Animal Law

MI Mega-Farms a Mega-Nuisance?

Siding with complaining neighbors of mega-farms that house huge numbers of animals, Michigan lawmakers have introduced a package of five bills establishing more stringent rules for so-called animal factories. A hovering stench that casts a pall over surrounding properties and concerns about groundwater pollution are among the concerns that have…

Jul 31, 2007 12:42 AM CDT

Pit Bulls Get Reprieve

Virginia’s attorney general has issued a legal opinion that is sparing the lives of those condemned to die because of prejudice. The beneficiaries are stray pit bulls, the Washington Post reports. Animal shelters in three northern Virginia counties have already revised their policies to permit adoptions of pit bulls deemed…

Jul 30, 2007 6:13 PM CDT

Vick: I’m Not Guilty in Dogfighting Case

One of the nation’s marquee professional football players, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he has run an illegal dogfighting operation out of his property in rural Surry County, Va. since 2001. A federal magistrate in Richmond entered the plea today and released Vick…

Jul 27, 2007 12:35 AM CDT

Canine Bites Dog Doc, Owner Prosecuted

Sent to a canine psychologist for treatment of the “anxiety issues” that had led him to attack four children and two adults, a German Shepard promptly bit the professional, too. The dog will now be euthanized, but his 58-year-old British owner—who spent $20,000 pounds trying to help him become a…

Jul 26, 2007 7:51 PM CDT

New Death Sentence for UK Holy Cow

Spared from slaughter by a court ruling last week, a holy bull revered by a Hindu community in Wales received a new death sentence today from an appellate panel. The case has pitted religious rights recognized by the European Union against concerns that Shambo, as the sacred bull is known,…

Jul 23, 2007 9:02 PM CDT

Urbanites Crow About Maybe-Legal Pets

Concerned about the quality of their food or seeking an enjoyable experience, a growing number of city families these days are keeping a new kind of pet: backyard chickens. The trend is hard to quantify, because no one keeps statistics, but Backyard Poultry magazine is booming compared to its Medford,…

Jul 20, 2007 5:28 PM CDT

QB’s Dog Fighting Indictment Catches Local DA Off Guard

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick has been indicted on federal charges he participated in an illegal dog fighting business. Vick and three others are accused of buying and training pit bulls for the fights, and killing the dogs when they didn’t measure up, CNN reports. Authorities investigated after they found…

Jul 18, 2007 4:54 PM CDT

Holy Cow! Sacred Bull Spared in UK Case

At least for the moment, Shambo is safe from the butcher’s knife. Revered by the Hindu Skanda Vale Community in West Wales, the 6-year-old Friesian bull had tested positive for bovine tuberculosis and been ordered slaughtered by the Welsh Assembly. But a High Court judge in Cardiff ruled today in…

Jul 17, 2007 12:09 AM CDT

PETA to Puerto Rico: Ban Cockfights

With cockfighting soon to be banned by all 50 states, animal rights activists are turning their sights on one remaining U.S. bastion of what they consider a barbaric blood sport: Puerto Rico. Pitting two specially bred roosters, often with metal or plastic spurs strapped to their feet, in a bloody…

Jul 16, 2007 7:29 PM CDT

Cockfighting Soon Illegal in 50 States

Cockfighting will soon be illegal in all 50 states. A bill banning the sport in Louisiana, the only state where it is currently legal, was signed yesterday by the state governor and takes effect next summer. It is already illegal to gamble on cockfights in Louisiana under a law that…

Jul 13, 2007 5:56 PM CDT

Proposed Calif. Pet-Spay Law is Neutered

A proposed California bill that would have required pet owners to spay or neuter their animals or face a $500 fine has been tabled following an outpouring of support–and concern–from tens of thousands of state residents. The huge response has prompted law-makers to stop and think before proceeding, reports the…

Jul 12, 2007 3:27 AM CDT

‘Best Interest’ in Chimp Custody Case?

Are Emma, 5, and Jackson, 6, just somebody’s property? Or are the two chimpanzees, with their individual interests and tastes–she likes watermelon, for instance, while he prefers grapefruit–entitled to have their best interest taken into account when a court decides who owns them? That is the question that is now…

Jul 3, 2007 12:37 AM CDT

3 Not-So-Little Pigs’ Upscale Home Saved

Three not-so-little pigs living in the upscale Chicago suburb of Lake Forest didn’t, of course, have to worry about a wolf huffing and puffing and blowing their rickety house down. But their owner and her children were plenty concerned about a judge’s potential ban of the 200-pound porkers from their…

Jun 27, 2007 7:25 PM CDT

New Boston Shelter for Abused Pets Helps Abused Humans, Too

A first-of-its kind shelter program for abused pets in Boston is expected not only to aid animals targeted by abusive humans but help people in the pet’s family protect themselves from violence, too. That’s because people who abuse animals often abuse fellow humans as well. Plus, it isn’t unusual for…

Jun 7, 2007 9:01 PM CDT

Legislative Focus: Puppy Mills, Pet Shops

New legislation in Nebraska that strengthens regulation of kennel operations is reportedly part of a national focus on eliminating so-called puppy mills that breed dogs under questionable conditions and pet shops that sell them. “Most breeders learn how to keep their standards just above violating cruelty statutes, but the conditions…

Jun 4, 2007 6:06 PM CDT