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

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

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

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 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

                                            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

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

 I think our society needs a huge "wake-up" call. As a shelter manager, I am going to share a little insight with you all...a view from the inside if you will. Breeders Need Not Apply First off, this is a forum to for adoptio ...

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

In a harsh statement befitting Vick's now admitted crimes, NFL Commissioner suspenced Michael Vick, the superstar quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, aka Ookie. Suspended him immediately, indefinitely and without pay. That's one for the dogs. Fol ...

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

It was the rare happy ending. In December 2004 in an agreement negotiated for months between the U.S. and Mexico, U.S. Fish & Wildlife escorted 90 red-headed and lilac-crowned Amazon parrots to Tijuana. They were met by an official of the Mexic ...

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

 It is most certainly the demand for parrots as pets that drives the illegal trade of these beautiful wild creatures. The breeders and pet merchants are the middle men of that multi-million dollar black market. (The illegal trade of all wild animals is ...

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

 More than a year ago in June, 2006 several animal rights organizations including Farm Sanctuary and the Humane Society of the United States filed an action with the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets to have foie gras banned as an adul ...

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

Salt Lake City recognizes trap neuter return is the most humane and effective way to control feral cat populations. The City's Animal Control ordinance does require registration of feral cat colonies but encourages caregivers to use TNR. A per ...

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

Puppy mills are those aptly named businesses that mass produce dogs. Puppy mills are not much different from the factories that churn out blenders, toasters, televisions, DVD players, and the like. And that is one of the many dirty little secrets about ...

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