Results

This Article first provides an overview of the philosophical basis of the allocation (or non-allocation) of moral status to nonhuman animals considering historical and modern views of animals. Second, it analyzes the legal status of animals under the current system and discusses the idea of extending legal 'personhood' to such animals. Next, it considers the common law and statutory basis for the current valuation of companion animals. Finally, this Article supports and promotes the idea that there is a rational basis for changing the way that companion animals should be valued by the legal system and recommends the adoption of statutory provisions to promote consistency and certainty in these cases.

This article provides several key questions a pet owner must ask him or herself prior to initiating a veterinary malpractice lawsuit.

This article discusses the recent attention focused on veterinary malpractice claims. The author suggests that changes in both state legislation allowing recovery of non-economic damages for companion animals as well as isolated litigation awards beyond market value for veterinary malpractice make it imperative for the veterinary profession to take a stance on the issue.

Overview of the state of Animal Law in Australia.

For many consumers, farm animal welfare matters. To ensure the well-being of farm animals, consumers often pay premium prices for animal products with humane labels. Because “organic” is an example of a label presumed to convey information about animal husbandry practices, animal products with this label may offer an alternative to products from animals that were raised “conventionally” on large, industrialized farms with minimal welfare protections. The Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 and enacting regulations require that organic animals be able to engage in natural behaviors. However, many of the requirements are general and thus result in significant variations in livestock living conditions, confounding consumer expectations of uniform organic production and high standards for organic farm animal welfare. This Comment discusses the background of organic regulations, including issues with their application in the areas of organic dairy and egg production. Next, this Comment analyzes aspects of organic regulations as applied to organic laying hens and organic pigs. Finally, this Comment suggests ways to make organic regulations more quantifiable and thus more enforceable so organic animals are able to engage in natural behaviors.

The proposed listing of polar bears raises questions about what that listing might mean for the polar bears as a species, and how successful conservation efforts will or can be. This Comment explores these and other questions implicated by the proposed listing of polar bears as an endangered species under the Act.

This article proposes federal legislation that would provide minimum standards for the daily living conditions of animals raised for food production.

This article explores what kind of damages pet owners can recover from bringing a lawsuit. While traditional damages are based on economic concepts such as fair market value and consequential damages, the article also explores the recent trend for courts to recognize non-economic damages such as intrinsic value, mental anguish and suffering, and loss of companionship. Unfortunately, however, although a few courts have been leaders in validating these new concepts, the vast majority still do not recognize them.