Youngstown Ohio has banned pit bulls and pit bull mixes effective September 15, 2007. Any pit bulls or mixes in the city as of that date may stay as long as they are registered and their owners obtain $100,000 in liability insurance to cover any injurie ...

Article - lauraallen - 9 Jun 2008 - 5:52pm - 4 comments - 0 attachments

In a 7-0 decision written by Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer, the Ohio Supreme Court reversed the finding of the Ohio Court of Appeals that Ohio state law R.C. 955.22 and 955.11(A)(4)(a)(iii) and Toledo Municipal Code 505.14(a) are unconstitutional becaus ...

Article - lauraallen - 10 Oct 2007 - 5:11am - 8 comments - 0 attachments

Eleven groups, a mix of dog owners and animal welfare organizations, have filed an amicus brief in the criminal case pending against Michael Vick and his cohorts in federal court in Virginia. The amici curiae or friends of the court, are urging Judge ...

Article - lauraallen - 6 Dec 2007 - 7:56pm - 6 comments - 0 attachments

                                        More than 30 county and city shelters in N.C. continue to use gas chambers to kill animals. Some shelters workers have been known to beat animals in the head, drown the ...

Article - lauraallen - 28 Mar 2008 - 4:43pm - 28 comments - 0 attachments

There is a small, grass-roots campaign happening to stop the use of the gas chamber in Spalding County, Georgia. Please write a letter to each of the five commissioners as well as to the county manager. (These folks do not have email . Letters must ...

Article - lauraallen - 14 Dec 2007 - 7:14pm - 4 comments - 1 attachment

There are news reports almost daily about raids on people called animal hoarders who have large numbers of animals suffering in deplorable, filthy conditions. The news reports typically show a home or some building or property overcrowded with starving, ...

Article - lauraallen - 10 Oct 2007 - 5:15am - 4 comments - 0 attachments

Update December 14, 2007 late afternoon: A Blair County, Pennsylvania jury has found Tammy Grimes guilty of theft and receiving stolen property. Sentencing is set for February 22, 2008. The judge instructed the jury they mu ...

Article - lauraallen - 12 Feb 2008 - 6:24pm - 54 comments - 0 attachments

Update : This provision did pass in the final version of the farm bill vetoed by President George W. Bush. Congress overrode the veto.  Original report : As part of the 2007 Farm bill and as an amendment to the Animal Welfare Act, ...

Article - lauraallen - 26 Aug 2008 - 7:13pm - 0 comments - 0 attachments

Update June 18, 2008: The U.S. Supreme Court has declined the petition by Cavel International, Inc. to hear its claim that an Illinois law banning horse slaughter for human consumption violates the U.S. Constitution and federal statu ...

Article - lauraallen - 26 Aug 2008 - 6:24pm - 0 comments - 0 attachments

Update June 6, 2008: Michael Vick has been in prison, convicted on federal charges related to dog fighting. More on that in Animal Law Coalition's earlier reports below. And now Vick faces state felony charges for dogfighting an ...

Article - lauraallen - 7 Jun 2008 - 2:48pm - 2 comments - 1 attachment

 It can be disastrous for the animals when a pet owner or the operator of a small shelter dies and leaves them with no one willing or able to care for them. It can be just as problematic when a shelter including a non-profit decides to close.  It is i ...

Article - lauraallen - 25 Jul 2008 - 12:36am - 0 comments - 0 attachments

A way to target the impulse shopper.  Update June 23, 2008: A web site has been set up with information about this bill and how you can help pass it. Click here for more information . Original report : New South Wales in Australia may ...

Article - lauraallen - 23 Jun 2008 - 2:35pm - 1 comment - 0 attachments

                                     Up date: The Farm Bill initially passed by Congress included this anti-animal fighting bill. President George W. Bush vetoed the Bill, but both the House and Senat ...

Article - lauraallen - 21 Jul 2008 - 7:05pm - 0 comments - 0 attachments

  Update: The polar bear is now listed as a threatened species. For more on this and what this listing could mean for the polar bear, read Animal Law Coalition's earlier reports below. Original report : On January 9, 2007 the U.S. Fi ...

Article - lauraallen - 20 Jul 2008 - 8:14pm - 0 comments - 0 attachments

    If you want to help the continually chained dogs of Pennsylvania, here is your chance. ONE DAY OFF FROM WORK COULD MEAN A LIFETIME TO A DOG .                                               ...

Article - lauraallen - 18 May 2008 - 7:46pm - 2 comments - 0 attachments

                                        Update February 25, 2008: Supporters hope to be able to save H.B. 366 by arranging meetings between committee members considering the bill and people who li ...

Article - lauraallen - 9 Jun 2008 - 5:53pm - 1 comment - 0 attachments

                                           Update March 10, 2008:   Los Angeles County and the other defendants filed a motion to dismiss, claiming private citizens such as the plaintiffs don't have sta ...

Article - lauraallen - 14 Mar 2008 - 8:11pm - 5 comments - 0 attachments

                                           by Laura Allen for the Animal Law Coalition This is not really my story to tell. I came late to the effort to save Lucy's life. An effort that ultimatel ...

Article - lauraallen - 8 Jan 2008 - 11:58pm - 11 comments - 0 attachments

Illinois passed a law effective January 1, 2007 that bars certain felons from “knowingly own[ing], possess[ing], hav[ing] custody of, or resid[ing] in a residence with”, “unspayed or unneutered dog or puppy older than 12 weeks of age” or “any ...

Article - lauraallen - 9 Jun 2008 - 5:38pm - 0 comments - 0 attachments

  Update June 8, 2008:  The plaintiffs in this case have decided to appeal the judge's dismissal of their case.    Indeed, Colorado federal District Court Judge Walker D. Miller dismissed all of their claims in this case.  Procedu ...

Article - lauraallen - 9 Jun 2008 - 4:13pm - 0 comments - 0 attachments

The Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project has altered over 30,000 cats in the Puget Sound area of Washington state.  The local public television station, KCTS, has run a program featuring the work on this group.  In conjunction with the program, KC ...

Article - lauraallen - 9 Jan 2008 - 12:02am - 6 comments - 0 attachments

Thousands of pit bulls and pit mixes have been evacuated from Denver since the city resumed enforcement of its controversial pit bull ban in May, 2005. What is worse, a recent lawsuit claims at least 1,100 pit bulls and pit mixes have been killed s ...

Article - lauraallen - 4 Jun 2008 - 8:01pm - 0 comments - 0 attachments

                                           In March, 2007 Chesley Morton and Jennifer Robinson filed suit in Fulton County, Georgia Superior Court, claiming the state Department of Agriculture and its Commis ...

Article - lauraallen - 14 Dec 2007 - 5:17pm - 4 comments - 0 attachments

 By John Holland (reprinted with permission) Bring in your children and potted plants and barricade your  door...they're coming! No, it is not Al Qaeda or even the Iranian  Revolutionary Guard. The abandoned horses are coming and the des ...

Article - lauraallen - 18 Jan 2008 - 3:29pm - 2 comments - 0 attachments

In 2006 Albuquerque passed a comprehensive ordinance dubbed the “Albuquerque Humane and Ethical Animal Rules and Treatment (HEART) Ordinance”. Not many animal ordinances are known by such a charming acronym. In fact, I don't know of any others. ...

Article - lauraallen - 21 May 2008 - 4:45pm - 0 comments - 0 attachments

Update February 28, 2008 : Thanks to your help  Californians for Humane Farms has obtained nearly 800,000 signatures, far more than the 650,000 needed to get the California Prevention of Farm Cruelty Act on the November 4, 2008 ballot. ...

Article - lauraallen - 18 May 2008 - 7:43pm - 0 comments - 0 attachments

 Update May 10, 2008 Governor Sonny Perdue has now signed this bill into law. Update March 28, 2008: The Georgia House  voted overwhelmingly to accept the Senate substitute described in our earlier report below. The Georgia Senate then pas ...

Article - lauraallen - 18 May 2008 - 7:35pm - 0 comments - 0 attachments

On September 11, 2006, I rescued a dog that was dying at the end of a chain in a muddy yard in a small Pennsylvania town. I was subsequently arrested. A little over a year later, on December 15, 2007, I was convicted of theft and receiving stolen ...

Article - lauraallen - 21 Dec 2007 - 4:52am - 2 comments - 0 attachments

  Update: Despite his last minute efforts to appease animal welfare advocates and dog owners by supporting a dog fighting task force in the Indianapolis area, Mayor Bart Peterson, lost his bid for re-election. For more on the mayor's call ...

Article - lauraallen - 6 Dec 2007 - 5:00pm - 6 comments - 0 attachments

On August 1, 2007 the Ohio Supreme Court found Ohio and Toledo breed specific laws are constitutional. Both the state of Ohio and Toledo laws say pit bull type dogs are automatically deemed "vicious" dogs and subject to certain restricti ...

Article - lauraallen - 12 Feb 2008 - 1:12am - 2 comments - 0 attachments