ALLUNY Annual Meeting
October 1, 2010
Matt Morrison, Cornell Law School Library
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Animal Law Defined
Animal Categories and Areas of Law
Legal History
Developments
Sources
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The National Anti-Vivisection Society defines
animal law as: “any legal issue that involves
animals.”
They further state, “it is a combination of
statutory and case law in which the nature of
non-human animals, whether legal, social or
biological, is an important factor.”
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Agricultural—
Livestock
Companion—Pets
Wildlife—Roaming
the environment
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Entertainment
animals
Laboratory animals
LIVESTOCK: Cattle, Horses, Sheep,
Chickens, etc
 COMPANION: Dogs, Cats, Horses,
Gerbils, etc
 WILDLIFE: Lions, and Tigers, and
Bears (oh my..)
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Our Main Categories
With Examples
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Rodeo
Racing
Zoos and Exhibitions
Circuses
Staged Fights
Hunting
Entertainment
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Research, Testing,
Experimentation
Cosmetics, Medicine
Toxicity testing,
Dissection
Laboratory
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Animal Law intersects with:
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Torts
Property/Estates and Trusts
Commercial Law
Family Law
Criminal Law
Environmental Law
Sports & Entertainment Law
Constitutional Law
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Dog bites
Nuisance and property
damage
Vet malpractice
Torts
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Ownership and transfer
of ownership
Patents
Pet trusts
Property/Estates and
Trusts
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Contract disputes
◦ Buyers/Sellers
◦ Performance Animals
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Dealings with vets,
kennels, etc (bailment)
Agriculture and food
production
Product testing
Commercial Law
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Pet custody battles
Pets involved in prenups and divorce
settlements
Family Law
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Anti-cruelty statutes
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◦ Abuse, dog fighting,
vivisection
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Protective orders
Defense of animal
advocates
Criminal Law
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Endangered species
protection
Protection of habitat—
clean water
Public lands
management (wild
horses, etc)
Environmental Law
Criminal Law…
Environmental Law…
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Racing
Animal Welfare—
circuses and
exhibitions
Hunting—regulation of
methods, species
hunted, places where
hunting occurs.
Sports & Entertainment
Law
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First Amendment
protection of animal
rights activists
Freedom of Religion—
animal sacrifice, vegan
diets of prisoners or
workers.
Fourth Amendment
issues when police
shoot or confiscate
pets.
Constitutional Law
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Deep Roots
Nuisance—the hog farm
Strict Liability: for trespass by livestock, esp
onto crop fields
Livestock Auctions and Sales
Slaughter Regulation: Slaughtering was done
just off Wall St in NYC, but then ordered
outside of city in 1676!
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Early laws addressed cruelty
First recorded prohibition of cruelty was in
1641 in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
◦ Body of Liberties: “No man shall exercise any
tirranny or crueltie towards any bruite creature…”
◦ Evolved from old English malicious mischief laws, or
perhaps public nuisance law
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1800 saw attempts in England to ban bullbaiting
In 1822, the Ill Treatment of Horses and
Cattle Bill was approved in England.
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Hunting and Property: Pierson v Post
◦ Famous 1805 property case from NY in which rights to a
hunted fox were in dispute. Court ruled that giving
chase was insufficient to bestow right. But dissent
disagreed saying hunters should be encouraged to rid
countryside of “noxious beast[s]”
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In late 1800’s Supreme Court upheld CT law
regulating transport of game birds against
Commerce Clause challenge.
In 1900, Congress passed Lacey Act prohibiting
interstate trafficking in birds killed/captured in
violation of state law.
Federal-State Tension
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Hunting: English laws date to the 1300s and were
geared toward maintaining privilege and prevention
of depletion
American hunting law came later, although Virginia
est’d a deer season in 1646.
Circuses/exhibitions were largely unregulated until
the Animal Welfare Act of 1970. Rodeos and
livestock are excluded from the AWA.
Bull-baiting was banned in England in 1822.
Racing: exempt from the AWA; wagering regulated
starting in 1870s.
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Began in 1870s England
A physiologist’s lab assistant was disturbed
by what he saw and publicized the
conditions.
Royal Commission on Vivisection was
established with Queen’s backing.
Cruelty to Animals Act of 1876 was passed
regulating vivisection and licensing labs.
Americans took note, states began
regulating.
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Animals have been, and still are,
regarded as property.
This notion intertwined with agrarian
societies to benefit humans, and the
law reflected this.
Bolstered by philosophy, tradition,
and pragmatism:
◦ “Animals have no souls or minds”
◦ “We’ve always used them”
◦ “And using them works”
Legal Development
Where we came from…
Property rights shaped both the
legal context of animals and
human attitudes.
 But, English jurist Jeremy Bentham
was a catalyst for change in the
19th century.
 He wrote: “The question is not,
Can they reason? Can they talk?
But can they suffer?”
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Legal Development
Views began to change…
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The Ill Treatment of
Horses and Cattle
Bill of 1822
The Cruelty to
Animals Act of
1876
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In 1824, the Society
for the Prevention
of Cruelty to
Animals was
founded
In 1840, Queen
Victoria allowed the
SPCA to use the
prefix “Royal.”
In the 1800s, Britain still had
significant intellectual influence in
the States.
 New York’s original anti-cruelty
statute was in 1828.
 In 1866, the American Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals was founded.
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In America…
Some changes
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The National Anti-Vivisection Society states it
this way:
◦ “the underlying philosophy of the law is this: that
animals merit the protection of the law only if and
to the extent that such protection will not interfere
with the interests of humans, which are considered
to have more importance than the interests of
animals.”
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Humans: Unconditional protection
Animals: Conditional protection based on
human needs and desires
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The 20th century saw significant increase in
anti-cruelty and animal welfare laws at the
state and federal level.
There are significant federal laws aimed at
wildlife and the regulation of slaughter and
the movement of animals in interstate
commerce.
While some underlying ideas have changed
since 1800, many have not.
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Law Schools:
◦ Increasing number of
animal law courses
and seminars
◦ Increasing animal law
clinics: Duke has a
good one
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Practitioners:
◦ More state and local
bars have animal law
sections
◦ More attorneys are
working on animal
cases
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ASPCA
National Anti-Vivisection Society
Animal Legal Defense Fund
American Humane Association
Animal Welfare Institute
Humane Society of the United States—their
site provides solid coverage of federal and
state statutes.
World Wildlife Fund
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Animallaw.com
Animal Blawg
Animal Rights: The Abolitionist Approach
Animal Legal and Historical Web Center
(Michigan State)
Animal Ethics Blog
Center for Wildlife Law (UNM)
Center for Animal Law Studies (Lewis & Clark)
Pet-Abuse.com
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Animals and the Law: A Sourcebook, by Jordan
Curnutt
Animal Law: Cases and Materials, 4th ed., by
Bruce A. Wagman, et al.
Animal Law: Welfare, Interests, and Rights, by
David Favre
People, Property, or Pets?, by Marc D. Hauser, et
al.
ANIMAL LAW REVIEW (Lewis and Clark)
JOURNAL FOR CRITICAL ANIMAL STUDIES
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL LAW (Mich. St.)
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL LAW AND ETHICS (Penn)
STANFORD JOURNAL OF ANIMAL LAW AND POLICY