Published by the students of Michigan State University College of Law

Journal of Animal & Natural Resource Law Vol. VIII (2012)

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ARTICLES

Humans and Great Apes: A Search for Truth and Ethical Principles

Barbara J. Gislason and Mercedes Meyer ............................................1

The purpose of this article is to make some comparisons between humans and chimpanzees (common, bonobo), gorillas (western, eastern), and orangutans (Bornean, Sumatran), collectively known as the great apes, and consider how recent and future scientific developments might influence parallel developments of ethical principles. Specifically, the authors will review basic genetics, describe genetic similarities and differences, consider fundamental anatomy, bodily systems, brain function, and selected behavioral milestones, focusing on the work of primatologists Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Sue Savage-Rumbaugh, as well as psychologist Penny Patterson.

After doing so, the authors will examine and challenge the ethical standards as they exist today and consider where science might lead us in our human ethical evolution, an evolution that reflects not only human interests, but values. The subjects of great ape- related moral concerns outside of the United States, prohibitions on their use in Spain, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Austria, New Zealand, and Australia, together with great ape-related proposed UN resolutions are outside of the scope of this paper.

Et Tu Lisa Jackson? An Economic Case for Why the EPA's Sweeping Environmental Regulatory Agenda Hurst Animal Welfare on Factory Farms

David E. Solan .....................................................................................27

Over the last several years, animal protection groups have increasingly partnered with environmentalists to ratchet up the environmental regulation of factory farms. This alliance has manifested itself in two primary ways: first, leading animal protection groups have supported the bold activism of Lisa Jackson, the Administrator of the EPA, in seeking to lasso factory farms into compliance with environmental laws; and second, these groups have engaged in a litigation strategy of suing factory farms under environmental statutes.

The Article aims to challenge the popular wisdom among the animal protection community that increased collaboration with the environmental movement confers mutual benefits. On the contrary, it seems misplaced to view Jackson as a champion of animal welfare, and misguided to view the environmental movement as a reliable ally. Upon closer inspection, it appears that the animal protection movement and the environmental movement have divergent interests, and Jackson's activism could in fact pose a great threat to animal welfare on factory farms.

The Article argues that each of the three major goals of the animal protection movement in the realm of the farmed animal industry may be undermined by increased environmental regulation. To the contrary, the EPA’s activism could fail to change consumption patterns, lead to a reduction of animal welfare, and empower big factory farms at the expense of small farmers. Lastly, the Article concludes that a better approach would be for the animal protection movement to focus its fire on state-level laws and/or ballot initiatives that directly enhance animal welfare.

The Development of a Religious Animal Welfare Code and its Relevance for Contemporary Civil Laws

A.Z. Zivotofsky, J.M. Regenstein, D. Zivotofsky.................................. 65

Recently, many governments have introduced animal welfare standards that govern all aspects of animal welfare. While governmental authorities struggle to balance competing demands, Jewish law has included animal welfare standards for millennia. Religious regulations specify how an animal is to be treated on the farm and pre-slaughter, and the method of slaughtering. These standards precede the earliest civil code by centuries, and because Jewish law (halacha) has a long written record, it is possible to examine the development of these animal welfare standards. In this paper, we examine how the rabbis dealt with conflicting principles, competing interests, and advances in science and technology. Examples include hunting, raising veal, animal experimentation, and slaughter techniques. Because this system has withstood the vicissitudes of time, it will be suggested that this developmental process and structure may be of interest to those involved in crafting contemporary civil animal welfare legislation.

A Large Step - But Still a Long Way to Go
Austrian Welfare Legislation: An Overview

Regina Binder ..................................................................................... 91

The following article provides a short survey of the development, philosophical approach and basic characteristics of the Austrian animal welfare legislation. This article sets out to explore the beginning of legal animal protection in Austria in the middle of the 19th century and analyzes its structural changes in the course of the 20th century. The article then focuses on the new Federal animal welfare legislation in Austria, which went into effect in 2005. After characterizing major principles of the Austrian Animal Welfare Act, the main advantages and deficiencies of this law are sketched out. Although the Austrian Animal Welfare Act has been claimed to play a pioneering role in the development of animal welfare legislation, it is clear from the animal welfare point of view that there is still a long way to go until the (legal) protection of animals can be claimed to be satisfactory both theoretically and practically in Austria.

The WTO Tuna Labeling Decision and Animal Law

Thomas G. Kelch............................................................................... 121

If one were looking for a likely culprit causing legal consternation for those interested in changing animal law for the benefit of animals, one would probably not begin by excoriating the WTO and the GATT Treaty. But that would be ignoring history. The WTO has previously published decisions that have jeopardized attempts by sovereign nations to protect animals. These decisions, the Tuna Dolphin decision and the Shrimp/Turtle decisions, relate to what are generally considered environmental laws aimed at protecting certain groups of animals. While the Tuna/Dolphin decisions were not formally adopted as GATT decisions, these decisions, along with Shrimp/Turtle, have had a considerable impact on interpretation of the GATT and the behavior of sovereign states regulating the protection of animals.

Management of the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Fishery: An International Law Disaster

Nicholas Assenmacher ...................................................................... 139

This article will first describe the physical and population characteristics of the Atlantic bluefin tuna. It will then examine the causes and pressures, both economic and political, which have led to the decline of this fish species. The focus will then shift to an analysis of the current international law regime responsible for managing the Atlantic bluefin tuna, particularly the population in the Mediterranean. Finally, to prevent population collapse and encourage eventual recovery of fish species, further intervention of international law is needed. This intervention could come by way of a highly unlikely overhaul of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT), the establishment of marine protected areas, or listing the Atlantic bluefin tuna as a species threatened with extinction under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Reporting from the Field

The Israel Adoption of Transportation for Poultry

Yossi Wolfson......................................................................................171

Chickens raised for meat (“broilers”) are one of the least protected groups of animals exploited by humans. There might be a role to  the fact that their look, after losing the chick-appearance, generates less sentiments in humans relative to the sad, almost human, eyes of a calf. However, this report concludes that the cause is economic: the harms done to these animals are deeply inherent to the current chicken-meat industry. The egg industry can be profitable without cages, the veal industry without crates and the pig-meat industry without stalls. For the chicken-meat industry the fast growth, the disproportional body and the crowded shades are an economic must. This allows for very small compromises by the industry (and therefore by the state), compromises that would never substantially change the fate of the animals. This can explain why animal protection regulation in this area is weak if it at all exists. It also makes the issue highly problematic for animal protection advocates: if we cannot do anything substantial for the animals, isn't the effort to regulate this field anything more than playing to the hands of the industry – shifting efforts from important issues and giving cruelty the seal of being “in accordance to the law”?

For the last eleven years, the author has been involved in the process of enactment of the Israeli regulations on the transport of  poultry. In some respects, they are precedential. Whether they are an achievement that might further the cause of animal liberation has yet to be determined. It may be useful, however, to examine the regulations and the process of their drafting.

2011-2012 Case Law Review

Graham Boswell................................................................................ 179