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Animal law is a combination of statutory and case law in which the nature – legal, social or biological – of nonhuman animals is an important factor. Animal law encompasses companion animals, wildlife, animals used in entertainment and animals raised for food and research. The emerging field of animal law is often analogized to the environmental law movement 30 years ago. The Animal Legal Defense Fund was founded by attorney Joyce Tischler in 1979 as the first organization dedicated to promoting the field of animal law and using the law to protect the lives and defend the interests of animals.[1]
Animal law has been taught in at least 108 law schools in the U.S., including Harvard, Stanford, UCLA, Northwestern, University of Michigan and Duke and is currently taught in at least 106 schools.[2][3] Animal law is also currently taught in 7 law schools in Canada. [4] In the U.S. there are Student Animal Legal Defense Fund (SALDF) chapters in 132 universities, with an additional seven chapters in Canada. SALDF chapters are student groups that are affiliated with the Animal Legal Defense Fund and share its mission to protect the lives and advance the interests of animals through the legal system.[5]
A growing number of state and local bar associations now have animal law committees.[6] There is very little pro-animal legal precedent in existence, so each case presents an opportunity to change the legal future for animals.[7]
Animal law issues encompass a broad spectrum of approaches—from philosophical explorations of the rights of animals to pragmatic discussions about the rights of those who use animals, who has standing to sue when an animal is harmed in a way that violates the law, and what constitutes legal cruelty.[6] Animal law permeates and affects most traditional areas of the law – including tort, contract, criminal and constitutional law. Examples of this intersection include:
- Animal custody disputes in divorce or separations.[8]
- Veterinary malpractice cases.
- Housing disputes involving “no pets” policies and discrimination laws.
- Damages cases involving the wrongful death or injury to a companion animal.[9]
- Enforceable trusts for companion being adopted by states across the country.[10]
- Criminal law encompassing domestic violence and anti-cruelty laws.
The comprehensive animal law casebook is[11], co-authored by Sonia S. Waisman, Bruce A. Wagman, and Pamela D. Frasch. Because animal law is not a traditional legal field, most of the book’s chapters are framed in terms of familiar subsets of law such as tort, contract, criminal and constitutional law. Each chapter sets out cases and commentary where animal law affects those broader areas.
The Animal Protection Laws of the United States of America & Canada compendium[12], by Stephan K. Otto, Director of Legislative Affairs for the Animal Legal Defense Fund, is a comprehensive animal protection laws collection. It contains a detailed survey of the general animal protection and related statutes for all of the states, principal districts and territories of the United States of America, and for all of Canada; along with full-text versions of each jurisdiction’s laws.
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See also
- Intrinsic value (animal ethics)
- Animal ethics
- Animal welfare
- Animal Legal Defense Fund
- Animal Welfare Act
- Category:Animal rights and welfare legislation
- Brazilian Abolitionist Movement for Animal liberation
- Hunting Act 2004
- Society for Animal Protective Legislation
References
- ^ http://www.aldf.org
- ^ "Animal law courses", Animal Legal Defense Fund.
- ^ "Animal Law Courses", National Association for Biomedical Research - Animal Law Section.
- ^ "Animal law courses", Animal Legal Defense Fund.
- ^ "Student Animal Legal Defense Fund", Animal Legal Defense Fund.
- ^ a b Animal Law Program
- ^ About The Animal Law Center
- ^ "Pet Custody Disputes", National Association for Biomedical Research - Animal Law Section.
- ^ "Non-Economic Damages", National Association for Biomedical Research - Animal Law Section.
- ^ "Pet Trusts", National Association for Biomedical Research - Animal Law Section.
- ^ Animal Law: Cases and Materials, Third Edition
- ^ The Animal Protection Laws of the United States of America & Canada — Fourth Edition
Bibliography
- “Animal Law: Yesterday and Today” Bernstein, Robin, New Jersey Lawyer, p. 23, 27, August 2005.
- Animal law for “least protected” and “most innocent”, May 20, 2008, The UW Daily, Seattle
- “Fido, Fluffy Become More High Profile Part of Law,” March 29, 2008, USA Today
External links
- Animal Law Review
- Center for Animal Law Studies
- Animal Legal and Historical Center
- Animal Protection Laws of the USA & Canada
- International Institute for Animal Law
- Journal of Animal Law and Ethics
- From The State of the Animals III: 2005
- International Animal Law, with a Concentration on Latin America, Asia, and Africa
- Progress in Animal Legislation: Measurement and Assessment
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