United States are limited in their ability to adequately realize their primary purpose of protecting animals from unnecessary or unjustifiable pain and suffering. This is a result of limited statutory definitions of ‘animal’ and far-reaching exclusions commonly found in animal protection legislation. These exclusions frequently apply …

If Animals Are Like Our Children Let Us Treat Them Alike: Creating Tests Of An Animal's Intelligence For Determinations Of Legal Personhood, Paul J. Mclaughlin

Library Faculty Publications

The notion that animals could be granted rights under the law was once ridiculed, but now courts and legislatures have begun to move towards granting animals greater protections from cruelty and emotional trauma. Animal law as a course of study was not available in law schools until the early 1970's. It has since grown into a field of debate and study that has drawn in experts from around the world." The rules of law that treat animals as property have been fought by animal rights advocates as being archaic similarly to the laws that once allowed for slavery. Animal owners …

The World Beyond Seaworld: A Comparative Analysis Of International Law Protecting Cetacea In Captivity, Casey M. Weed

Ocean and Coastal Law Journal

Over the past few decades, the public has become more and more aware of the inhumane and incredibly harsh treatment of marine mammals being kept in captivity, specifically for entertainment purposes. Anger and outrage reached a heighted level after the CNN documentary, Blackfish, was released in 2013, as the film brought increased awareness to viewers across the country. However, the issue of marine mammals in captivity reaches far deeper than the SeaWorld controversy of recent years; in fact, the issue spans even beyond the United States. This article therefore analyzes the laws which allow for such captivity to take place, …

American Lobster Claws Threatened By Eu Invasive Species Laws:How The Eu Invasive Species Act Applies Non-Uniformly To Aquatic Species., Joseph D. Foltz

Ocean and Coastal Law Journal

In 2014 the European Union enacted the “Prevention and Management of the Introduction and Spread of Invasive Alien Species Act” (Act) as a way to restrict the transportation and consumption of non-native animal and plant species that harmed native animal and plant species. As a result of this Act, thirty-seven species were deemed “invasive alien species” and were placed on a “list of Union concern” which restricted their importation and movement within the EU. Two species on this list include the Virile Crayfish (Orconectes virilis) and the Pond Slider (Trachemys scripta). On February 29, 2016, Sweden (a European Union member) …

Race To Extinction: Shark Conservation Under International And European Law And Its Limits, Ilja Richard Pavone

Ocean and Coastal Law Journal

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the existing (global and regional) legal standards on shark conservation from over-exploitation. First, an analysis of the current international legal framework (law of the sea, sustainable fisheries management, wildlife law) applicable to shark protection is provided (Part I). Next the paper explores the evolution of the European Union (EU) policy on shark finning, since the EU − in line with the United States (Shark Conservation Act) − opted for a strict fins-attached policy, or Fins-Naturally Attached (FNA), The new policy eliminated the major pitfall of its previous regulation, based on a fin-to-carcass …

Never Enough: Animal Hoarding Law, Courtney G. Lee

University of Baltimore Law Review

Animal hoarding, a disorder that causes sufferers to acquire animals compulsively despite the inability or unwillingness to provide them with adequate care, is a widespread, costly, often underestimated problem that causes more animal suffering than all acts of intentional cruelty combined. Not only are animals harmed, but humans are as well, from dependents that live with hoarders to members of the surrounding communities to the hoarders themselves. Current laws do not address the issue effectively, and recidivism rates are close to 100%. This Article seeks to increase awareness of the animal hoarding problem and offers suggestions as to how the …

The Puppy Prohibition Period: The Constitutionality Of Chicago's War On Animal Mills, Christopher W. Moores

Christopher W Moores

No abstract provided.

Take It To The Limit: The Illegal Regulation Prohibiting The Take Of Any Threatened Species Under The Endangered Species Act, Jonathan Wood

Jonathan Wood

The Endangered Species Act forbids the “take” – any activity that adversely affects – any member of an endangered species, but only endangered species. The statute also provides for the listing of threatened species, i.e. species that may become endangered, but protects them only by requiring agencies to consider the impacts of their projects on them. Shortly after the statute was adopted, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service reversed Congress’ policy choice by adopting a regulation that forbids the take of any threatened species. The regulation is not authorized by the Endangered Species Act, but …

In Defense Of, Or Offensive To Farms? Hog Farming And The Changing American Agricultural Industry, Shi-Ling Hsu

Shi-Ling Hsu

American agriculture is inexorably concentrating into the hands of a small number of large conglomerates. Expanding farms pursuing scale economies would also normally have to abide by a system of environmental and other laws that would, in theory, require farms to account for negative externalities. If those laws were observed and enforced, they would help strike a balance between the greater profitability and the larger externalities of larger farms. But these laws are not widely observed and not rigorously enforced, upsetting this balance and giving large-scale farms a cost advantage while insulating them from corresponding responsibilities.

Perhaps nowhere in agriculture …

Animal Protection Laws Of Singapore And Malaysia, Alvin W. L. See

Alvin W-L SEE

This article offers an overview and assessment of the laws relating to the protection of animals in Singapore and Malaysia. The focus is on identifying the interpretations of the statutory offences of cruelty that will best promote their objectives and effectiveness.

Milestones For Animal Welfare: Public Prosecutor V. Ling Chung Yee Roy, Alvin W. L. See

Alvin W-L SEE

Animal law is a little-known subject in Singapore. However, the increase in public awareness and concern about animal welfare issues demand that more attention is directed at the legal aspects of such issues. An opportunity to examine this area of the law arose in the case of Ling Chung Yee Roy. The District Court, presided by District Judge Ng Peng Hong, had to decide whether the accused was guilty of an animal cruelty offence under s. 42(1)(e) of the Animals and Birds Act. The majority of animal cruelty complaints were against pet owners, of which a significant number concerned the …

Challenges In The Enforcement Of Animal Protection Laws In Singapore, Alvin W-L See

Alvin W-L See

No abstract provided.

The Church Of Animal Liberation: Animal Rights As “Religion” Under The Free Exercise Clause, Bruce Friedrich

Bruce Friedrich

In this article, I do two things: First, I argue that a belief in animal liberation constitutes religion under constitutional jurisprudence interpreting the Free Exercise Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Thus, every time a prison warden, teacher or school administrator, or government employer refuses to accommodate the ethical belief of an animal liberationist, they are infringing on that person’s religious freedom, and they should have to satisfy the same constitutional or statutory requirements that would adhere were the asserted interest based on more traditional religious exercise. Second, I suggest that one possible solution to the problem of widespread violation of …

Letting The Apes Run The Zoo: Using Tort Law To Provide Animals With A Legal Voice, Tania Rice

Pepperdine Law Review

Science is increasingly showing us that animals have many cognitive similarities with humans. In addition to calls for changes in our animal protection statutes, members of the legal community have begun debating over whether animals, or a certain category of animals, should be granted legal rights. This approach has the potential for drastic societal ramifications. David S. Favre has proposed a tort action for animals as a compromise to the animal rights debate. This Comment explores the different approaches to seeking improved conditions for animals, and proposes an adjusted tort cause of action in response to criticisms of Favre's tort.

The Public Trust In Wildlife, Michael Blumm, Aurora Paulsen

Michael Blumm

The public trust doctrine, derived from ancient property principles, is thought to mostly apply to navigable waters and related land resources. The doctrine supplies a mediating force to claims of both private ownership and unfettered government discretion over these resources, vesting the state with trust responsibility to ensure that the use of these resources promotes long-term sustainability. A related doctrine—sovereign ownership of wildlife—is also an ancient public property doctrine inherited from England. State ownership of wildlife has long defeated private ownership claims and enabled states to enact and implement wildlife conservation regulations. This paper claims that these two doctrines should …

What Is The Primary Right?, Carter Dillard

Carter Dillard

This essay develops a new human right derived from both domestic substantive due process and international political exit right doctrines, called the primary right, which is best described as a general human claim-right of reasonable access to wilderness. It is a first generation human rights approach to environmental protection, positing a “nonhuman” baseline environment which is a necessary condition for persons to a) be “let alone” by others, and b) withdraw consent to political association and exit any, and therefore all, polities.

Canines (And Cats!) In Correctional Institutions: Legal And Ethical Issues Relating To Companion Animal Programs, Rebecca Huss

Law Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Why The Ali Should Redraft The Animal-Cruelty Provision Of The Model Penal Code, Nicole Pakiz

Nicole Pakiz

The Model Penal Code (MPC) is one of the most successful attempts to codify American criminal law. As a result, the MPC has been used widely by states to reform their penal codes accordingly. Unfortunately, similar to a lot of sections, the Model Penal Code has not revised “Cruelty to Animals” § 250.11 since its publication in 1962. Today, the lone animal-cruelty provision remains buried under a category entitled “Offenses Against Public Order and Decency," despite the drastic change in the way society views companion animals. As a result, the MPC fails to provide any guidance to states looking to …

Bred Meat--The Cultural Foundation Of The Factory Farm, David N. Cassuto

David N Cassuto

This article argues that the ability of large-scale industrial farms to commodify animals in the face of strong countervailing social forces stems in large part from the legal system’s embrace of a secularized but nonetheless deeply religious vision of human ascendancy. Within this belief system, animals comprise beings through whom we define ourselves by contrast and to whom we deny ingress to the legal system. The impulse to increase protections for nonhuman animals is offset by institutionally privileged categories of behavior that commodify nonhumans and strip them of legal defenses. The resulting lattice of laws purports to safeguard animals while …

Raising Cane: Sugar Sugarcane Ethanol’S Economic And Environmental Effects On The United States, Jonathan M. Specht

Jonathan M Specht

In the coming decades the United States will need to change its energy policy to face two enormous challenges: adjusting to peak oil (declining petroleum production output), and halting the advance of climate change. Liquid biofuels — made from renewable, biologically-based sources of energy, rather than finite and climate change-inducing fossil fuels — will be an important component of any strategy to deal with the twin challenges of peak oil and climate change. While the United States has encouraged the production of biofuels in recent decades, the domestic ethanol industry, which is almost entirely corn-based, has a number of major …

Like A Glass Slipper On Step-Sister, How The One-Ring Rules Them All At Trial, Cathren Page

Cathren Page

The literary concept of an endowed object can weave a thread of narrative continuity throughout a trial and resonates in the mind of the judge or juror. In literature, an endowed object is a material object that reverberates with symbolic significance throughout the story. The object can develop the theme, character, and emotions. Examples include Cinderella’s glass slipper, the one-ring, the handkerchief in Othello, and the mocking jay pin from The Hunger Games. Endowed objects have been persuasive symbols in famous trials as well. Endowed objects include the glove in the O.J. Simpson murder trial and John Wilkes Booth’s boot …

Dynamic Accountability In Hatchery Management: Salmon Hatchery Mismanagement And A Strategy For The Future, Megan Burke

Megan Burke

Despite the breadth and depth of research on endangered salmon species, salmon hatcheries, and the interaction of hatchery fish and wild fish, there is too little organization or collaboration among salmon hatchery operators. This article proposes a solution to hatchery mismanagement and the possible routes to that solution through injunctive relief pursuant to the U.S. Endangered Species Act. In a nutshell, the proposal is to create a system of “dynamic accountability” among hatchery managers by creating an organized network of professionals who must pool their information and experiences in order to learn from each other on a rolling basis. Ultimately, …

Children, Chimps, And Rights Arguments From "Marginal" Cases, Richard Cupp

Richard L. Cupp Jr.

Are animals the new children regarding legal personhood and rights? Animal law is likely the fastest-growing course offering in United States law schools over the past decade. The core question in this subject is how close law should come to treating animals like humans, with the penultimate issue being whether animals should be granted legal personhood status and some legal rights. Most writers addressing this issue, including prominent scholars such as Cass Sunstein, Lawrence Tribe, Martha Nussbaum and Alan Dershowitz, have supported extending a legal rights paradigm to at least some animals. A thesis that is often called the “argument …

Autism Service Dogs In The Classroom: The Tension Between The Idea And The Ada And Why The Ada Should Come Out On Top, Emily Billey

Emily Billey

On November 3, 2010, Leslie Griffin was at work when she received the phone call she had been dreading ever since her son Sam had started third grade at Woodley Elementary in September–Sam was missing. After an altercation with a classmate on the playground, Sam took off, outrunning the teachers who chased after him. The last time anyone had seen Sam, he was running into a wooded area near the school’s playground. Leslie tried to remain calm as she received the news, but she was extremely frustrated with the school because she knew this situation could have been avoided if …

The Role Of The Judge In Endangered Species Act Litigation: District Judge James Redden And The Columbia Basin Salmon Saga, Michael C. Blumm, Aurora Paulsen

Michael Blumm

After rejecting three federal biological opinions (BiOps) for favoring federal Columbia Basin hydroelectric operations over salmon protected by the Endangered Species Act (ESA), Judge James A. Redden has retired, passing oversight of the litigation to a new federal judge. This complex case, which concerns the accommodations the world’s largest hydropower system must give to the region’s signature natural resource, has now spanned nearly twenty years and five different BiOps. For his part, Judge Redden worked closely with the parties in an attempt to arrive at improvements in salmon survival. In this managerial role, he acted perhaps as the archetypical federal …

Keeping Dry Streams Green: Can Landowners In Arizona And California Use Property Rights To Maintain Groundwater-Dependent Riparian Habitat Along Non-Perennial Watercourses?, Christopher J. Losi

Christopher J. Losi

In the southwestern United States, riparian areas - the ribbons of green vegetation found along watercourses - offer the most valuable habitat within the desert ecosystem. The most valuable of these riparian areas are dominated by trees whose roots draw water directly from a shallow aquifer. Shallow aquifers are found along perennial streams - streams that flow year-round - but shallow aquifers are also found along streambeds that are generally dry. From a biological standpoint, the lack of surface water flowing down a watercourse may not harm the riparian vegetation. From a legal standpoint, the lack of surface water is …

Empathy With Animals: A Litmus Test For Legal Personhood?, Carter Dillard

Carter Dillard

Is there any relationship between the disposition of some humans to empathize with and respond to the interests of nonhuman animals, and the criteria we ought to use for determining who becomes a legal person? This brief essay argues that there is, by employing a thick conception of legal personhood, and suggests that criteria be used to determine who constitutes our legality in the future.

Canines On Campus: Companion Animals At Postsecondary Educational Institutions, Rebecca J. Huss

Rebecca J. Huss

This Article focuses on the issues that arise when students wish to attend a postsecondary institution accompanied by an animal. The Article begins by analyzing the federal law applicable to students bringing service and assistance animals to campus. The use of animal-assisted activities on campus is also explored. The Article continues with an examination of policies allowing students to have companion animals in campus housing. Concerns raised by administrators about allowing animals on campus are then considered. Finally, the Article sets forth the measures an educational institution should implement to ensure compliance with the law and proposes actions that can …