News
European Union Court denies Inuit group's attempt at overturning ban on importation of seal products. The EU banned the importation of any seal products in 2010. The General Court of the EU rejected the application from the Inuit group that claimed the ban had an Inuit exception. This exception, the court found, is focused on subsistence hunting by Inuit communities, rather than large-scale marketing of seal products. To read the press release from the Court, see http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2013-04/cp130055en.pdf
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service allows Wisconsin hunter to bring endangered black rhino "trophy" back to U.S. The Service granted the importation permit to a hunter who killed the rhino in 2009 in Namibia. The black rhino has been listed as a critically endangered species under federal law and a CITES Appendix-1 species for over 30 years. The hunter donated significant funds to the Namibian government, which the Service states is used to fund conservation efforts. To read the USFWS statement on why it allowed the permit, see http://www.fws.gov/international/permits/black-rhino-import-permit.html.
Michigan legislature proposes animal abuser registry. HB 4535 would require anyone 18 years of age or older convicted of an animal abuse offense to register within 5 calendar days following release from incarceration or from the date of sentencing. The only existing animal abuse registries occur on the local level, with the first in Suffolk County, New York, then in Rockland County, New York, and finally in Albany County, New York. The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) has cataloged a history of such measures, available at http://aldf.org/article.php?id=1231.
Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam has 10 days to decide fate of latest "ag gag" bill. The bill, SB 1248, makes it a crime for those who film footage or photograph episodes of animal abuse to fail to bring that footage to law enforcement within 48 hours. Critics of the bill claim that the measure is aimed at silencing whistle blowers and undercover investigations in the livestock industry. Does your state have an "ag gag" or animal industry interference law? Find out by looking at our Map.
Proposal by NIH committee recommends all but 50 of 350 chimpanzees used in federal research be retired. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Council of Councils Working Group proposal will go the NIH director after the 60-day period for public comment. The report also calls for cuts in grants to study chimps in laboratories and a restriction on breeding them for research. Retired chimps would be sent to a national sanctuary, Chimp Haven, in northwest Louisiana.
New in 2013! Want to know what laws were amended or added in 2012? Check out our new Table of 2012-2013 State Amendments. Looking for cases from last year? You can always find recent court cases by viewing our Archives page.
Check out the new searchable Bills/Legislation. Search for pending bills by State or by Topic in the left navigation.
Also check out the searchable Local Ordinances. Search for local codes by State or by Topic in the left navigation. Many codes are available under "Breed Specific Legislation."
Journal of Animal & Natural Resource Law Vol. 8 now available - See the Table of Contents.
New Article! An International Treaty for Animal Welfare, by Professor David Favre, 18 Animal Law 237 (2012).
New Article! Facility Dog Accompanies Adult Witness during Testimony, John Ensminger, Animal Legal & Historical Center (2012).
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Cases
Palila v. Hawaii Dept. of Land and Natural Resources, Not Reported in F.Supp.2d, 2013 WL 1442485 (D.Hawai‘i,2013). Fearing potential prosecution under a county ordinance and a state statute for carrying out a Stipulated Order that protects an endangered species (the Palila), defendants, joined substantially by the plaintiffs, sought a motion for declaratory and injunctive relief. The district court granted the defendants’ motion because federal law, the Stipulated Order, preempted both state and county law. The court therefore stated that so long as defendants, or their duly-appointed agents, were acting to enforce the specific terms of the Stipulated Order, they may conduct an aerial sighting over the Palila's critical habitat and shoot any ungulates sighted in that area without fear of violating (1) Hawaii County Code §§ 14–111, –112, & 1–10(a); or (2) HRS § 263–10.
Sierra Club v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, --- F.Supp.2d ----, 2013 WL 1111285 (D.D.C.,2013).Using the APA, the Sierra Club filed a suit against the USFWS due to the USFWS's response to the Sierra Club's petition to revise critical habitat for the leatherback sea turtle; the Sierra Club also charged the USFWS with unlawfully delaying the designation of the Northeastern Ecological Corridor of Puerto Rico as critical habitat for the leatherback sea turtle. While both sides filed a motion for summary judgment, the District Court only granted the USFWS motion for summary judgment because the USFWS's 12–month determination was unreviewable under the APA.
State v. Betts, --- S.W.3d ----, 2013 WL 1628963 (Tex.Crim.App.). The State appealed the granting of defendant's motion to suppress evidence in a felony animal cruelty case (defendant's 13 dogs from his aunt's backyard property). This court found that defendant has a reasonable expectation of privacy in his aunt's backyard despite the fact he did not have an ownership interest. Secondly, the court found that the officers were not authorized by the plain view doctrine to make a warrantless entry into the backyard to seize the dogs. Finally, the court found that the community caretaking doctrine was not argued by the State at trial or at the court of appeals; thus, the State was barred from advancing that argument in this appeal.
Dog Case of the Month
Court refuses to extend strict liability to actual owner where third party has dominion and control over dog at time of bite. Hayes v. Adams, --- N.E.2d ----, 2013 WL 753238 (Ill.App. 2 Dist.,2013). An 8-year-old girl suffered injuries as a result of being bitten by a dog that escaped from a veterinarian clinic. The girl sued the clinic and the owner of the dog, but the owner was granted a motion for summary judgment because she did not have care or dominion over the animal at the time of the injury; this decision was then appealed. The Second District Appellate Court of Illinois held the Animal Control Act (510 ILCS 5/16) did not impose strict liability on a dog owner solely because he or she was the legal owner of a dog. "[T]here is no factual or reasonable basis to impose liability, as doing so would do nothing more than impose liability as a pure penalty for dog ownership."
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Articles
Policies to Promote Socialization and Welfare in Dog Breeding, Amy Morris, Project Submitted In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Public Policy in the School of Public Policy, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (2013) [reprinted with permission].
"No Animals Were Harmed . . .”: Protecting Chimpanzees From Cruelty Behind The Curtain, Lorraine L. Fischer, 27 Hastings Comm. & Ent L.J. 405 (2005).
Protecting Equine Rescue From Being Put Out To Pasture: Whether Ranches Dedicated To Abused, Abandoned, And Aging Horses May Qualify For "Agricultural" Classifications Under Florida's Greenbelt Law, Michael T. Olexa, Katherine Smallwooda, and Joshua A. Cossey, 16 Drake J. Agric. L. 69 (2011).
Permitting Pluralism: The Seal Products Dispute And Why The WTO Should Accept Trade Restrictions Justified By Nonintsrumental Moral Values, Robert Howse and Joanna Langille, 37 Yale J. Int'l L. 367 (2012).
The Paradox of Animal Hoarding and The Limits of Canadian Criminal Law, Kathryn M. Campbell, Animal Legal & Historical Center (2012).
Hear Me Roar: Should Universities Use Live Animals As Mascots? Jessica Baranko, 21 Marq. Sports L. Rev. 599 (2011).
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International Materials:
- Australian Animal Protection Law Journal, Volume 1 (2008)
- Brazilian Law Journal (Revista Brasileira de Direito Animal):
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