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 - 14 comments - 0 attachments

Update Nov. 24, 2008: After several continuances of the trial of Michael Vick on state dog fighting charges, the case has been resolved. Vick pleaded guilty today to a felony charge of promoting dog fighting in violation of state law. ( Virg ...

Article - lauraallen - 26 Nov 2008 - 3:26pm - 2 comments - 1 attachment

The Animal Welfare Act (AWA) and the U.S. Deptartment of Agriculture regulations establish licensing requirements and provide rules for identification of animals, inspections, record keeping, and staffing. 9 C.F.R. 1.1-3.19. There are certain standards ...

Article - lauraallen - 10 Oct 2007 - 5:11am - 1 comment - 0 attachments

Animal cruelty results in little real consequence in these states.  In Arkansas animal cruelty is also simply a Class A misdemeanor. Arkansas Code § 5-62-101. The penalty is no more than a $1000 fine and 1 year in jail. A.C.A. §§5-4-201, - ...

Article - lauraallen - 8 Sep 2008 - 10:31pm - 0 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

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 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

An Ontario Superior Court Justice struck down parts of the province's law relating to pit bull breeds. The court found the definition of "pit bull" is unconstitutionally vague. The definition cannot include "pit bull terriers" though other pit bull ...

Article - lauraallen - 10 Oct 2007 - 5:11am - 1 comment - 0 attachments

by Laura Allen for the Animal Law Coalition So many counties and cities cite the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)'s 2000 euthanasia report as authority for the continued use of animal gas chambers. A copy is attached. Here’s ...

Article - lauraallen - 20 Feb 2008 - 6:13pm - 1 comment - 0 attachments

Update December 1, 2007 : A grand jury in Surrey County, Virginia has indicted Vick and his co-conspirators, Purnell PEace and Quanis Phillips on 2 felony counts related to dog fighting: beating or killing a dog or causing dogs to fight and promoting ...

Article - lauraallen - 6 Apr 2008 - 7:20pm - 0 comments - 0 attachments

A recent study suggests carbon monoxide poisoning is harmful in ways no one suspected until now. Carbon monoxide poisoning can result from exposure to the gas in a confined space such as operation of an animal gas chamber. Carbon monoxide caus ...

Article - lauraallen - 10 Oct 2007 - 5:11am - 1 comment - 0 attachments

by Denise LeBeau Many tax-funded animal shelters still use carbon monoxide gas chambers to kill unwanted cats and dogs. This method is considered by many to be outdated and inhumane. Your taxes are funding It! Animals in a gas chamber do no ...

Article - lauraallen - 13 Dec 2007 - 6:06pm - 1 comment - 0 attachments

After his indictment and guilty plea on federal charges of conspiracy to engage in gambling and dog fighting in violation of the Animal Welfare Act, 7 USC §2156, Vick, a top football player for the NFL and quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, lost end ...

Article - lauraallen - 13 Dec 2007 - 4:36pm - 1 comment - 0 attachments

California Food & Ag. Code Div. 14, Chpt 9, Art. 5 §31683 except see Cal Health & Saf Code §122331 which allows counties and cities to pass mandatory spay/neuter requirements for certain breeds. Colorado §18-9-204.5(5)(b) except see the c ...

Article - lauraallen - 10 Oct 2007 - 5:11am - 1 comment - 0 attachments

Pound seizure laws typically require shelters or pounds to release animals to testing, research or educational facilities on demand. These laws were first passed in the 1940s. Most of these laws were promoted by the National Society for Medic ...

Article - lauraallen - 14 Jan 2008 - 4:21am - 0 comments - 0 attachments

State: Connecticut § 53-247. (a) Any person who overdrives, drives when overloaded, overworks, tortures, deprives of necessary sustenance, mutilates or cruelly beats or kills or unjustifiably injures any animal, or who, having impounded o ...

Law - lauraallen - 12 Jan 2008 - 10:25pm - 0 comments

 State legislatures around the country have considered restrictions on tethering or chaining dogs. Here's how these bills have fared:   There is increasing recognition tethering, chaining and penning are not only inhumane, these practices c ...

Article - lauraallen - 5 Jan 2008 - 8:25pm - 0 comments - 0 attachments

Burger King has announced it will stop buying pork from suppliers who confine pigs in gestation crates. Burger King said sows should be allowed to move around and not cruelly confined in these crates. This past January, Smithfield Foods, the nation ...

Article - lauraallen - 30 Dec 2007 - 5:48pm - 0 comments - 0 attachments

Burger King, the second largest hamburger chain, has announced it will no longer buy eggs from suppliers that keep their chickens in battery cages or use electric shock prior to slaughter to make the birds unconscious. Burger King’s requirements ...

Article - lauraallen - 30 Dec 2007 - 5:41pm - 0 comments - 0 attachments

Update : Kudos to the Medical College of New York which has announced the end to its use of live dogs in a first-year physiology course. No word on whether the Medical College of Wisconsin will follow suit..... Original report : The Medi ...

Article - lauraallen - 29 Dec 2007 - 11:17pm - 0 comments - 0 attachments

An interview with Peter MacQueen III by Denise LeBeau Peter MacQueen III is president of the Humane Society of Eastern North Carolina and has been compassionately advocating on the behalf of the companion animals of North Carolina for over 20 ...

Article - lauraallen - 10 Oct 2007 - 5:11am - 1 comment - 0 attachments

State: Bill Number: Section 11317 of H.R. 2419, Farm, Nutrition and Bioenergy Bill of 2007 (2007 Farm Bill) SEC. 11317. PROTECTION OF PETS. (a) Short Title- This section may be cited as the `Pet Safety and Protection Act ...

Pending Bill - lauraallen - 16 Dec 2007 - 8:51pm - 0 comments - 0 attachments

                                            Update December 6, 2007 :  Following the ASPCA's preliminary evaluation of the Vick dogs, the court appointed noted Valparaiso University Animal Law  P ...

Article - lauraallen - 10 Dec 2007 - 4:40pm - 0 comments - 2 attachments

State: Virginia § 18.2-403.2. The following unlawful acts and offenses against animals shall constitute and be punished as a Class 3 misdemeanor: 1. Violation of § 3.1-796.71 pertaining to the failure of a shopkeeper or pet d ...

Law - lauraallen - 10 Oct 2007 - 5:13am - 0 comments

Indianapolis and Rhode Island are examples of local governments which have turned away from bans on feeding feral or stray cats. Instead, they have embraced laws regulating and supporting managed colonies of feral and stray cats. But in the fight f ...

Article - lauraallen - 10 Oct 2007 - 5:13am - 0 comments - 0 attachments

Until this past year the United States Department of Agriculture interpreted the federal Twenty Eight Hour Law, 49 USCS § 80502, so that most farm animals did not receive the protections of this law, the nation’s first federal humane law. Under ...

Article - lauraallen - 10 Oct 2007 - 5:13am - 0 comments - 0 attachments

State: Texas § 42.09. (a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally or knowingly: (1) tortures an animal; (2) fails unreasonably to provide necessary food, care, or shelter for an animal in the perso ...

Law - lauraallen - 10 Oct 2007 - 5:13am - 0 comments

State: Texas § 42.10. (a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly: (1) causes a dog to fight with another dog; (2) for a pecuniary benefit causes a dog to fight with another dog; (3) partici ...

Law - lauraallen - 10 Oct 2007 - 5:13am - 0 comments

State: Utah § 76-9-301. (1) A person is guilty of cruelty to animals if the person intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence: (a) fails to provide necessary food, care, or shelter for an animal in his c ...

Law - lauraallen - 10 Oct 2007 - 5:13am - 0 comments

State: Utah § 76-9-301.1. (1) It is unlawful for any person to: (a) own, possess, keep, or train a dog with the intent to engage it in an exhibition of fighting with another dog; (b) cause a dog to fight with another do ...

Law - lauraallen - 10 Oct 2007 - 5:13am - 0 comments