Animal Law Commons^™

Harming The Tinkerer: The Case For Aligning Standing And Preliminary Injunction Analysis In The Endangered Species Act, Danny Lutz

Animal Law Review

Reviewing preliminary injunction motions under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), most district courts evaluate “irreparable harm” through one of two lines of analysis. One line, promoted by property rights interest groups, reasons that individual mortalities might not constitute irreparable harm if they do not impact survival of the species. In contrast to this “species-level harm” analysis, another approach argues that “individual-level harm” suffices because it is irreparable to the animal. The recent First Circuit opinion in Animal Welfare Institute v. Martin attempts, but ultimately fails, to bridge the divide over which level of analysis to apply for irreparable harm under …

The Bestiality Proscription: In Search Of A Rationale, Antonio M. Haynes

Animal Law Review

Addressing a taboo rarely discussed in scholarly works, this Ar­ticle analyzes frequently advanced arguments supporting prohibitions on bestiality. Though on a superficial level the ar­guments seem appealing, upon closer inspection the standard justifications break down under internal inconsistencies. A dif­ferently constructed theory may not only provide a rationalized, consistent basis for regulating bestiality, but also lend greater coherence to laws regulating sexuality in general. Part II of this Article explores arguments related to consent; Part III dis­cusses bestiality impermissibly using animals as a means; Part IV examines public health arguments, largely relating to those diseases that can spread easily from …

Getting Species On Board The Ark One Lawsuit At A Time: How The Failure To List Deserving Species Has Undercut The Effectiveness Of The Endangered Species Act, James Jay Tutchton

Animal Law Review

This Article, presented by a former general counsel for WildEarth Guardians, discusses the organization’s attempts to protect imperiled species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). By comparing extinction patterns from the past, we can see that the human impact on the Earth’s biodiversity is similar to that caused by past geological catastrophes. The ESA is the Noah’s Ark of our time, providing the best opportunity to help stem the tide of extinction. In analyzing the ESA, it is clear that the Act serves important human interests and is effective when utilized as intended. However, the United States Fish & Wildlife …

2013 State Legislative Review, Cameron Taylor

Animal Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Endangered Species Act At Forty: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly, Daniel J. Rohlf

Animal Law Review

No abstract provided.

Endangered Species Act Listings And Climate Change: Avoiding The Elephant In The Room, Michael C. Blumm, Kya B. Marienfeld

Animal Law Review

The Endangered Species Act (ESA), with its reputation as the nation’s strongest environmental law, might be expected to impose some limits on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions adversely affecting listed species due to rising global temperatures. Although the federal government recently conceded that some species warrant listing because of climate change, the accompanying listing decisions revealed a federal refusal to apply the ESA to constrain GHG emissions. In this Article, we explain those decisions—involving the American pika, the polar bear, the wolverine, and the Gunnison sage-grouse—and their implications. We conclude with some surprising observations about the Obama Administration’s apparent endorsement of …

The Lizard, The Scientist, & The Lawmaker: An Analysis Of The Trending Fight Over The Use Of Science Under The Endangered Species Act And How To Address It, Brie D. Sherwin

Animal Law Review

Recently in Texas, the dunes sagebrush lizard—a tiny, little-known reptile living in the sparse brush and dunes of the oil and gas fields—sparked a heated discussion and criticism over the listing process under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This six-year battle ended with the withdrawal of a proposed rule to list the lizard and resulted in numerous criticisms about the role and use of scientific data throughout the process. Under the ESA, the United States Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) is required to consider the best available scientific data when deciding whether to list a species. However, there is no …

Front Matter

Animal Law Review

Front Matter includes Title Page, Masthead, advisors, and Table of Contents for Animal Law Review Volume 21, Issue 1, 2014.

You Don't Own Me: Feral Dogs And The Question Of Ownership, Stacy A. Nowicki

Animal Law Review

Feral dogs occupy an ambiguous position, challenging standard categories of domestication, wildness, and property ownership. This ambiguity, in turn, complicates the legal status of feral dogs. Feral dogs' property status is particularly critical, as whether a feral dog is owned by someone, or no one at all, hold implications not only for civil and criminal liability in incidents involving feral dogs, but also the legal ability of animal rescue organizations to intervene in the lives of feral dogs. Part II of this Article summarizes the application of property law to ani­mals, particularly highlighting the role played by an animal's status …

Dog Meat Trade In South Korea: A Report On The State Of The Trade And Efforts To Eliminate It, Claire Czajkowski

Animal Law Review

Within South Korea, the dog meat trade occupies a liminal le­gal space-neither explicitly condoned, nor technically prohib­ited. As a result of existing in this legal gray area, all facets of the dog meat trade within South Korea-from dog farms, to transport, to slaughter, to consumption-are poorly regulated and often obfuscated from review. In the South Korean context, the dog meat trade itself not only terminally impacts millions of canine lives each year, but resonates in a larger national con­text: raising environmental concerns, and standing as a proxy for cultural and political change. Part II of this Article describes the nature …

A Short History Of (Mostly) Western Animal Law: Part Ii, Thomas G. Kelch

Animal Law Review

This Article, presented in two parts, travels through animal law from ancient Babylonia to the present, analyzing examples of laws from the ancient, medieval, Renaissance and Enlightenment, recent modern, and modern historical periods. In performing this analysis, particular attention is focused on the primary motives and purposes behind these laws. What is discovered is that there has been a historical progression in the primary motives underlying animal laws in these different periods. In Part I of this Article, it was discovered that while economic and religious motives dominate the ancient and medieval periods, in the Renaissance and Enlightenment, we see …

Empowering Market Regulation Of Agricultural Animal Welfare Through Product Labeling, Sean P. Sullivan

Animal Law Review

In many Western nations, rising public concern about the welfare of agricultural animals is reflected in the adoption of direct regulatory standards governing the treatment of these animals. The United States has taken a different path, tending to rely on a “market-regulation” approach whereby consumers express their desire for specific welfare practices through their purchasing decisions. This Article explores the failure of market regulation and the welfare-preference paradox posed by consumers who express a strong preference for improved animal welfare in theory, but who simultaneously fail to demand heightened welfare standards in practice. It argues that market regulation is failing …

2012 Federal Legislative Review, Carolyn Greenshields, Kimberly White Laduca

Animal Law Review

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

Animal Law Review

Front Matter includes Title Page, Masthead, advisors, and Table of Contents for Animal Law Review Volume 19, Issue 2, 2013.

Bullhooks And The Law: Is Pain And Suffering The Elephant In The Room?, Trevor J. Smith

Animal Law Review

In the United States, violent use of “bullhooks”—sharpened, steel-tipped rods—on captive elephants at carnivals, circuses, and zoos is all too routine. Yet animal-welfare advocates struggle to protect elephants from the (mis)use of bullhooks under the current regulatory regime. At the federal level, advocates cannot consistently rely on either the Animal Welfare Act or the Endangered Species Act, due to these statutes’ narrow provisions, standing limitations, and inconsistent enforcement. State animal-protection laws are equally deficient, as only two states have defined suffering and abuse clearly enough in their statutes to enable effective prosecution of elephant mistreatment, and plaintiffs in even these …

Consistently Inconsistent: The Constitution And Animals, Marianne Sullivan

Animal Law Review

No abstract provided.

2012 State Legislative Review, Laura Hagen

Animal Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Slave By Any Other Name Is Still A Slave: The Tilikum Case And Application Of The Thirteenth Amendment To Nonhuman Animals, Jeffrey S. Kerr, Martina Bernstein, Amanda S. Schwoerke, Matthew D. Strugar, Jared Goodman

Animal Law Review

On its face, the Thirteenth Amendment outlaws the conditions and practices of slavery and involuntary servitude wherever they may exist in this country—irrespective of the victim’s race, creed, sex, or species. In 2011, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, on behalf of five wild-captured orcas, sued SeaWorld for enslaving the orcas in violation of the Thirteenth Amendment. The case presented, for the first time, the question of whether the Thirteenth Amendment’s protections can extend to nonhuman animals. This Article examines the lawsuit’s factual, theoretical, and strategic underpinnings, and argues that the district court’s opinion ultimately dismissing the suit failed …

Lukumi At Twenty: A Legacy Of Uncertainty For Religious Liberty And Animal Welafere, James M. Oleske Jr.

Animal Law Review

Twenty years after the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah, uncertainty reigns in the lower courts and among commentators over the issue of constitutionally compelled religious exemptions. Despite the Court’s general disavowal of such exemptions in Employment Division v. Smith, Lukumi appeared to breathe life into a potentially significant exception to Smith. Under that exception—which this Article calls the “selective-exemption rule”—the Free Exercise Clause may still require religious exemptions from a law when the government selectively makes available other exemptions from that law. This Article addresses the key unresolved …

Service Animals In Training And The Law: An Imperfect System., Darcie Magnuson

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not provide protection for service animals in training anywhere in public places, including workplaces and government buildings. Individual state statutes may or may not grant service animals in training access to places of public accommodations, public buildings, or places of employment. Similarly, neither the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) nor the Fair Housing Act (FHA) Amendments afford rights and privileges in air transportation and housing, respectively, to service animals in training. Without service animals, individuals with disabilities would not be able to equally access society or fully participate in many activities. However, without …

Front Matter

Animal Law Review

Front Matter includes advisors and Table of Contents for Animal Law Review Volume 18, Issue 2, 2012.

The Animal Rights Debate And The Expansion Of Public Discourse: Is It Possible For The Law Protecting Animals To Simultaneously Fail And Succeed?, Peter Sankoff

Animal Law Review

This Article uses the theory of deliberative democracy, as developed by Jürgen Habermas and others, to suggest that public discourse is essential to encouraging democratic change in animal welfare law. The author examines the legal regimes of Canada and New Zealand to determine which country better facilitates a public dialogue about the treatment of animals. The Article concludes that, while Canada has a number of laws that ostensibly protect animals, New Zealand’s regime is much better at creating the public discourse required to meaningfully advance animal protection. The author does not suggest that New Zealand’s regime is perfect; rather, New …

Shark Laws With Teeth: How Deep Can U.S. Conservation Laws Cut Into Global Trade Regulations, Kaitlin M. Wojnar

Animal Law Review

Controversy surrounding application of the Shark & Fishery Conservation Act of 2010 (Shark Conservation Act) reflects a culmination of competing interests between environmental conservation and international free trade. Non-governmental organizations are pressuring the United States (U.S.) government to use the Shark Conservation Act to impose trade sanctions against countries that do not have specific regulations on shark finning. The implementation of such import bans, however, could negatively impact the nation’s relationships with some of its principal trade partners and violate international obligations under multilateral trade treaties. This Note proposes that the U.S. cannot impose such an embargo on shark products …

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

Animal Law Review

This is one of the fundamental questions that frame the study of animal law: To what extent should nonhuman animals be considered legal persons? Of course, this question presupposes that we share or can arrive at a common and stable conception of legal personhood. In fact, there are a variety of conceptions of legal personhood. This Introduction will explore one in particular and, in the process, question the extent to which simply being born Homo sapiens satisfies the potentially complex and demanding requirements of being a legal person. This argument will lead us to reframe animal law a bit and …

Passing The Baton: How Teamwork And Unbridled Optimism Created Lewis & Clark's Animal Law Program, Nancy Perry

Animal Law Review

No abstract provided.

Hot, Crowded, And Legal: A Look At Industrial Agriculture In The United States And Brazil, David N. Cassuto, Sarah Saville

Animal Law Review

Over the last sixty years, industrial agriculture has expanded in the United States and throughout the world, including in Brazil. Any benefit this expansion has brought comes at significant environmental and social costs. Industrial agriculture is a leading contributor to global climate change, air and water pollution, deforestation, and dangers in the workplace. This Article discusses the impact of industrial animal agriculture in the U.S. and Brazil. It also examines the laws pertaining to industrial agriculture in both countries and provides a comparative analysis of the two legal regimes. Finally, this Article concludes with the observation that although the price …

2011 Legislative And Administrative Review, Patrick Graves, Keith Mosman, Shayna Rogers

Animal Law Review

It is my pleasure to introduce Animal Law’s fourteenth annual Legislative and Administrative Review. The 2011 Legislative and Administrative Review analyzes some of the year’s most groundbreaking developments in animal-related state and federal legislation, such as federal regulations of genetically engineered fish and attempts by state legislatures to overturn animal-related citizen initiatives.

Additionally, for the first time in Animal Law’s history, this year’s Review also includes an analysis of some of the most important animal-related administrative law developments of the year. Because many decisions impacting animals occur in the administrative arena, it is our hope that the administrative section complements …

Some Tenants Have Tails: When Housing Providers Must Permit Animals To Reside In "No-Pet" Properties, Tara A. Waterlander

Animal Law Review

Living with a disability can make finding a home a difficult task. Discrimination against the use of a service or assistive animal in lease agreements is a hurdle to finding a home for persons with disabilities. This discrimination is particularly pronounced when the individual suffers from a mental or emotional disability, because these disabilities are “invisible.” Because these disabilities are invisible, landlords are often reluctant to make reasonable accommodations in lease agreements to further the use of service and assistive animals in the treatment of mental illnesses or other disabilities, as required by the Fair Housing Act. This Article considers …

Coalitions In The Jungle: Advancing Animal Welfare Through Challenges To Concentration In The Meat Industry, Lis Kamila

Animal Law Review

The meat processing conglomerates that currently control the majority of the market share in the meatpacking industry are responsible for its most systemic animal abuses. Increased concentration has enabled these larger processors to dictate animal treatment standards maintained by meat producers, most of whom have caved to economic pressure and moved their animals from small farms into Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. Animal welfare proponents have failed to adequately challenge the concentration of the meat industry and in 2012 have yet to fully explore strategies made available by the Packers & Stockyards Act of 1921 (PSA). This Article proposes that a …

The Universal Declaration Of Animal Rights Or The Creation Of A New Equilibrium Between Species, Jean-Marc Neumann

Animal Law Review

This Essay is a translation of the author’s original French text. It examines the Universal Declaration of Animal Rights of 1978, which lays out fundamental rights for animals in fourteen articles. This Essay explores the origins of and influences behind the original Declaration, as well as details the changes which were brought to it in a revised version in 1989. It then examines the scope of the Declaration and why it has not had the far-reaching implications its authors once hoped for. Finally, this Essay questions what the Declaration means for the future of animal rights and whether the document …