Animal Law Commons^™

Enforcing Wildlife Protection In China, Peter J. Li

Animal Welfare Collection

Since China enacted the Wildlife Protection Law in 1988, its wildlife has been threatened with the most serious survival crisis. In the prereform era, wildlife was a neglected policy area. Serving the objective of reform, the Wildlife Protection Law upholds the “protection, domestication, and utilization” norm inherited from past policies. It establishes rules for wildlife management and protection. This law provides for penalties against violations. Yet, its ambiguous objectives, limited protection scope, and decentralized responsibilities have made its enforcement difficult. Political factors such as institutional constraints, national obsession with economic growth, shortage of funding, and local protectionism have made the …

Animal Ethics And The Law, Bernard E. Rollin

Animal Law and Legislation Collection

Everyone reading this Article is doubtless aware of the woeful lack of legal protection for farm animals in the United States. Not only do the laws fail to assure even a minimally decent life for the majority of these animals, they do not provide protection against the most egregious treatment. As both a philosopher who has helped articulate new emerging societal ethics for animals, and as one who has successfully developed laws embodying that ethic—notably the 1985 federal laws protecting laboratory animals—I will stress the direction we need to move in the future to enfranchise farm animals. I have seen …

Progress In Animal Legislation: Measurement And Assessment, Andrew N. Rowan, Beth Rosen

State of the Animals 2005

As the animal movement has gained more political authority and public acceptance, it needs better ways to assess and follow its progress—or lack thereof—towards its goals. In this era, in which nonprofits and funding agencies are demanding better measures of effectiveness, the animal movement needs to examine how it looks at the progress it is (or is not) making in gaining better legal protection for animals.

International Animal Law, With A Concentration On Latin America, Asia, And Africa, Neil Trent, Stephanie Edwards, Jennifer Felt, Kelly O'Meara

State of the Animals 2005

The status of domestic animal protection laws in Asia, Africa, and Latin America varies, as one might imagine, from country to country. Countries with high per capita incomes are more likely to have a large number of animal protection organizations, whose existence normally leads to the passage of protective legislation.1 The sociopolitical, cultural, and religious backgrounds of each country, as well as previous colonization, also influence whether it has animal protection legislation and whether these laws are enforced. Previous colonization is the case in many former British colonies, which often have very good laws but neither the means nor the …

The Evolution Of Animal Law Since 1950, Steven M. Wise

State of the Animals 2003

Over the last half century, the law has assumed an increasingly important place in animal protection even as it has begun to point in the direction of true legal rights for at least some nonhuman animals. In this chapter I briefly discuss five aspects of the law: anti-cruelty statutes; the necessity of obtaining standing to litigate on behalf of the interests of nonhuman animals; evolving protections for great apes; the movement toward legal rights for at least some nonhuman animals; and the state of legal education concerning animal protection.

Do Animal Protection Laws Dupe The Public?, Henry Spira

Farm Animal Campaign

As outlined by Wolfson, laws give the perception of protecting farm animals but, in reality, provide little or no protection. Federal law fails to provide any protection to farm animals on the farm. Moreover, while many state cruelty laws still cover farm animals in theory, they are rarely if ever applied. And most disconcerting is the trend of farm animals being increasingly excluded from the reach of state cruelty laws.

Legislation And Regulation

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

The development of legislation in Great Britain covering zoos is described. In 1945, there were only 14 zoos in Great Britain. By 1971, there were over 100 captive animal facilities in the country, but no legislation governed their activities. After a decade of lobbying, the Zoo Licensing Act was passed by Parliament on July 27, 1981.

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

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

Animal protection statutes are valuable, but they might be more useful if formulated to give private rights of action to their beneficiaries- the animals. The author explores extending common law rights of action to animals. Admittedly, permitting animals to sue in contract and tort now seems fanciful, but the author hopes this article will provide an initial step toward bringing it about.

Legislation And Regulation

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

The Californian Senate passes a Resolution on animal rights. While the US Congress is considering a proposal to investigate intensive animal husbandry. The British produce new welfare codes for pigs and cattle. Luxembourg passes a new animal protection law. New restrictions are passed on animals in circuses in Europe. The RSPCA successfully brings suit against an egg producer in Surrey.

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 …

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.

Laboratory Animals: Unification Of Legislation In Europe, H. Rozemond

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

A committee of experts, Comite Ad Hoc pour Ia Protection des Animaux (CAHPA), has been convened by the Council of Europe to prepare a European convention on the protection of laboratory animals. The chief goal of the Council of Europe is to implement peaceful cooperation concerning cultural, economic, and social affairs in Europe. Matters of military concern are excluded. The countries represented on the Council include Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Greece, Great Britain, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Turkey, Sweden, and Switzerland. The Council holds conventions on various topics …

Legislation And Regulation

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

The idea of new federal regulation on the care and use of animals in research is no longer novel; bills that would control and refocus the conduct of animal experimentation in the U.S. have been pending since the last session of Congress. Last autumn, however, a new phase in the process began. On 13-14 October 1981, the House Subcommittee on Science, Research, and Technology held information-gathering public hearings to evaluate existing bills and possibly formulate its own legislation.

Legislation And Regulation

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

The 1981 Swiss Animal Protection Law is a mixture of Promise and Compromise. The Council of Europe has produced a draft convention on animal research.

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

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

Long experience with unsuccessful attempts by British animal welfare groups to promote private members' bills for reform or replacement of the 1876 Cruelty to Animals Act has convinced reformists that achieving this kind of change by lobbying Parliament may be impossible. For this reason, 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 called for a substantial tightening of controls established under the …

Legislation And Regulation

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

A report of the Australian Senate Inquiry into Animal Welfare

Reporting Requirements Under The Animal Welfare Act: Their Inadequacies And The Public's Right To Know, M. Solomon, P. C. Lovenheim

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

The Animal Welfare Act is the only federal statute designed to protect animals used in laboratory research. This law requires research facilities to register with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and meet minimum housing standards, care, and treatment standards for most warm-blooded animals. The Act is administered by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), an agency of the USDA. Research institutions are required to file annual reports. However, the reports are frequently deficient. The authors argue that the USDA should issue clear definitions for what is meant by “pain” and “distress. ” They should also provide further …

Meetings And Announcements

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

Reports are provided on the following meetings that addressed the use of animals in experiments and possible alternatives. A meeting at the Royal Society of Medicine in London addressed the need for changes in the UK law on animal experimentation. The Scientists Center for Animal Welfare organized a meeting on animal research regulation in the United States. The Tissue Culture Association devoted its Spring 1982 meeting to in vitro alternatives to animals. The British Association for the Advancement of Science organized a symposium on the animal experimentation issue. Finally, the Nottingham University School of Agriculture organized a meeting on managing …

Legislation And Regulation

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

The Wildlife Legislative Fund of America, whose letterhead asserts that its sole raison d' etre is "to protect the Heritage of the American Sportsman to hunt, to fish and to trap," has devised a model state statute for making the various tactics of anti-hunting activists illegal. The group began its efforts in January 1982, and eight states have already enacted legislation containing some or all of the WLFA's suggested provisions. These states are Montana, New York, Washington, Vermont, Connecticut, Michigan, Minnesota, and California.

Meetings And Announcements

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

Report of the second European conference on farm animals in 1982 – “Between Production and Protection.” Comments on a workshop on the effectiveness of the German Animal Welfare Act of 1972 organized by the Academy for Continuing Veterinary Education and a report of the tenth vertebrate pest conference held in Monterey, California, in 1982.

The Changing Concept Of Animals As Property, Vincent P. Mccarthy

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

The article begins by identifying the changes in US law regarding the treatment of enslaved people as property and then proceeds to explore several cases in which the treatment of animals as mere property has been challenged in recent court cases. For example, can dog owners recover damages regarding the sentimental value of their pet dogs? In one New York case, the court ruled that “a pet is not just a thing but occupies a special place somewhere between a person and a piece of personal property.” The author expresses confidence that the courts will continue “to expand the domain …

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 Changing Concept Of Animals As Property, Vincent P. Mccarthy

Attitudes Towards Animals Collection

Enforced and maintained by a legal superstructure that regulated every aspect of a black [slave's] social, political, economic, and religious life, his property status continued until the middle of the nineteenth century when Congress passed the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution, which overturned the Dred Scott decision and recognized that a black human being had legally protectible rights.

There are some signs in recent legal decisions that a similar evolution in the status of animals is taking place: judges are beginning to draw distinctions between animals and property.

But can we ever expect that the courts will …

Legislation And Regulation

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

1. Law in Sweden

2. Law in India

3. Bills and Resolutions Before the 97th U.S. Congress

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

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

This paper proceeds from the premise that law is an appropriate, perhaps inevitable, instrument for dealing with ethical issues related to the use of research animals but then addresses the limits of the legislation in promoting change.

Legislation And Regulation

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

UK Parliamentary Agriculture Committee produces a report on farm animal welfare, and a bill to ban decompression chambers for shelter euthanasia is introduced in Pennsylvania.

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

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

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 non-farm businesses and organizations. These groups are required to provide humane care and treatment to regulated animals, which include hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits, dogs, …

The Ministry Of Agriculture 'S Involvement With Animal Welfare, Roy Moss

International Journal for the Study of Animal Problems

The following is excerpted from a paper presented by Mr. Moss, Regional Veterinary Officer in the British Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, at the British Veterinary Association Annual Congress, September 9-14, 1979, Aberdeen, Scotland.

The Ministry Of Agriculture's Involvement With Animal Welfare, Roy Moss

Agribusiness Collection

Keeping livestock healthy is primarily the responsibility of owners. Indeed, if they did not do so they would certainly not make a profit. Advice on the prevention, treatment and possible cure of disease is the responsibility of the veterinary surgeon. Prevention of physical damage to animals and their adoption of abnormal behavior caused by confinement which prevents them from exercising their inherited behavioral patterns is the joint responsibility of the ethologist, the technologist who designs the confinement system and ancillary equipment, the livestock husbandry specialist, the veterinary surgeon and the owner. If society also decides that there is a need …