Results
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Author | Citation | Alternate Citation | Summary | Type |
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2021 Statutory Amendments Table | Rebecca F. Wisch | Animal Legal & Historical Center | This table details the animal-related legislative changes that occurred across all fifty states in 2021. Links are provided to the amended laws and a summary of the change appears in the adjacent column. | Topic Table | |
2022 Statutory Amendments Table | Rebecca F. Wisch | Animal Legal & Historical Center | This table details the animal-related legislative changes that occurred across all fifty states in 2022. Links are provided to the amended laws and a summary of the change appears in the adjacent column. | Topic Table | |
2023 Statutory Amendments Table | Rebecca Wisch | Animal Legal & Historical Center | This table details the animal-related legislative changes that occurred across all fifty states in 2023. Links are provided to the amended laws and a summary of the change appears in the adjacent column. | Topic Table | |
253-20-JH/22 The case of Estrellita | 253-20-JH/22 | This is the unprecedented case of Estrellita, a woolly monkey, and the first animal with the status of subject of rights in Ecuador. Estrellita was illegally taken from her habitat as a baby and sold to a family that kept her as a pet for 18 years. The authorities became aware of Estrellita after an anonymous report stating that the Plaintiff was keeping a wild animal in their home. Estrellita was seized and relocated to a nearby zoo. The owner of Estrellita filed a habeas corpus requesting that Estrellita be returned to her, as she was a family member. Sadly, Estrellita died while under the care of the authorities. Despite the family's heartfelt plea, the court denied the habeas corpus, deciding that the best course of action was to keep Estrellita in the zoo - a decision that ultimately cost her life. The Constitutional Court decided to hear the case because it considered it had questions that needed to be answered. In a 7-2 court ruling, Ecuador's Constitutional Court held that animals are subjects of rights protected by the rights of nature. (In Ecuador, nature has been granted rights under the 2008 Constitution). The court found that both the Plaintiff and the authorities had violated Estrellita's rights to life and integrity by taking her from the wild and, in the government's case, by ignoring her needs when relocating her to the zoo. The court further held that the writ of habeas corpus could be appropriate in animal cases, depending on the circumstances. Another significant outcome of this decision is that the court instructed the Ministry of Environment and the Ombudsman to draft new legislation that materializes the parameters and criteria outlined in its decision. This legislation is essential in creating a legal framework to protect animals and ensure their rights are respected. | Case | ||
2620-2003-HC/TC Pedro Ignacio Paz de Noboa Nidal v. Tumbes | 2620-2003-HC/TC | The appellant in this case brought a writ of habeas corpus for his pet rat against the appellee, who took possession of the rat and allegedly threatened to arrest the appellant for expressing his opinions, which were not in favor of the appellee. The court mentioned the “life and integrity” of the rat, but ultimately held that the case was “nonsense” and offensive to the purpose of the court. The court declared the case unfounded. | Case | ||
2620-2003-HC/TC Pedro Ignacio Paz de Noboa Nidal v. Tumbes | 2620-2003-HC/TC | El apelante en este caso presentó un recurso de hábeas corpus por su rata mascota contra el apelado, que tomó posesión de la rata y supuestamente amenazó con arrestar al apelante por expresar sus opiniones, que no eran favorables al apelado. El tribunal mencionó la "vida e integridad" de la rata, pero en última instancia sostuvo que el caso era un "disparate" y ofensivo para el propósito del tribunal. El tribunal declaró el caso infundado. | Case | ||
32 Pit Bulldogs and Other Property v. County of Prentiss | 808 So.2d 971 (Miss. S.C. 2002) | 808 So.2d 971 (Miss. S.C. 2002) |
While a criminal trial regarding alleged dog-fighting was pending, the Circuit Court, Prentiss County, ordered the humane euthanization of 18 of 34 seized pit bulldogs. The alleged dog owner appealed. The Supreme Court held that allegations the dogs had been trained to fight, could not be rehabilitated as pets, and posed serious threat to other animals and people, related to the "physical condition" of the dogs, as statutory basis for humane euthanization. Affirmed.
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789-22-JH, Habeas Corpus - Cuqui Brown, the sloth | 789-22-JH | This is the case of Cuqui Brown, a sloth kept as a pet by a family in Ecuador. Cuqui Brown was seized by the authorities and transferred to a zoo. Plaintiff filed a Habeas Corpus against the Ministry of the Environment, alleging that Cuqui Brown was a family member, and requested that the court order the authorities to return Cuqui Brown to the plaintiff. In addition, plaintiff alleged that her rights and the rights of Cuqui were violated based on Estrellita's case that granted animals the status of subjects of rights. The court denied the Habeas Corpus, stating that the decision in Estrellita's case does not enable individuals to keep a wild animal or to request that a wild animal be returned to their possession. Instead, the Estrellita case recognizes the rights of wild animals based on aspects like their life, integrity, and their relationship with nature, not on the well-being or attachment of the person who removes them from their habitat to keep them as pets. | Case | ||
907 Whitehead Street, Inc. v. Secretary of U.S. Dept. of Agriculture | 701 F.3d 1345 (C.A.11 (Fla.)) | 2012 WL 6061706 (C.A.11 (Fla.)) |
The appellant in this case, the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum in Key West, Florida ("Museum"), appeals the lower court's determination that it is an animal exhibitor for purposes of the Animal Welfare Act ("AWA"). Appellant contends that while admission is charged for the Museum, it does not exhibit the Hemingway cats to the public for compensation; thus, the cats are not distributed through interstate commerce. The court, however, found that since the AWA itself is ambiguous on the question of whether "distribution" includes the fixed-site commercial display of animals, the USDA's broader interpretation of "distribution" and "exhibitor" are entitled to legal deference. While the court sympathized with the museum's frustrations, it affirmed the district court's findings of law and held that Museum is an AWA animal exhibitor subject to USDA regulation |
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A 'HARE' RAISING LAPSE IN MEAT INDUSTRY REGULATION: HOW REGULATORY REFORM WILL PULL THE MEAT RABBIT OUT FROM WELFARE NEGLECT | Taylor Budnick | 21 Animal L. 329 (2015) | Rabbits are most commonly perceived as soft, fuzzy, tender, loving, active household pets. However, rabbit meat is growing in popularity among urban farmers, foodies, and chefs alike. The pet rabbit industry is subject to a variety of laws and regulations intended to ensure the humane and proper treatment of these beloved pets. Yet, 'meat rabbits,' which are often the same breed or species as pet rabbits, are often not covered by either the protections that govern the treatment of animals used for meat or the protections that govern the treatment of rabbits as pets or companion animals. The lack of laws and regulations applicable to the meat rabbit industry has led to widely documented inhumane treatment and animal abuse. Such beloved companions deserve the benefits of increased government oversight of rabbit meat production. This Article proposes that, on the federal level, the United States Department of Agriculture inspection of commercial rabbit producers and processors should be mandatory rather than voluntary. States must also play a central role because, given the nature of the rabbit meat industry, it is especially important that any new standards reach small farms and urban farmers, in addition to commercial producers. This Article proposes that state standards use puppy mill laws as guidance, given rabbits' societal status as companion animals. New laws governing the raising of meat rabbits should establish standards for light and ventilation, requirements for environmental enrichment, limits on breeding, and floor space minimums for cages. Such changes will ensure that the rabbit's more typical role as a companion animal is acknowledged, while providing the necessary protection from abuse and mistreatment when rabbits are raised for meat consumption. | Article |