Animal Law Commons^™

Animal Sentience: The Other-Minds Problem, Stevan Harnad

Animal Sentience

The only feelings we can feel are our own. When it comes to the feelings of others, we can only infer them, based on their behavior — unless they tell us. This is the “other-minds problem.” Within our own species, thanks to language, this problem arises only for states in which people cannot speak (infancy, aphasia, sleep, anaesthesia, coma). Our species also has a uniquely powerful empathic or “mind-reading” capacity: We can (sometimes) perceive from the behavior of others when they are in states like our own. Our inferences have also been systematized and operationalized in biobehavioral science …

Breaking The Silence: The Veterinarian’S Duty To Report, Martine Lachance

Animal Sentience

Animals, like children and disabled elders, are not only the subjects of abuse, but they are unable to report and protect themselves from it. Veterinarians, like human physicians, are often the ones to become aware of the abuse and the only ones in a position to report it when their human clients are unwilling to do so. This creates a conflict between professional confidentiality to the client and the duty to protect the victim and facilitate prosecution when the law has been broken. I accordingly recommend that veterinarian associations make reporting of abuse mandatory.

Man's Best Friend? Fda Adopts New Rule In Wake Of Pet Deaths, But Will It Have A Significant Impact On The Pet Food Industry?, Amanda Paige Marcum

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Eight years after the largest pet food recall in U.S. history,' pet owners are still grappling with mysterious pet illnesses and deaths associated with commercial pet food. This comment discusses a number of issues related to the Food Safety Modernization Act ("FSMA") . First, it looks at a brief history of pet food industry regulation. Second, it examines the mystery of pet deaths related to jerky treats made in China. Third, it discusses recent developments in the law in response to those pet deaths. Fourth, it considers the implications of the rule and how it will affect the standards applicable …

What Can Animal Law Learn From Environmental Law?, Randall S. Abate

Faculty Workshops

Professor Randall S. Abate, now affiliated with The George Washington University Law School, presented on his recently published book, What Can Animal Law Learn form Environmental Law? The workshop focused on how the fields of environmental law and animal law can work in concert. The Workshop was presented in collaboration with the FIU Law Student Animal Legal Defense Fund and FIU Law Environmental Law Society student organizations.

Developments In Animal Law: An Evolving Area In Virginia Law, Ryan Murphy

University of Richmond Law Review

No abstract provided.

Barriers To Neighborhood Wildlife Habitats: Is Lawn Uniformity Worth Biodiversity Loss?, Sonya Cunningham

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

Local ordinances and covenants, conditions or restrictions (CCRs) usually create barriers to wildlife habitats in neighborhoods. Fortunately, it is possible under limited circumstances for a homeowner to have a wildlife habitat in their lawn. This comment will provide and overview of those limited circumstances, as well as provide steps to challenge the enforcement of ordinances and CCRs. In addition, this define and examine the concept of biodiversity and biodiversity loss.

Uncertainty, Precaution, And Adaptive Management In Wildlife Trade, Annecoos Wiersema

Michigan Journal of International Law

Wildlife trade is big business. Legal international trade in just some of the wild animals and plants traded worldwide is estimated at $350 to $530 million per year. The United States is the primary importer of virtually every major taxon of these species, including mammals, reptiles, fish, and plants. When it comes to illegal trade, estimates of its value range from $7 to $23 billion annually, covering wild animals, fish, and timber. This illegal trade fuels organized crime and militia and terrorist groups. In the face of all this pressure, some wild species appear to be traded in sustainable amounts. …

Interpreting "Enhancement Of Survival" In Granting Section 10 Endangered Species Act Exemptions To Animal Exhibitors, Anne Haas

Pace Environmental Law Review

Managing endangered species in captivity presents a unique set of problems. Despite their enormous potential to preserve species in the wild - through captive breeding programs, conservation initiatives, and environmental advocacy - many facilities are lagging behind. Part II of this note discusses the evolution of zoos from ancient Egyptian displays of wealth to modern day conservation and education centers. Focusing on the Endangered Species Act, Part III introduces various laws protecting captive animals. Part IV discusses the great potential of zoos to preserve species and the ecosystems on which they rely, while acknowledging the diverse nature of animal exhibitors …

A Sitting Duck: Local Government Regulation Of Hunting And Weapons Discharge In The State Of New York, Gary E. Kalbaugh

Pace Environmental Law Review

On March 31, 2014, the New York State Legislature significantly modified New York's Environmental Conservation Law. The Environmental Conservation Law imposes limitations on the discharge of longbows. A longbow is defined by New York's Department of Environmental Conservation as “a longbow, recurve bow or compound bow which is designed to be used by holding the bow at arm's length, with arrow on the string, and which is drawn, pulled and released by hand or with the aid of a hand-held trigger device attached to the bowstring.”

Before the 2014 amendment, longbows could not be discharged in such a way that …

Services Gone Wild: Has Wildlife Services' Predator Control Program Gone Too Far?, Alison J. Russell

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

For Trinkets, Tonics, And Terrorism: International Wildlife Poaching In The Twenty-First Century, Ranee Khooshie Lal Panjabi

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Idaho's Ag-Gag Law Goes Down And Other States May Be Next, Stacey L. Gordon

Faculty Journal Articles & Other Writings

In 2014, an undercover investigator working for Mercy For Animals documented horrific animal cruelty at the Dry Creek Dairy in Hansen, Idaho. Video of the abuse was released nationally. The owners of the dairy instituted reforms and the abusers were prosecuted. But the law that was passed this time, within months of the video’s release, protects neither the animals nor the food supply, but the agriculture industry.

A Summary Of Issues Involving Marine Mammals And Highly Migratory Species, John Warren Kindt

Akron Law Review

The conservation and protection of marine mammals is one of many serious problems relating to exploitation of the living resources of the ocean. While other problems, for example the management of fish stocks and the protection of anadromous, catadromous, and highly migratory species, receive a great deal of attention in the Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOS Convention), negotiated by the Third U.N. Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III), the problem of marine mammals is addressed directly in only two provisions. Certainly, varying political and economic interests impede negotiation of a comprehensive international protective regime; …

Business Ethics, Law, And The Corporate Use Of Laboraory Animals, David Hoch

Akron Law Review

This paper will examine, first, the fundamental theories pertaining to animal interests; then the relevant laws and the recognition of animal interests the laws require of corporate laboratories; and finally, how (if at all) these claims to interests for animals impinge upon corporate ethics. Perhaps a consideration of these matters will clarify the validity of the unorthodox proposition that corporate responsibility extends to nonhumans.

They Asked For Protection And They Got Policy: International Primate's Multilated Monkeys, Marci Messe

Akron Law Review

In the next sections, this note will discuss animal rights litigation in general, examine the facts and background of International Primate Protection League v. Institute for Behavioral Research, Inc., analyze the decision, suggest an alternate means of review for the plaintiffs, and discuss the present situation and ramifications of the case.

The Migratory Bird Treaty Act: Steel Shot Versus Lead Shot For Hunting Migratory Waterfowl, David G. Lombardi

Akron Law Review

This comment discusses the merits of the regulations prohibiting the use of lead shot for the hunting of waterfowl. The evolution of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act is examined along with the advantages of hunting as a tool for effective wildlife conservation. The controversy of lead poisoned waterfowl is also discussed, and a more effective conservation measure than steel shot is proposed.

An International Sos (Save Our Sharks): How The International Legal Framework Should Be Used To Save Our Sharks, Crystal Green

Pace International Law Review

The purpose of this Article is to shed light on the plight on sharks in international and domestic waters. An estimated 100 million sharks are killed every year. The cruel and wasteful practice of shark finning is responsible for a large portion of those killings. Shark fins are the most valuable part of the shark, because they are used as the key ingredient – and namesake – in an Asian delicacy known as “shark fin soup.” This Article opens with background information on the dire situation sharks are facing in our oceans, and how the depletion of these top predators …

Scuttling Iuu Fishing And Rewarding Sustainable Fishing: Enhancing The Effectiveness Of The Port State Measures Agreement With Trade-Related Measures, Anastasia Telesetsky

Seattle University Law Review

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing) is a substantial threat to global food security and a recurring problem for global fishery managers already facing difficult baseline situations exacerbated by climate change, including warming oceans and increasing acidification. There is nothing historically new about IUU fishing; there have always been poachers who take advantage of operating in the shadows of legal commercial fishing. What is new is the extent to which marine poaching has industrialized. It is estimated that 19% of the worldwide value of marine catches are unlawful. The problem is not limited to developing states. For example, even …

Pay No Attention To That Man Behind The Curtain: Concealment, Revelation, And The Question Of Food Safety, Denis W. Stearns

Seattle University Law Review

Despite knowledge that commerce in food is a profit-driven enterprise, the public has consistently put great faith in the wholesomeness and safety of the food being purchased. To some extent, such faith is necessary, even if not always justified. In making the decision to put a bite of food in one’s own mouth, or the mouth of a friend or family member, a form of faith or trust must accompany the act of eating. For who would knowingly eat food suspected to be unsafe? But that is precisely what millions of people do every year, with a great many of …

Re-Tooling Marine Food Supply Resilience In A Climate Change Era: Some Needed Reforms, Robin Kundis Craig

Seattle University Law Review

Ocean fisheries and marine aquaculture are an important but often overlooked component of world food security. For example, of the seven billion (and counting) people on the planet, over one billion depend on fish as their primary source of protein, and fish is a primary source of protein (30 percent or more of protein consumed) in many countries around the world, including Japan, Greenland, Taiwan, Indonesia, several countries in Africa, and several South Pacific island nations. Marine fisheries and marine aquaculture have been subject to a number of stressors that can undermine world food security, including overfishing, habitat destruction, and …

Keynote Remarks: Re-Tooling Law And Legal Education For Food System Reform: Food Law And Policy In Practice, Emily M. Broad Leib

Seattle University Law Review

Thank you for the opportunity to be with you today and to take part in this symposium on the important role law schools and lawyers can play in changing our food system. Food preferences and food choices are incredibly personal, but the way we produce and consume food, and its impacts on our environment, public health, and the safety of ourselves and others, make it a pressing societal issue as well.

Recovering From The Recovery Narrative: On Globalism, Green Jobs And Cyborg Civilization, Michael Burger

Akron Law Review

In this Essay, I make a preliminary foray into this new narrative terrain, identifying several emerging legal storylines that have arisen in the wake of climate change disruptions and that I predict will prove influential in the coming years. In Part I, I discuss the ways in which new perceptions of scale are re-defining human beings’ attachments to a sense of “place” or “dwelling” and are shaping new attitudes about what constitutes the local, posing potential problems for existing federalism schemes. In Part II, I discuss the ways in which America’s long history of nationalizing nature manifests in the discourse …

Defining The Wingspan Of The Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Ashley R. Fiest

Akron Law Review

This Comment will focus on the widely different interpretations, applications, and enforcement of the MBTA and the consequences that will result if a concrete solution is not implemented soon. Part II will discuss the background, historically and legislatively, that led to the enactment of the MBTA and its current implementation. Part III will discuss the current conflict within the courts regarding how the MBTA is to be applied. In discussing this conflict, this section looks at the particular reasoning behind two of the most recent decisions on this issue and what led each of the courts to different interpretations. Part …

Re-Evaluating The Role Of Companion Animals In The Era Of The Aging Boomer, Rebecca J. Huss

Akron Law Review

This Article is divided into four substantive parts. Part II considers the role of pets in the United States and the impact of companion animals in the lives of seniors. Part III analyzes issues that the elderly may face in keeping or interacting with companion animals in their residences. Part IV analyzes federal laws that ensure that persons with disabilities using service and assistance animals will have access to public accommodations and housing. Part V of this Article considers risks and ethical issues involved with having animals in the lives of the elderly.

The Management And Stewardship Of A Cetacean Collection, Rebecca Vele

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Cetacean, by definition, is a marine mammal of the order Cetacea; a whale, dolphin or porpoise. In light of their social intellect and friendly appearance, cetaceans are used in institutions such as zoos and aquariums as a source of education and entertainment for the public. Before the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, cetaceans were captured worldwide including in U.S. waters. In the United States today, there are over 224 zoos and aquariums accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Out of those 224, 34 of these institutions display cetaceans.

Even though the Marine Mammal Protection Act “Prohibits, with …

Putting A Gag On Farm Whistleblowers: The Right To Lie And The Right To Remain Silent Confront State Agricultural Protectionism, Rita-Marie Cain Reid, Amber L. Kingery

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Whistleblowers play an important role in filling gaps in government food safety systems. Unfortunately, several dominant food-producing states have pursued legislative initiatives that punish farm whistleblowers and silence investigative tactics. First, this research describes various state legislative initiatives that curb criticism of agriculture. The work analyzes the federal food safety system and how these protections limiting agricultural criticism contravene that food safety net. Further, the research analyzes the free speech concerns in the newest protectionist laws. The analysis recommends strategies and future research to improve agriculture safety and protect free speech in an evolving food safety landscape.

Keeping The Farm And Farmer In Food Policy And Law, Neil D. Hamilton

Journal of Food Law & Policy

Thank you for the opportunity to be with you, it is always a pleasure to return to the University of Arkansas Law School where I began my teaching career in the fall of 1981. We are pleased Drake University Law School and the University of Arkansas College of Law have built and maintained a partnership on teaching and research that stretches back over three decades. I am especially pleased to be with you as we celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Journal of Food Law and Policy, another part of the University's pioneering work in the area of food policy …

Environmental Law—Regulation Of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations—Reducing The Nuisance: How Arkansas Can Use Its Right-To-Farm Statute To Protect Against The Destruction Of Cafos, Kristin Titley

University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law Review

No abstract provided.

Killing To Save: Trophy Hunting And Conservation In Mongolia, Lucy Page

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Since transitioning to capitalism in 1990, Mongolia’s wildlife has faced growing threats from the development of infrastructure, increasing livestock populations, and the expansion of an illegal trade in wildlife products. As wildlife populations face these growing risks, Mongolia needs to develop and implement strong wildlife management practices, including tighter enforcement of existing wildlife trade laws, more frequent wildlife population studies, and better legislation. However, these revisions will require significant funding. Trophy hunting, the system through which the Mongolian government sells wealthy foreigners expensive permits to hunt species like argali, ibex, wolf, and roe deer, may be a major source for …

A Solution In Search Of A Problem: The Difficulty With State Constitutional "Right To Hunt" Amendments, Stacey Gordon

Public Land & Resources Law Review

This article explores the facets of hunting amendments. Part I traces the legal history of protections for hunting, from early laws to preserve hunting for the people to modern hunter harassment statutes. Part II analyzes the forms of hunting amendments—some guarantee a right, others only recognize a heritage; some are fundamental rights, others are less strong; some are limited by private property rights, others are absolute. Nonetheless, they have a common source. Part III considers the impacts— possibly unintended consequences—of hunting amendments. Finally, Part IV suggests that while there are unrecognized common values between hunters and animal welfare groups that …