Articles

Title Sort descending	Author	Summary
Emotional Support Animals Excepted From "No Pets" Lease Provisions Under Federal Law	Kate A. Brewer	Federal statutes provide protection for disabled persons against housing discrimination. These statutes and corresponding case law hold that an emotional support animal is a reasonable accommodation for a mentally disabled person, and if a landlord fails to waive a no pets policy to allow the emotional support animal in rental housing, the landlord is in violation of federal laws.
EMPATHY WITH ANIMALS: A LITMUS TEST FOR LEGAL PERSONHOOD?	Carter Dillard	This is one of the fundamental questions that frame the study of animal law: To what extent should nonhuman animals be considered legal persons? Of course, this question presupposes that we share or can arrive at a common and stable conception of legal personhood. In fact, there are a variety of conceptions of legal personhood. This Introduction will explore one in particular and, in the process, question the extent to which simply being born Homo sapiens satisfies the potentially complex and demanding requirements of being a legal person. This argument will lead us to reframe animal law a bit and question whether we protect animals by focusing on their status or whether we are better off focusing on the status of humans—and not so much who we are but who, as legal persons that constitute legalities, we ought to be.
EMPOWERING MARKET REGULATION OF AGRICULTURAL ANIMAL WELFARE THROUGH PRODUCT LABELING	Sean P. Sullivan	In many Western nations, rising public concern about the welfare of agricultural animals is reflected in the adoption of direct regulatory standards governing the treatment of these animals. The United States has taken a different path, tending to rely on a “market-regulation” approach whereby consumers express their desire for specific welfare practices through their purchasing decisions. This Article explores the failure of market regulation and the welfare-preference paradox posed by consumers who express a strong preference for improved animal welfare in theory, but who simultaneously fail to demand heightened welfare standards in practice. It argues that market regulation is failing in this country because current animal-welfare labeling does not clearly or credibly disclose to consumers the actual treatment of agricultural animals. As a corollary, effective market regulation of agricultural animal welfare could be empowered simply by improving current animal-welfare labeling practices.
ENACTING AND ENFORCING FELONY ANIMAL CRUELTY LAWS TO PREVENT VIOLENCE AGAINST HUMANS	Joseph G. Sauder	Felony animal anti-cruelty laws should be enacted and strictly enforced to protect animals and humans. Studies show that violence in the home, of any type, is self-perpetuating, creating generations of abusers and victims. Children who witness abuse are more likely to abuse animals and eventually humans; even minor acts of animal abuse are signs of a disturbed individual and should be taken seriously. Current animal anti-cruelty laws fail to prevent this violence. This article proposes that stronger anti-cruelty laws must be enacted and properly enforced to prevent this cycle of violence.
Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Final Designation of Critical Habitat for the Arroyo Toad (Bufo califo	Krista Cotter	This rule designates 11,695 acres of critical habitat for the arroyo toad in Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties in California. FWS had to designate critical habitat for the arroyo toad as a result of a settlement agreement in Center for Biological Diversity v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The critical habitat was designated in accordance with the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and its amendments. This specific critical habitat is a revision of the final rule on arroyo toad critical habitat designation of 2/1/01 (69 FR 9414), which was deemed deficient and was overruled. The current habitat is designated pursuant to court order stemming from Building Industry Legal Defense Foundation v. Gale Norton, Secretary of the Interior, which ordered FWS to publish a new critical habitat designation for the arroyo toad.
Endangered Species Act Listing	Dirk Kempthorne	This press release announces listing polar bears as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.
ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT LISTINGS AND CLIMATE CHANGE: AVOIDING THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM	Michael C. Blumm & Kya B. Marienfeld	The Endangered Species Act (ESA), with its reputation as the nation’s strongest environmental law, might be expected to impose some limits on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions adversely affecting listed species due to rising global temperatures. Although the federal government recently conceded that some species warrant listing because of climate change, the accompanying listing decisions revealed a federal refusal to apply the ESA to constrain GHG emissions. In this Article, we explain those decisions—involving the American pika, the polar bear, the wolverine, and the Gunnison sage-grouse—and their implications. We conclude with some surprising observations about the Obama Administration’s apparent endorsement of Justice Scalia’s approach to the ESA’s habitat protections, the Administration’s endorsement of constitutional standing rules to limit the effective scope of the statute, the growing significance of the distinction between endangered and threatened species, and the unintended boomerang effects of the administrative reforms of the statute in the 1990s.
Endangered Species Act Split-Listing Chart for Chimpanzees	Hanna Coate	This split chart details the legal status of chimpanzees based on whether they were born or imported in the US or in foreign countries.
Ensure Your Pet's Future: Estate Planning for Owners and Their Animal Companions	Rachel Hirschfeld	This article discusses the increased desire among pet owners to provide care for their pets during life and even after death. Pet owners can now create enforceable legal instruments to provide care for their pets in the event of disability or death. The article alerts practitioners to specific considerations in drafting such agreements including arrangements for specific care and possible tax ramifications.
ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY RANCHING? AN INTERVIEW ON THE HIGH DESERT	Lisa Johnson	The following is an interview with Doc Hatfield about his views on raising cattle and his association with Oregon Country Beef, a cooperative organization that his wife, Connie, helped start in 1986. Doc was on his cell phone while we talked, as he and Connie were on their way to Portland from their High Desert Ranch in Brothers, Oregon to give a talk to an agricultural group. Connie was driving while Doc and I spoke. They have a rule against driving and talking on the phone at the same time. I agreed that was probably a good policy.
Equitable Self-Ownership for Animals	David Favre	This Article proposes a new use of existing property law concepts to change the juristic personhood status of animals. Presently, animals are classified as personal property, which gives them no status or standing in the legal system for the protection or promotion of their interests. Professor Favre suggests that it is possible and appropriate to divide living property into its legal and equitable components, and then to transfer the equitable title of an animal from the legal title holder to the animal herself. This would create a new, limited form of self-ownership in an animal, an equitably self-owned animal.
EQUITY AS A PARADIGM FOR SUSTAINABILITY: EVOLVING THE PROCESS TOWARD INTERSPECIES EQUITY	Gwendellyn Io Earnshaw	The concept of sustainability has evolved through a wide variety of definitions. Traditionally, sustainability was seen as a system of management which would allow humans to perpetually exploit the world's natural resources; that is, to manage resources so they would never be depleted. More recently, however, writers have argued the traditional concept of sustainability has failed because a truly sustainable system recognizes all resources and stakeholders for their inherent value. Equity is thus the essential ethic of a sustainable system. This article adopts this modern view of sustainability and identifies interspecies equity-the consideration of nonhuman animals based upon their inherent self-interests-as the embodiment and ultimate test of a truly sustainable system. By identifying the negative impacts of suppressing interspecies equity and citing examples of how to incorporate the sustainable ideal of interspecies equity, this article points the way toward a truly equity-based ethic of sustainability.
Ethical Management of Invasive Species The Burmese Python	Kaela S. Sculthorpe	Burmese pythons and other invasive species wreak havoc on local environments and threaten biodiversity globally. Beginning with an overview of the unique challenges posed by the Burmese python in Florida, this article addresses invasive species laws and management that currently exist both in the United States as well as across the globe. The current method for addressing the complications created by the pythons is to capture and destroy them. This process is not the most effective means of addressing biodiversity loss as Burmese python populations are now declining in its native habitat due to overexploitation. The following discussion proposes that these pythons not be captured and killed, but rather humanely captured then released back into its native habitat. This is a logical alternative because (1) capture and release is a more ethical solution and (2) capture and release promotes biodiversity. In addition to managing the current threat of these invasive species, countries must also work to prevent the future growth of unwanted populations. In order to successfully rid South Florida of the Burmese python, while preventing the future spread of invasive species, the laws that allow these invasions to happen must change. This article will explore state and federal controls regarding the management of invasive species as well as offer solutions to strengthening these protections.
European Union Legislation on the Welfare of Farm Animals	Peter Stevenson	European Union (EU) law contains a range of helpful provisions designed to protect farm animals on-farm, during transport and at slaughter. The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union recognises animals as “sentient beings” and requires the EU and its Member States, when formulating and implementing their policies in certain key areas to pay “full regard to the welfare requirements of animals”. EU law has prohibited some of the worst aspects of industrial livestock production: veal crates have been prohibited from 2007, barren battery cages for egg-laying hens from 2012 and sow stalls (gestation crates) are prohibited (except during the first four weeks of pregnancy) from 2013. This article describes and evaluates the above legislation and indicates the scientific research on which it is based. Nonetheless, EU law has to date only gone part way; substantial and far-reaching fresh legislation is needed before the EU can claim to have a body of law which properly ends the suffering inherent in industrial farming and legislates for a positive state of well-being for farm animals.
Evading Extinction: A 21st Century Survey of the Legal Challenges to Wild Siberian Tiger Conservation	Julie Santagelo	The Amur tiger, like all tigers, is threatened by its high black market value as an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine. In fact, the illegal wildlife generates up to ten billion United States dollars per year, trailing only the illegal narcotics and arms trade in annual revenue. The 1989 opening of the Russian-Chinese border exacerbated this illegal trade within the Russian Federation. The Amur tiger also suffers from a reduction of its prey base due to subsistence poaching of ungulate species and rampant logging. This reduction in wild prey has resulted in increased tiger-human conflicts such as livestock depredation, further reducing the locals’ incentive to protect tigers.
Every Dog Can Have Its Day: Extending Liability Beyond the Seller by Defining Pets as Products Under Products LIiability Theory	Jason Parent	Is a pet a “product”? A pet is a product for purposes of products liability law in some states, and as this article will show, the remaining states should follow suit. Every year, thousands of “domesticated” animals are sold to consumers who are uninformed as to the animal’s propensities or to the proper method of animal care. In some instances, these animals are unreasonably dangerous in that they spread disease to humans or attack, and possibly kill, unwitting victims. Improper breeding and training techniques and negligence in sales have led to horrific injury. This comment will demonstrate how merely considering pets as products opens up new theories of liability for the plaintiff’s lawyer, offering a deeper base of defendants who are both morally and legally at fault. From the standpoint of a consumer advocate and with concern for both human and animal welfare, the author proposes employing products liability theory to the sale of domesticated animals. By making sellers of “defective” animals accountable for personal injury that these animals cause, the quality of the animals bred and sold will likely improve. Where it does not improve and injury results, the victim may have recourse beyond the confines of contract remedies. Products liability theory is a lawful and needed method for preventing future harm and providing for a healthier human and animal kingdom.
Evolving Functions of Service and Therapy Animals and the Implications for Public Accommodation Access Rules	John Ensminger and Frances Breitkopf	This in-depth article presents the various categories of service animals and the functions they perform. It then examines the federal and state laws and regulations that control access to public accommodation and transportation. The authors conclude by suggesting that a uniform system of licensing and tagging would alleviate the confusion presented by current laws.
Examining the Veterinary Client-Patient Relationship in the United States: Why the Abolition of the In-Person Examination Requirement is Warranted	Jeffrey P. Feldmann	This Note examines the development of VCPR law, the incorporation - or lack thereof - of telehealth into VCPR law across the United States, and considers VCPR effect on access to care. After discussing the state of the veterinary industry and the regulatory scheme of veterinary medicine, Part II assesses VCPR laws across the United States, establishing that there is general uniformity from state to state. In Part II, the Note juxtaposes human medicine's widespread acceptance of telehealth to establish valid doctor-patient relationships with relative absence of such acceptance of telehealth in veterinary medicine to establish valid VCPRs. Part III then discusses and analyzes existing litigation concerning VCPR law and telehealth measures in the Fifth Circuit and in California. The Note concludes by proposing more widespread adoption of telemedicine as a means to establish a VCPR in order to improve access to quality care for veterinarians, clients, and patients more closely aligned with human medicine.
EXAMINING THE VIABILITY OF ANOTHER LORD OF YESTERDAY: OPEN RANGE LAWS AND LIVESTOCK DOMINANCE IN THE MODERN WEST	Coby Dolan	In this comment, the author explores the development of open range laws in Oregon and other western states and argues such laws should be abolished or drastically amended. Common law requires ranchers to fence livestock in or face liability for damages caused by strays. However, historical customs and practices of Western states were shaped by vast open lands and sparce populations, leading to open range customs which required a landowner to fence "out" livestock to protect their property. This comment focuses on the case of Dr. Patrick Shipsey, an Oregon landowner convicted of shooting cattle that wandered onto his land. Through this discussion, the viability of open range statutes is discussed and the ongoing debate exposed. Policy alternatives are proposed that reflect modern demographic changes and a re-balancing of the economic and environmental burdens of ranching practices.
EXPANSION OF THE FLORIDA ANIMAL ANTI-CRUELTY STATUTE TO BETTER SERVE ANIMALS	Laura Wesolowski	This paper will focus on animal use in transient, traveling exhibitions that do not have educational components. By nature, circuses, carnivals, and other traveling shows require the animals that are property to travel regularly and to perform for the public regularly. Researchers have found that this lifestyle is problematic for animals, in general, due to the living and traveling conditions that animals are subjected to as well as the pressures of performance of unnatural acts in unnatural environments.
Exporting Morality with Trade Restrictions: The Wrong Path to Animal Rights	Gary Miller	Part I of this Note will critique normative moral theory with respect to its fundamental role in animal welfare proselytizing, its applicability to legal theory, and its usefulness as a basis for legal decision making. Part II will discuss international trade disputes arising over morality-based domestic import restrictions in order to examine why the GATT has consistently been interpreted to err on the side of free trade and consumer choice. Finally, Part III will argue that the DCPA is not only an ineffective and unenforceable law but also potentially counterproductive to the goals of the Western animal welfare movement and overly costly to global trade infrastructure in light of more effective alternatives.
Failure to Launch: The Lack of Implementation and Enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act	Leslie Rudloff	Failure to launch syndrome “is an increasingly popular way to describe the difficulties some young adults face when transitioning into the next phase of development—a stage which involves greater independence and responsibility.” One might say that the Animal Welfare Act suffers from failure to launch syndrome. The Animal Welfare Act was passed over fifty years ago and yet, it has not matured past its infancy in terms of effectively preventing unnecessary and inhumane animal experiments. This article will explore the failures of Congress, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs), research facilities, and funding agencies to implement and enforce the Animal Welfare Act.
False Advertising, Animals, and Ethical Consumption	Carter Dillard	In light of the fact that today's consumers often want their products to be created in the most environmentally-, globally-, and animal-friendly ways possible, unethical sellers sometimes succumb to the incentive to persuade consumers that goods were created more ethically than they actually were. This article investigates the ways that consumers can protect themselves from false advertising through the use of federal and state agencies, independent review, federal and state courts, and private attorneys general actions.
FAQ on Internet Puppy Scams	Bradley Varner	What is an internet puppy scam? There are multiple ways for a family to adopt a dog: they can go to a shelter, find a local breeder down the road or in a newspaper, and now buy a dog online.
FAQ on Service Animals and Air Travel	Rebecca F. Wisch	This FAQ provides a short explanation of the law and regulations related to service animals on U.S. commercial airlines.

Emotional Support Animals Excepted From "No Pets" Lease Provisions Under Federal Law

Kate A. Brewer

Federal statutes provide protection for disabled persons against housing discrimination. These statutes and corresponding case law hold that an emotional support animal is a reasonable accommodation for a mentally disabled person, and if a landlord fails to waive a no pets policy to allow the emotional support animal in rental housing, the landlord is in violation of federal laws.

EMPATHY WITH ANIMALS: A LITMUS TEST FOR LEGAL PERSONHOOD?

Carter Dillard

This is one of the fundamental questions that frame the study of animal law: To what extent should nonhuman animals be considered legal persons? Of course, this question presupposes that we share or can arrive at a common and stable conception of legal personhood. In fact, there are a variety of conceptions of legal personhood. This Introduction will explore one in particular and, in the process, question the extent to which simply being born Homo sapiens satisfies the potentially complex and demanding requirements of being a legal person. This argument will lead us to reframe animal law a bit and question whether we protect animals by focusing on their status or whether we are better off focusing on the status of humans—and not so much who we are but who, as legal persons that constitute legalities, we ought to be.

EMPOWERING MARKET REGULATION OF AGRICULTURAL ANIMAL WELFARE THROUGH PRODUCT LABELING

Sean P. Sullivan

In many Western nations, rising public concern about the welfare of agricultural animals is reflected in the adoption of direct regulatory standards governing the treatment of these animals. The United States has taken a different path, tending to rely on a “market-regulation” approach whereby consumers express their desire for specific welfare practices through their purchasing decisions. This Article explores the failure of market regulation and the welfare-preference paradox posed by consumers who express a strong preference for improved animal welfare in theory, but who simultaneously fail to demand heightened welfare standards in practice. It argues that market regulation is failing in this country because current animal-welfare labeling does not clearly or credibly disclose to consumers the actual treatment of agricultural animals. As a corollary, effective market regulation of agricultural animal welfare could be empowered simply by improving current animal-welfare labeling practices.

ENACTING AND ENFORCING FELONY ANIMAL CRUELTY LAWS TO PREVENT VIOLENCE AGAINST HUMANS

Joseph G. Sauder

Felony animal anti-cruelty laws should be enacted and strictly enforced to protect animals and humans. Studies show that violence in the home, of any type, is self-perpetuating, creating generations of abusers and victims. Children who witness abuse are more likely to abuse animals and eventually humans; even minor acts of animal abuse are signs of a disturbed individual and should be taken seriously. Current animal anti-cruelty laws fail to prevent this violence. This article proposes that stronger anti-cruelty laws must be enacted and properly enforced to prevent this cycle of violence.

Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Final Designation of Critical Habitat for the Arroyo Toad (Bufo califo

Krista Cotter

This rule designates 11,695 acres of critical habitat for the arroyo toad in Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties in California. FWS had to designate critical habitat for the arroyo toad as a result of a settlement agreement in Center for Biological Diversity v. United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The critical habitat was designated in accordance with the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and its amendments. This specific critical habitat is a revision of the final rule on arroyo toad critical habitat designation of 2/1/01 (69 FR 9414), which was deemed deficient and was overruled. The current habitat is designated pursuant to court order stemming from Building Industry Legal Defense Foundation v. Gale Norton, Secretary of the Interior, which ordered FWS to publish a new critical habitat designation for the arroyo toad.

Endangered Species Act Listing

Dirk Kempthorne

This press release announces listing polar bears as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.

ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT LISTINGS AND CLIMATE CHANGE: AVOIDING THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

Michael C. Blumm & Kya B. Marienfeld

The Endangered Species Act (ESA), with its reputation as the nation’s strongest environmental law, might be expected to impose some limits on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions adversely affecting listed species due to rising global temperatures. Although the federal government recently conceded that some species warrant listing because of climate change, the accompanying listing decisions revealed a federal refusal to apply the ESA to constrain GHG emissions. In this Article, we explain those decisions—involving the American pika, the polar bear, the wolverine, and the Gunnison sage-grouse—and their implications. We conclude with some surprising observations about the Obama Administration’s apparent endorsement of Justice Scalia’s approach to the ESA’s habitat protections, the Administration’s endorsement of constitutional standing rules to limit the effective scope of the statute, the growing significance of the distinction between endangered and threatened species, and the unintended boomerang effects of the administrative reforms of the statute in the 1990s.

Endangered Species Act Split-Listing Chart for Chimpanzees

Hanna Coate

This split chart details the legal status of chimpanzees based on whether they were born or imported in the US or in foreign countries.

Ensure Your Pet's Future: Estate Planning for Owners and Their Animal Companions

Rachel Hirschfeld

This article discusses the increased desire among pet owners to provide care for their pets during life and even after death. Pet owners can now create enforceable legal instruments to provide care for their pets in the event of disability or death. The article alerts practitioners to specific considerations in drafting such agreements including arrangements for specific care and possible tax ramifications.

ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY RANCHING? AN INTERVIEW ON THE HIGH DESERT

Lisa Johnson

The following is an interview with Doc Hatfield about his views on raising cattle and his association with Oregon Country Beef, a cooperative organization that his wife, Connie, helped start in 1986. Doc was on his cell phone while we talked, as he and Connie were on their way to Portland from their High Desert Ranch in Brothers, Oregon to give a talk to an agricultural group. Connie was driving while Doc and I spoke. They have a rule against driving and talking on the phone at the same time. I agreed that was probably a good policy.

Equitable Self-Ownership for Animals

David Favre

This Article proposes a new use of existing property law concepts to change the juristic personhood status of animals. Presently, animals are classified as personal property, which gives them no status or standing in the legal system for the protection or promotion of their interests. Professor Favre suggests that it is possible and appropriate to divide living property into its legal and equitable components, and then to transfer the equitable title of an animal from the legal title holder to the animal herself. This would create a new, limited form of self-ownership in an animal, an equitably self-owned animal.

EQUITY AS A PARADIGM FOR SUSTAINABILITY: EVOLVING THE PROCESS TOWARD INTERSPECIES EQUITY

Gwendellyn Io Earnshaw

The concept of sustainability has evolved through a wide variety of definitions. Traditionally, sustainability was seen as a system of management which would allow humans to perpetually exploit the world's natural resources; that is, to manage resources so they would never be depleted. More recently, however, writers have argued the traditional concept of sustainability has failed because a truly sustainable system recognizes all resources and stakeholders for their inherent value. Equity is thus the essential ethic of a sustainable system. This article adopts this modern view of sustainability and identifies interspecies equity-the consideration of nonhuman animals based upon their inherent self-interests-as the embodiment and ultimate test of a truly sustainable system. By identifying the negative impacts of suppressing interspecies equity and citing examples of how to incorporate the sustainable ideal of interspecies equity, this article points the way toward a truly equity-based ethic of sustainability.

Ethical Management of Invasive Species The Burmese Python

Kaela S. Sculthorpe

Burmese pythons and other invasive species wreak havoc on local environments and threaten biodiversity globally. Beginning with an overview of the unique challenges posed by the Burmese python in Florida, this article addresses invasive species laws and management that currently exist both in the United States as well as across the globe. The current method for addressing the complications created by the pythons is to capture and destroy them. This process is not the most effective means of addressing biodiversity loss as Burmese python populations are now declining in its native habitat due to overexploitation. The following discussion proposes that these pythons not be captured and killed, but rather humanely captured then released back into its native habitat. This is a logical alternative because (1) capture and release is a more ethical solution and (2) capture and release promotes biodiversity. In addition to managing the current threat of these invasive species, countries must also work to prevent the future growth of unwanted populations. In order to successfully rid South Florida of the Burmese python, while preventing the future spread of invasive species, the laws that allow these invasions to happen must change. This article will explore state and federal controls regarding the management of invasive species as well as offer solutions to strengthening these protections.

European Union Legislation on the Welfare of Farm Animals

Peter Stevenson

European Union (EU) law contains a range of helpful provisions designed to protect farm animals on-farm, during transport and at slaughter. The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union recognises animals as “sentient beings” and requires the EU and its Member States, when formulating and implementing their policies in certain key areas to pay “full regard to the welfare requirements of animals”. EU law has prohibited some of the worst aspects of industrial livestock production: veal crates have been prohibited from 2007, barren battery cages for egg-laying hens from 2012 and sow stalls (gestation crates) are prohibited (except during the first four weeks of pregnancy) from 2013. This article describes and evaluates the above legislation and indicates the scientific research on which it is based. Nonetheless, EU law has to date only gone part way; substantial and far-reaching fresh legislation is needed before the EU can claim to have a body of law which properly ends the suffering inherent in industrial farming and legislates for a positive state of well-being for farm animals.

Evading Extinction: A 21st Century Survey of the Legal Challenges to Wild Siberian Tiger Conservation

Julie Santagelo

The Amur tiger, like all tigers, is threatened by its high black market value as an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine. In fact, the illegal wildlife generates up to ten billion United States dollars per year, trailing only the illegal narcotics and arms trade in annual revenue. The 1989 opening of the Russian-Chinese border exacerbated this illegal trade within the Russian Federation. The Amur tiger also suffers from a reduction of its prey base due to subsistence poaching of ungulate species and rampant logging. This reduction in wild prey has resulted in increased tiger-human conflicts such as livestock depredation, further reducing the locals’ incentive to protect tigers.

Every Dog Can Have Its Day: Extending Liability Beyond the Seller by Defining Pets as Products Under Products LIiability Theory

Jason Parent

Is a pet a “product”? A pet is a product for purposes of products liability law in some states, and as this article will show, the remaining states should follow suit. Every year, thousands of “domesticated” animals are sold to consumers who are uninformed as to the animal’s propensities or to the proper method of animal care. In some instances, these animals are unreasonably dangerous in that they spread disease to humans or attack, and possibly kill, unwitting victims. Improper breeding and training techniques and negligence in sales have led to horrific injury. This comment will demonstrate how merely considering pets as products opens up new theories of liability for the plaintiff’s lawyer, offering a deeper base of defendants who are both morally and legally at fault. From the standpoint of a consumer advocate and with concern for both human and animal welfare, the author proposes employing products liability theory to the sale of domesticated animals. By making sellers of “defective” animals accountable for personal injury that these animals cause, the quality of the animals bred and sold will likely improve. Where it does not improve and injury results, the victim may have recourse beyond the confines of contract remedies. Products liability theory is a lawful and needed method for preventing future harm and providing for a healthier human and animal kingdom.

Evolving Functions of Service and Therapy Animals and the Implications for Public Accommodation Access Rules

John Ensminger and Frances Breitkopf

This in-depth article presents the various categories of service animals and the functions they perform. It then examines the federal and state laws and regulations that control access to public accommodation and transportation. The authors conclude by suggesting that a uniform system of licensing and tagging would alleviate the confusion presented by current laws.

Examining the Veterinary Client-Patient Relationship in the United States: Why the Abolition of the In-Person Examination Requirement is Warranted

Jeffrey P. Feldmann

This Note examines the development of VCPR law, the incorporation - or lack thereof - of telehealth into VCPR law across the United States, and considers VCPR effect on access to care. After discussing the state of the veterinary industry and the regulatory scheme of veterinary medicine, Part II assesses VCPR laws across the United States, establishing that there is general uniformity from state to state. In Part II, the Note juxtaposes human medicine's widespread acceptance of telehealth to establish valid doctor-patient relationships with relative absence of such acceptance of telehealth in veterinary medicine to establish valid VCPRs. Part III then discusses and analyzes existing litigation concerning VCPR law and telehealth measures in the Fifth Circuit and in California. The Note concludes by proposing more widespread adoption of telemedicine as a means to establish a VCPR in order to improve access to quality care for veterinarians, clients, and patients more closely aligned with human medicine.

EXAMINING THE VIABILITY OF ANOTHER LORD OF YESTERDAY: OPEN RANGE LAWS AND LIVESTOCK DOMINANCE IN THE MODERN WEST

Coby Dolan

In this comment, the author explores the development of open range laws in Oregon and other western states and argues such laws should be abolished or drastically amended. Common law requires ranchers to fence livestock in or face liability for damages caused by strays. However, historical customs and practices of Western states were shaped by vast open lands and sparce populations, leading to open range customs which required a landowner to fence "out" livestock to protect their property. This comment focuses on the case of Dr. Patrick Shipsey, an Oregon landowner convicted of shooting cattle that wandered onto his land. Through this discussion, the viability of open range statutes is discussed and the ongoing debate exposed. Policy alternatives are proposed that reflect modern demographic changes and a re-balancing of the economic and environmental burdens of ranching practices.

EXPANSION OF THE FLORIDA ANIMAL ANTI-CRUELTY STATUTE TO BETTER SERVE ANIMALS

Laura Wesolowski

This paper will focus on animal use in transient, traveling exhibitions that do not have educational components. By nature, circuses, carnivals, and other traveling shows require the animals that are property to travel regularly and to perform for the public regularly. Researchers have found that this lifestyle is problematic for animals, in general, due to the living and traveling conditions that animals are subjected to as well as the pressures of performance of unnatural acts in unnatural environments.

Exporting Morality with Trade Restrictions: The Wrong Path to Animal Rights

Gary Miller

Part I of this Note will critique normative moral theory with respect to its fundamental role in animal welfare proselytizing, its applicability to legal theory, and its usefulness as a basis for legal decision making. Part II will discuss international trade disputes arising over morality-based domestic import restrictions in order to examine why the GATT has consistently been interpreted to err on the side of free trade and consumer choice. Finally, Part III will argue that the DCPA is not only an ineffective and unenforceable law but also potentially counterproductive to the goals of the Western animal welfare movement and overly costly to global trade infrastructure in light of more effective alternatives.

Failure to Launch: The Lack of Implementation and Enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act

Leslie Rudloff

Failure to launch syndrome “is an increasingly popular way to describe the difficulties some young adults face when transitioning into the next phase of development—a stage which involves greater independence and responsibility.” One might say that the Animal Welfare Act suffers from failure to launch syndrome. The Animal Welfare Act was passed over fifty years ago and yet, it has not matured past its infancy in terms of effectively preventing unnecessary and inhumane animal experiments. This article will explore the failures of Congress, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees (IACUCs), research facilities, and funding agencies to implement and enforce the Animal Welfare Act.

False Advertising, Animals, and Ethical Consumption

Carter Dillard

In light of the fact that today's consumers often want their products to be created in the most environmentally-, globally-, and animal-friendly ways possible, unethical sellers sometimes succumb to the incentive to persuade consumers that goods were created more ethically than they actually were. This article investigates the ways that consumers can protect themselves from false advertising through the use of federal and state agencies, independent review, federal and state courts, and private attorneys general actions.

FAQ on Internet Puppy Scams

Bradley Varner

What is an internet puppy scam?

There are multiple ways for a family to adopt a dog: they can go to a shelter, find a local breeder down the road or in a newspaper, and now buy a dog online.

FAQ on Service Animals and Air Travel

Rebecca F. Wisch

This FAQ provides a short explanation of the law and regulations related to service animals on U.S. commercial airlines.

What is an internet puppy scam?

Full Site Search