Animal Law Commons^™

Corrected Amicus Brief Filed By Amici Curiae Law Professors In 25-11612 & 25-11821, William Snape, Delicianna Winders, Patrick Parenteau, Christopher Courchesne, Hope Babcock, Holly Doremus, Paul Boudreaux, Oliver A. Houck, Zygmunt J.B. Plater, Michelle Benedict Nowlin, Daniel Rohlf

Amicus Briefs & Court Filings

STATEMENT OF THE ISSUES: Whether the district court's injunction requiring FDEP to cease Endangered Species Act-violating conduct, obtain an incidental take permit before it continues with the conduct, and implement reasonable protective measures violates principles of cooperative federalism, the Tenth Amendment, or the anti-commandeering doctrine.

Whatever Happened To Queenie's Law?, Virginia C. Thomas

Library Scholarly Publications

This column illustrates how the history of a specific legislative measure that has been introduced over multiple legislative sessions can deepen our understanding of its legislative purpose.

Litigating Predator Management, John A. Erwin

UF Law Faculty Publications

Despite significant gains over the last half-century, predators such as mountain lions, wolves, and bears are in the crosshairs once again. Scientific management, democratic principles, and the holding of wildlife resources in trust for the public are all foundational pillars of the North American Model for Wildlife Conservation, yet state wildlife agencies and legislatures routinely fail to uphold these values where predators are concerned. Many of these tensions were thrust into the public consciousness in 2020 when gray wolves were temporarily delisted under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), resulting in a disastrous wolf hunting season in Wisconsin. States that have …

Undercover Investigations, Deception, And Democracy, Helen Norton

Publications

No abstract provided.

Who’S Going To Sue? A Look At Environmental Citizen Suits, Virginia C. Thomas

Library Scholarly Publications

The author reviews the history of citizen-plaintiff suit provisions embedded in federal and state environmental legislation.

Powerless Beings: Solitary Confinement Of Humans And Nonhumans In America, Michael B. Mushlin, David N. Cassuto

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

Every day, thousands of humans and millions of nonhumans endure solitary confinement. Human prisoners held this way are confined for twenty-two to twenty-four hours a day for weeks, months, or even years on end in cells the size of a parking space. For these humans, the experience is tortuous. Captive animals held in solitary confinement similarly spend much of their lives locked into tiny spaces, isolated, and deprived of the types of interactions and environment essential to their wellbeing. And, like humans, they are driven mad. In human and nonhuman settings, the agony of solitary is chillingly alike and harmful. …

Tarnished Gold: The Endangered Species Act At 50, Jonathan H. Adler

Faculty Publications

This Article aims to take stock of the [Endangered Species Act] ESA’s success and failures during its first fifty years, particularly with regard to the conservation of species habitat on private land. While the ESA authorizes powerful regulatory tools for species conservation, there are serious questions as to whether such tools are the most effective means of conserving species and the habitats on which they rely. Given that most species rely upon private land for their survival, the ESA’s ability to foster private land conservation will affect the law’s overall success.

This abstract has been taken from the author's introduction.

Maurer Environmental Law Expert Is Lead Author On Science Insights Policy Forum Article, James Owsley Boyd

Keep Up With the Latest News from the Law School (blog)

Environmental champions and conservationists will mark the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act later this month. That is the law requiring federal agencies to use all methods necessary to prevent extinctions and ensure that federal actions not jeopardize the continued existence of species on the brink of disappearing from the face of the Earth.

In the leadup to the December 27th anniversary, several publications have begun examining the Act’s history and impact over five decades.

Science, the world’s third-most influential scholarly journal based on Google Scholar citations, invited experts from around the country to look ahead as well …

Twenty Years After Krieger V Law Society Of Alberta: Law Society Discipline Of Crown Prosecutors And Government Lawyers, Andrew Flavelle Martin

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Krieger v. Law Society of Alberta held that provincial and territorial law societies have disciplinary jurisdiction over Crown prosecutors for conduct outside of prosecutorial discretion. The reasoning in Krieger would also apply to government lawyers. The apparent consensus is that law societies rarely exercise that jurisdiction. But in those rare instances, what conduct do Canadian law societies discipline Crown prosecutors and government lawyers for? In this article, I canvass reported disciplinary decisions to demonstrate that, while law societies sometimes discipline Crown prosecutors for violations unique to those lawyers, they often do so for violations applicable to all lawyers — particularly …

Python Patrol: Combatting The Problem Of Invasive Non-Native Snakes In Florida, Jessica Rooke

Law Student Publications

The Florida hotspot of non-native invasive species has long been recognized as a fascinating, yet perplexing environmental issue since the late 1900s. After decades of patchwork efforts by the federal and state government, it has become clear that a more holistic approach must be taken to help eradicate the Burmese Pythons that have overtaken Southern Florida. This article highlights the prior efforts taken federally and state-wide to combat this issue and assesses the current gaps in these efforts and what must be done to achieve a more holistic approach. Other states are used as points of comparison in regard to …

An Empirical Study Of The Nation's First Court Animal Advocate Law, Jessica Rubin, Tara Cooley

Faculty Articles and Papers

No abstract provided.

Local Action For Animals As A Stepping Stone To State Protections, Jo Anderson

Law

Municipal ordinances can be an effective way to create animal protection laws at the local level, and could lead to great success at the state level. Passing laws at the local level allows people to help animals in their communities, while providing a model for other cities and jurisdictions. Local laws can also create momentum for statewide initiatives, which demonstrates a state’s strong commitment to protecting animals.

Legislation is a key avenue animal advocates use to effect change at scale, but there is not much research about how to choose tractable issues and lobby for them successfully. The goal of …

A Science-Based Policy For Managing Free-Roaming Cats, David Hunter, Christopher A. Lepczyk, David C. Duffy, David M. Bird, Michael Calver, Dmitry Cherkassky, Linda Cherkassky, Christopher R. Dickman, David Jessup, Travis Longcore, Scott R. Loss, Kerrie Anne T. Loyd, Peter P. Marra, John M. Marzluff, Reed F. Noss, Daniel Simberloff, Grant C. Sizemore, Stanley A. Temple, Yolanda Van Heezik

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Free-roaming domestic cats (i.e., cats that are owned or unowned and are considered ‘at large’) are globally distributed non-native species that have marked impacts on biodiversity and human health. Despite clear scientific evidence of these impacts, free-roaming cats are either unmanaged or managed using scientifically unsupported and ineffective approaches (e.g., trap-neuter-release [TNR]) in many jurisdictions around the world. A critical first initiative for effective, science-driven management of cats must be broader political and legislative recognition of free-roaming cats as a non-native, invasive species. Designating cats as invasive is important for developing and implementing science-based management plans, which should include efforts …

Killing Rarity, Shahrokh Falati

Articles & Chapters

On May 22, 2019, Botswana decided after many years to lift its ban on hunting elephants and in February 2020 held its first auctions for the right to hunt elephants. This turnaround change in their law coincides with a rapidly changing legal landscape in the United States related to the practice of trophy hunting of rare, intelligent animals, including elephants. This Article analyzes the fluid legal landscape surrounding this uncommon form of hunting of rare animals and possible ways of using the Administrative Procedures Act and the Federal Advisory Committee Act as a means of challenging the government’s rapidly changing …

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.

Trespass Plus: Ag-Gag And The Right To Exclude, Anthony B. Derron

Publications

The recent proliferation of agricultural anti-whistleblower legislation, or "ag-gag," has finally given the right to exclude the weight that property theory claims it deserves. By offering hefty fines and imprisonment to would-be agricultural trespassers, ag-gag is one of the few legal frameworks to treat the right to exclude seriously. Scholars and judges are taking notice. Given the significant environmental harms that agriculture causes – nearly one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions – and the conspicuous First Amendment concerns, it’s no wonder. But what commentators aren’t noticing is just how radical ag- gag is when compared to the legal regimes of …

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 …

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 …

Taxpayer-Funded Covid Shots For Minks Just The Latest Nova Scotia Industry Outage, Jodi Lazare

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

Nova Scotia's Department of Agriculture has quietly announced its plan to prop up the mink farm industry, by paying for COVID-19 vaccines for minks. Throughout the pandemic, we’ve learned that minks can catch COVID, spread it between themselves, and transmit it to the humans who work on these farms. As part of Nova Scotia’s vaccination program, 54,000 doses will be administered to the animals whose pelts will eventually be sold overseas.

Ag-Gag Illustrated, Jodi Lazare, Petroglyph Comics

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

In February 2021, Professor Jodi Lazare was contacted by Petroglyph Comics, a social justice comic studio, that wanted to turn her research on Canadian ag-gag legislation into a comic, accessible to all. The resulting comic is based on two articles by Prof. Lazare, the first published in the Alberta Law Journal and the second currently under review at a second Canadian law journal. Both articles combine her interests in animal law and constitutional law to suggest that recently adopted legislation limiting access to and information about industrially farmed animals in Canada constitutes an unjustified limit to the constitutional right …

Discontinuity Between Religion, Law, And Society Through Animal Treatment In Morocco, Michael Altman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Animal treatment is a topic which is covered by many facets of what helps create the guiding principles for humans, yet all in different ways; there is some overlap, and there is some distinction. From my three months of study in Rabat, Morocco, seeing how each person approaches the homeless animal differently, I write on how three important overarching areas: religious, legal, and societal, discuss how animals should be treated.

In this paper, I will be analyzing religious texts, legal writings both in place and in draft, and will rely on external works written animal markets and on the school …

Understanding The North Atlantic Right Whale Litigation, Gabrielle Benjamin, Read Porter

Sea Grant Law Fellow Publications

No abstract provided.

Military Working Dogs: Tracking Their Journey From Equipment To K-9 Heroes, Virginia Thomas

Library Scholarly Publications

The author surveys the history of legislation governing the lives and uses of military working dogs (MWD).

Canada And Transboundary Fisheries Management In Changing Oceans: Taking Stock, Future Scenarios, U.R. Sumaila, David Vanderzwaag

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

This article is the Introduction to the Special Feature entitled: Canada and Transboundary Fisheries Management in Changing Oceans: Taking Stock, Future Scenarios. We summarize the research context of the four papers in the Special Feature.

Opportunities For Public Comments On Pending Trap/Pot Fishery Regulations To Protect The North Atlantic Right Whale, Catherine Schluter

Marine Affairs Institute Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Aristotle And Animal Law: The Case For Habeas Corpus For Animals, Charles Edward Andrew Lincoln Iv

Student Scholarship

This article is divided into three substantive sections. Section I delineates Aristotle’s theory of the soul as laid out in De Anima. Section II defines habeas corpus as a legal concept and demonstrates under what circumstances it should be granted. Section III applies Aristotle’s theory of the soul as a structure whereby animals could be granted habeas corpus rights.

Dispute Settlement Under The African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement: A Preliminary Assessment, Olabisi D. Akinkugbe

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

The African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) will add a new dispute settlement system to the plethora of judicial mechanisms designed to resolve trade disputes in Africa. Against the discontent of Member States and limited impact the existing highly legalized trade dispute settlement mechanisms have had on regional economic integration in Africa, this paper undertakes a preliminary assessment of the AfCFTA Dispute Settlement Mechanism (DSM). In particular, the paper situates the AfCFTA-DSM in the overall discontent and unsupportive practices of African States with highly legalized dispute settlement systems and similar WTO-Styled DSMs among other shortcomings. Notwithstanding the transplantation of …

Ag-Gag Laws, Animal Rights Activism, And The Constitution: What Is Protected Speech?, Jodi Lazare

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

This article examines the constitutionality of ag-gag legislation that has recently been adopted by two Canadian provinces and is on the horizon in others. Ag-gag legislation prohibits activities such as trespass onto agricultural animal operations, gaining entry onto agriculture operations using false pretences, and interfering with the transport of farmed animals to slaughter. The analysis draws on case law and literature interpreting section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and engages with scholarship related to animal rights activism, American ag-gag legislation, and feminist animal studies to argue that ag-gag laws violate the fundamental freedoms protected by the …

Suffering Matters: Nepa, Animals, And The Duty To Disclose, David N. Cassuto, Tala Dibenedetto

Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the federal government to disclose potential environmental harms arising from agency actions. Animal suffering is an environmental harm, yet no court has ruled that its infliction triggers a reporting obligation under NEPA. This Article argues that animal suffering should be a cognizable environmental harm under NEPA, that considerations of animal suffering should factor into whether an agency must prepare an EIS--and should be discussed in the content of the EIS.

Part II of this Article introduces and explains the procedural requirements of NEPA. Part III discusses animal suffering--how it is defined, how laws …