Burying Factory Farms with Faint Praise?

David Cassuto Not too long ago, I blogged about Beppe Bigazzi, the Italian tv host who advocated for stewing cats.  My working theory was that Bigazzi could not possibly have been stupid enough not to know his remarks would create a backlash.  If so, then he was being wonderfully subversive  in a manner only available to those [...]

Blogging from Brazil

David Cassuto I’m live-blogging from the plane on my way to Rio.  Actually, that’s not true.  There’s no in-flight internet connection so by the time you read this, the time of writing will have long passed.  Indeed, this situation reifies the ongoing and insuperable challenge faced by all writers.  Time, a crucial component of all [...]

California Bill Proposes Animal Abuser Registry

David Cassuto From the Hopeful Developments Desk: California State Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez has drafted a bill (with help from the ALDF) which will require people convicted of felony animal abuse to register with the state and provide a current photo, home address, place of employment and other information.  The law, if passed, will [...]

Friedman and Norman on Maryland DV Protective Orders

Bridget Crawford Joshua L. Friedman (Attorney Advisor, U.S. Social Security Administration) and Gary C. Norman (Staff Attorney, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) have published their article, “Protecting the Family Pet: The New Face of Maryland Domestic Violence Protective Orders,” 40 U. Balt. L.F. 81 (2009).  Here is the abstract: Domestic violence is on the [...]

Volunteer Opportunity:Protecting Bison from Those Who Want Them Dead

David Cassuto The bison herd in Yellowstone Park is protected from hunters.  Until the animals leave the park — which they are sometimes wont to do (bison have no pockets in which to carry a map).  As soon as the animals step over the park boundary they become prey for hunters abetted by the livestock [...]

To Stew a Cat

David Cassuto According to an Italian cooking show host, cat stew is a delicacy.  Beppe Bigazzi recently declared that: “Cat, soaked for three days in the running water of a stream” in Tuscany “comes out with its meat white, and I assure you — I have eaten it many times — that it is a [...]

State by State Breakdown of Animal Protection Laws

David Cassuto To read about it, go here; for the breakdown, here, here, and here.

Another E. coli Flesh Recall

David Cassuto There’s really nothing one can say about this that’s new.  Oh, the ongoing infamy.

GA Bar Adds Animal Law Section

Bridget Crawford The State Bar of Georgia has added an Animal Law section.  Law.com (pay site – sorry; 30 day passes available) has the story here.  Law.com reports that there are several animal-law related bills pending in the state legislature including HB 429 (protective orders for pets)and SB 131 (pet trusts).

“Organic” Rules Revised

David Cassuto Breaking news from the AP: The Agriculture Department is sharpening the standards for organic milk and meat. New rules announced Friday say organic milk and meat must come from livestock that graze in pastures at least four months of the year. The old rules required only that animals have access to pasture. The [...]

The Return of the Aurochs — Along With Some Baggage

David Cassuto Ever seen an aurochs?  Ever heard of one?  Answers to the latter query may vary but the response to the former is assuredly “no.”  The aurochs is an ancestor of domestic cattle and went extinct in 1627.  Though domesticated 8,000 years ago, it also lived in the wild in much of Europe until [...]

Habeas for Chimps

David Cassuto I will soon be blogging from Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, to be precise).  More about that soon.  While in Rio, here‘s a case I’ll be following: Jimmy is a 26 year old chimpanzee who has spent several years alone in a cage, where he’s on exhibit at a zoo in Niterói, Brazil, just [...]

NYC Carriage Horse Panel on 2/23

David Cassuto More from the NYLHV email: 2/23 Panel Discussion: Protecting Animals and Humans: The Past, Present and Future of Horse Carriages in NYC Since the 1970’s, New York City residents and animal protection organizations have advocated to protect horses used in the carriage industry and ensure public safety; however, the dangers created by animal-pulled [...]

NYLHV Board Member Nominated to AVMA Executive Board

David Cassuto From the email (from the New York League of Humane Voters): NYLHV Veterinarian Needs Your Help! Dr. John Hynes, a veterinarian and Board Member of NYLHV has been nominated to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)  Executive Board. If Dr. Hynes is elected, he can work to strengthen animal welfare policies and help [...]

On Autism, Activism, Compassion, Love and Slaughter

Bridget Crawford Bitch Magazine has a critical post (here) inspired by the Temple Grandin HBO biopic starring Claire Danes.  Here is an excerpt of the review by Brittany Shoot: I wondered why Grandin, understanding how out of control factory farming has gotten in the last forty years (thanks in part to her own work?), has [...]

Exotic Animal Atrocities

Jonathan Vandina Earlier this year an undercover investigator worked for a Texas wildlife importer. During the months of his employment he witnessed and documented some of the most horrifying and indiscriminate acts of wildlife animal cruelty in captivity that have ever been recorded.  The conditions these animals were kept in were unaccommodating, unsanitary and downright [...]

The 2010 Animal Law Moot

David Cassuto I’m in Boston — well, Cambridge actually – at a cute little law school tucked away in a modest, unassuming university they have up here.  This year marks my seventh consecutive year judging the annual Animal Law Moot Court Competition, an event staged by Lewis & Clark’s Center for Animal Law Studies in collaboration with [...]

Owning What You Eat

David Cassuto From the shameless self-promotion desk: I have a new chapter/article available on SSRN.  It’s called Owning What you Eat: The Discourse of Food.  You can get it here.  It will appear in DEMOCRACY, ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITY AND INTERNATIONAL LAW, a book forthcoming this fall. Here’s the abstract:

The Truth About Track Closings

Jennifer Krebs (Board of Directors, GREY2K USA) There was a lot of press coverage recently regarding the latest dog track closings in Arizona, Wisconsin and Massachusetts.  The closing of Phoenix Greyhound Park and Dairyland Greyhound Park was good news, in that they are more evidence of the gradual implosion of the dog racing industry – [...]

Ohio Issue 2 Aftermath

David Cassuto Reports of the death of animal advocacy in Ohio in the wake of last fall’s passage of Issue 2 have been greatly exaggerated.  Ohioans for Humane Farms has begun the process of getting an initiative on the ballot that would: 1. Require the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board to establish minimum humane standards [...]

A Small Victory for Live Skinned Raccoon Dogs

Michelle Land On January 29th, the Humane Society of the United States announced a settlement had been reached with clothing retailer Saks Fifth Avenue on the matter of false advertising and mislabeling of fur garments.  As a result, Saks has agreed to impose new garment labeling practices and change advertising policies.  Lord & Taylor and [...]

Hypatia — Call for Papers

David Cassuto Hypatia: A Journal of Feminist Philosophy has issued an intriguing call for papers, which follows below: 4. Animal Others Special Issue Volume 27 Number 3, Summer 2012 Guest Editors: Lori Gruen and Kari Weil We are soliciting papers for a special issue of Hypatia on Animal Others. Scholarship in “Animal Studies” has grown [...]

League of Humane Voters Hit With a Stiff Fine (with a note on “animal rights”)

David Cassuto The League of Humane Voters of NYC  just got hit with a 6 figure fine for failing to register as a lobbying organization or file spending reports while pushing for a ban on carriage horses in NYC.  I know nothing of the backstory here and am a firm believer that lobbyists should be [...]