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For many consumers, farm animal welfare matters. To ensure the well-being of farm animals, consumers often pay premium prices for animal products with humane labels. Because “organic” is an example of a label presumed to convey information about animal husbandry practices, animal products with this label may offer an alternative to products from animals that were raised “conventionally” on large, industrialized farms with minimal welfare protections. The Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 and enacting regulations require that organic animals be able to engage in natural behaviors. However, many of the requirements are general and thus result in significant variations in livestock living conditions, confounding consumer expectations of uniform organic production and high standards for organic farm animal welfare. This Comment discusses the background of organic regulations, including issues with their application in the areas of organic dairy and egg production. Next, this Comment analyzes aspects of organic regulations as applied to organic laying hens and organic pigs. Finally, this Comment suggests ways to make organic regulations more quantifiable and thus more enforceable so organic animals are able to engage in natural behaviors.

After a flurry of legislative activity in the 1990s, EU animal welfare initiatives have stagnated of late. This article seeks to explain why, by pointing to factors such as changing EU membership, implementation costs, and fallout from extremist attacks. After providing an overview of recent animal welfare legislation, the paper discusses the slowdown and its causes, and then ventures some educated guesses about what can be expected on the European animal welfare front in coming years.

After much legislative activity in the 1990s, EU animal welfare initiatives have slowed in recent years. This article briefly discusses the reasons why by pointing to factors such as changing EU membership, costs, and fallout from extremist attacks. It then explores the possible future of the EU animal welfare movement.

This chart provides a link to each state agency responsible for enforcement of state endangered species laws. It also lists a summary of the criteria under the state statutes, the statutory citation, and a link to the US Fish & Wildlife Service's Threatened & Endangered Species System (TESS) database of listed species.