Should Michael Vick Own a Dog?

Seth Victor My quick answer is no, but Scott Heiser from ALDF offers a more detailed explanation about what realistic enforceable judicial options exist to keep abusers like Vick (who recently stated that owning a dog will help with his rehabilitation) from owning animals. You can read Heiser’s Q&A here.   UPDATE: While we are [...]

Some Recent Scholarship

David Cassuto For this info, a shout out once again to our stellar Pace Law Librarian, Jack McNeill: Adair, Robert L.  Note.  Monkeys and horses and ferrets…oh my!  Non-traditional service animals under the ADA.  37 N. Ky. L. Rev. 415-439 (2010). Kotloff, Eric.  Note.  All dogs go to heaven…or divorce court:  New Jersey un”leashes” a [...]

Wolverines — Endangered but Not “Endangered”

David Cassuto And speaking of the Endangered Species Act… This just in: After a thorough review of all the available science, the Fish and Wildlife Service has determined that the contiguous United States population of wolverine should be protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). However, the rulemaking to propose ESA protections for the wolverine [...]

Wolves, Laws and Parochialism

David Cassuto I would like to say a few more words about the so-called “State Sovereignty Wildlife Management Act and its stated intent to strip wolves of all Endangered Species Act protections.  While I have no reason to assume this bill will pass (are you listening, Congress?), the fact that officials elected to national office [...]

Which Animals Matter (yet again)?

Seth Victor To paraphrase the oft quoted excerpt from Animal Farm, all cute and fuzzy animals are equal, but domesticated cute and fuzzy animals are more equal than others. This sentiment was yet again demonstrated over the last week. In one corner, we have human pets, who are mercilessly being tortured for the pleasure of [...]

Bill Would Strip Wolves of ESA Protection — Forever

Apparently still traumatized by their experiences reading Little Red Riding Hood as children, 8 members of Congress  have introduced a bill called the State Sovereignty Wildlife Management Act.  The sole purpose of HR 6485 is to render any listing of wolves as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act legally irrelevant. You can’t  make [...]

Odd Animal Laws, Odd Culture

This is a guest post by Kenji Crosland, a writer for TeachStreet.  Teachstreet is a website that provides online and local classes, including classes on law and pet training classes. In the effort to preserve a certain semblance of order certain laws (don’t steal, don’t kill) have been universal since Hammurabi, although the punishments for [...]

Dowd on Palin

David Cassuto Maureen Dowd on Palin’s Reality (Show): The doomed caribou gazed calmly across the Alaska tundra at Caribou Barbie. The female caribou could easily have escaped, since it took the Wasilla huntress six shots, two rifles and some help from her dad to bag her prey. (Giving credence to Levi Johnston’s contention that she [...]

Bob Barker Named Honorary Fellow of Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics

David Cassuto From the email: A richly deserved honor for Bob Barker: BOB BARKER RECEIVES ACADEMIC HONOUR The Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics has selected multi Emmy award winning television personality, philanthropist, and educational pioneer, Bob Barker, as its sixth Honorary Fellow. The award is given to outstanding individuals who have made exceptional contributions to [...]

Animal Cruelty and the Courts: Recent Cases

Gillian Lyons Being an all purpose animal law blog, it seems appropriate to give our readers a rundown of some recent key jurisprudence dealing with cruelty towards domestic animals.  These are a few cruelty related cases decided by state courts in the last three months. Sullivan v. Commonwealth, 2010 WL 4352715 (Va. Nov. 4, 2010):  [...]

Finding the Factory Farms

David Cassuto We’re often told (because it’s true) that 10 billion animals are killed for food in this country every year.  The implications of that number for climate change, water and air pollution, and animal suffering are well-documented and appalling.  But most of us have never seen a factory farm.  Agribusiness counts on the “out [...]