Animal Law Commons^™

The Future Of Veterinary Malpractice Liability In The Care Of Companion Animals, Christopher Green

Animal Law Review

This comment investigates the factual bases of arguments from the veterinary community and of those that support increasing the malpractice liability of veterinarians. Combining law and economics theory with basic mathematics to evaluate the validity of these positions, it then suggests specific measures for legislatively addressing those parties’ concerns.

Taxpayer Standing: A Step Toward Animal-Centric Litigation, Varu Chilakamarri

Animal Law Review

This comment takes a novel approach in animal law jurisprudence by evaluating the taxpayer standing doctrine and how animal welfare proponents may utilize it. The doctrine can potentially be used for public interest litigation whenever a link can be found between a social harm and the use of public monies.

In The Line Of Fire: Brown V. Muhlenberg Township And The Reality Of Police Seizures Of Companion Animals, Denee A. Diluigi

Animal Law Review

Ms. DiLuigi addresses a companion animal owners’ rights under current law to bring and maintain an action for the unreasonable seizure of their companion animal by an officer as well as an action for the intentional infliction of emotional distress in light of the Third Circuit’s recent decision in Brown v. Muhlenberg Township. Applying various legal doctrines, Ms. DiLuigi also explores potential legal arguments for future litigation stemming from an officer’s execution of a companion animal.

2022 Legislative Review, Emilie Keturakis

Animal Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Historical And Contemporary Prosecution And Punishment Of Animals, Jen Girgen

Animal Law Review

This article analyzes the role of the animal “offender,” by examining the animal trials and executions of years past. The writer argues that although the formal prosecution of animals as practiced centuries ago may have ended (for the most part), we continue to punish animals for their “crimes” against human beings. She suggests that we do this primarily to achieve two ends: the restoration of order and the achievement of revenge, and concludes with a call for a renewed emphasis on “due process” for animals threatened with punishment for their offenses.

The Evolving Legal Status Of Chimpanzees

Animal Law Review

On September 30, 2002, Harvard Law School hosted a legal symposium sponsored by the Chimpanzee Collaboratory's Legal Committee. The symposium featured speakers with expertise on chimpanzees, as well as legal scholars and lawyers who discussed the possibility of obtaining legal rights for chimpanzees and other great apes. This symposium sought to advance the argument that chimpanzees are entitled to some degree of legal status, and the speakers presented a range of views about how far such legal rights should extend. These remarks reflect the connection between the growning scientific understanding of chimpanzees and the advances in related legal doctrines. This …

A New Era In Humane Education: How Troubling Youth Trends And A Call For Character Education Are Breathing New Life Into Efforts To Educate Our Youth About The Value Of All Life, Lydia S. Antoncic

Animal Law Review

The purpose of education is to create in a person the ability to look at the world for himself, to make his own decisions, to say to himself this is black or this is white, to decide for himself whether there is a God in heaven or not. To ask questions of the universe, and then to learn to live with those questions, is the way he achieves his own identity. But no society is really anxious to have that kind of person around. What societies really, ideally want is a citizenry which will simply obey the rules of society. …

Valuing Companion Animals In Wrongful Death Cases: A Survey Of Current Court And Legislative Action And A Suggestion For Valuing Pecuniary Loss Of Companionship, Elaine T. Byszewski

Animal Law Review

Because it is exceedingly difficult to measure the value of “companionship” in determining damages for the loss of a companion animal in wrongful death cases, courts and legislatures have struggled to come up with a realistic method of assessment. This article suggests a straightforward “investment approach” to estimate the minimum pecuniary value, including companionship value, that human guardians place on their companion animals. Significantly, the investment approach provides a more accurate assessment of companion animal value, which serves tort system goals of efficient compensation for loss and deterrence of future harm to companion animals.

Ten Years Of Animal Law At Lewis & Clark Law School, Nancy V. Perry

Animal Law Review

This introduction is a summary and extension of remarks presented in the keynote address for the 10th Annual Animal Law Conference at Lewis & Clark Law School.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow: Equine Cosmetic Crimes And Other Tails Of Woe, Sandra Tozzini

Animal Law Review

Many invasive procedures, including surgery, are performed on horses’ tails purely for cosmetic reasons. These procedures fall into a variety of categories from the arguably unethical to the undoubtedly criminal. Although criminal laws prohibiting certain cosmetic surgeries have been in existence for approximately one hundred years, they rarely have been enforced. This article reviews the current status of both American and international “anti-cosmetic” statutes, focusing on the constitutional problems that the current American statutes raise. The article proposes a model federal statute that is constitutionally sound, addresses all forms of cosmetic tail procedures, and provides a vehicle for enforcement.

Making The Change, One Conservative At A Time: A Review Of Dominion: The Power Of Man, The Suffering Of Animals, And The Call To Mercy By Michael Scully, Shennie Patel

Animal Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Review Of Minding Animals: Awareness, Emotions, And Heart By Dr. Mark Bekoff, Michael Tobias

Animal Law Review

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

Animal Law Review

Front Matter contains title page, masthead, advisors, and Table of Contents for Animal Law Volume 9, Issue 1.

Restricting The Use Of Animal Traps In The United States: An Overview Of Laws And Strategy, Dena M. Jones, Sheila Hughes Rodriguez

Animal Law Review

Enacting absolute bans on the use of trapping devices and on commerce in trapped animal products has been difficult. Nearly every state, however, has enacted some restrictions on who can trap, what animals can be trapped, where and when animals can be trapped, the type and size of permitted traps, and how often traps must be checked. This article summarizes past and potential approaches to curtail the use of traps in the U.S. at federal, state and local levels. The article also notes litigation related to trapping and trapping prohibitions.

Reaching For Justice: An Analysis Of Self-Help Prosecution For Animal Crimes, Jennifer H. Rackstraw

Animal Law Review

Although prosecutorial discretion is a firmly entrenched legal doctrine in the United States, such unbridled discretion impedes the vigorous and consistent prosecution of animal crimes. With an overwhelming incidence of animal cruelty and neglect crimes perpetrated in the United States every year, documented cases should not be passed over for prosecution due to a lack of empathy on the part of the prosecutor, a misplaced understanding of the seriousness of animal cruelty crimes, or a dearth of resources. To ensure that animal crimes are more vigorously and consistently prosecuted, citizens should take advantage of existing mechanisms that allow for public …

The World Trade Organisation Rules: A Legal Analysis Of Their Adverse Impact On Animal Welfare, Peter Stevenson

Animal Law Review

Mr. Stevenson analyzes the free trade rules of the World Trade Organisation and discusses their detrimental impact on certain measures designed to protect animals. Specifically, he discusses U.S. laws to safeguard dolphins and sea turtles, as well as proposed EU laws regarding leghold traps and cosmetic testing on animals. Mr. Stevenson provides an analysis of current WTO rule interpretation, identifies ways in which the rules should be reformed, and provides a less restrictive interpretation that would permit the existence of measures designed to improve animal welfare.

The Economic Value Of Companion Animals: A Legal And Anthropological Argument For Special Valuation, Geordie Duckler

Animal Law Review

Mr. Duckler delves into valuation issues that arise in the context of recovery of non-economic damages for death and injury to companion animals. He argues that the special nature of companion animals in society necessitates an assigned monetary worth to such animals that is distinct from and exceeds mere market value. As support for this contention, Mr. Duckler provides relevant legal, sociological, and anthropological analyses.

Canning Canned Hunts: Using State And Federal Legislation To Eliminate The Unethical Practice Of Canned "Hunting", Laura J. Ireland

Animal Law Review

Ms. Ireland explores the methodologies, ethics, and dangers of canned hunting and offers ways to challenge the practice through existing and proposed state and federal statutes. In so doing, Ms. Ireland examines statutory law as it relates to exotic animals, the definition of “animal,” the anti-cruelty exemptions, and husbandry practices. Finally, the feasability of statutory enforcement by agencies is examined.

Political Ideology And The Legal Status Of Animals, Robert Garner

Animal Law Review

Mr. Garner challenges the traditional notion that significant improvements to animals’ well being cannot be achieved absent an abolition of their status as mere property. In so doing, Mr. Garner explores political factors affecting animal protection, including the current ideological climate and western notions of liberalism.

Roots Of Human Resistance To Animal Rights: Psychological And Conceptual Blocks, Steven J. Bartlett

Animal Law Review

Mr. Bartlett discusses the psychological and conceptual impediments to human acceptance of the notion of animal rights. He posits that human characteristics such as homocentrism, human narcissism, and species-selfishness all function to keep animals from securing their rightful place in the existing social and legal framework. Mr. Bartlett also argues that human attitudes, policies, and behavior affecting animals are influenced by underlying conceptual pathologies, and that animal advocates would be well served by taking into account such human pathologies in their quest for greater animal protection.

Shoot First, Talk Later: Blowing Holes In Freedom Of Speech, Jacqueline Tresl

Animal Law Review

Ms. Tresl examines the constitutionality of hunter harassment laws. When a five-step doctrinal analysis is applied to hunter harassment statutes, it is clear that the statutes are content-based and subject to the strictest of scrutiny. Because the statutes fail the strict scrutiny test, they therefore violate the American citizenry’s First Amendment right to free expression.

Could A Chimpanzee Or Bonobo Take The Stand?, Angela Campbell

Animal Law Review

No abstract provided.

Enforcing Existing Rights, Cass R. Sunstein

Animal Law Review

No abstract provided.

2001 Legislative Review, Laurie Fulkerson

Animal Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Legal Status Of Nonhuman Animals

Animal Law Review

On September 25, 1999, a distinguished group of legal scholars met in New York City at the 5th Annual Conference on Animals and the Law, hosted by the Committee on Legal Issues Pertaining to Animals of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, to discuss how the law classifies nonhuman animals and whether the current legal framework is in accord with scientific understanding, public attitudes, and fundamental principles of justice. This conference took a monumental step in facilitating discussion about, and furthering the cause of, the legal protection and welfare of nonhuman animals.

Comments are included …

Front Matter

Animal Law Review

Front Matter contains title page, masthead, advisors, and Table of Contents for Animal Law Volume 8, Issue 1.

Animal Law And Animal Rights On The Move In Sweden, Helena Striwing

Animal Law Review

Ms. Striwing, an attorney at law in Sweden, provides a glimpse into Swedish laws and practices affecting animals in that country. She discusses the development and characteristics of such laws and offers suggestions regarding implementation and enforcement that may also be utilized by other countries in their quests to afford animals greater legal protections.

Ten Lessons Our Constitutional Experience Can Teach Us About The Puzzle Of Animal Rights: The Work Of Steven M. Wise, Laurence H. Tribe

Animal Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Step At A Time: New Zealand's Progress Toward Homonid Rights, Rowan Taylor

Animal Law Review

All members of the Homindae Family (humans, chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans) share complex cognitive aptitudes not shared by most other animals. Yet only human hominids have legal rights to life and personal security. The campaign to win fundamental rights for all hominids took a small but significant step forward in 1999 when New Zealand's Animal Welfare Act banned the use of non-human hominids in research, testing, and teaching except where such uses are in the hominids' best interests. In preventing human interests from trumping non-human ones, the Act took a first step toward dismantling speciesism within the hominid family. …

Legal Trade In African Elephant Ivory: Buy Ivory To Save The Elephant?, Sam B. Edwards Iii

Animal Law Review

Trade in endangered species is a complicated issue. The trade in ivory creates tensions between western conservation-driven beliefs and developing countries' reliance on wildlife as a resource. This article examines the recent decision under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) to conduct a one-time sale of ivory from Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Botswana to Japan. Since trade in endangered species involves many different disciplines, this paper touches on biology, international law, economics, and public policy. In theory, limited trade in African elephant ivory is possible and even advantageous for the various actors. However, in practice, the management controls …