Animal Law

German Town to Test Dog DNA to Enforce Pooper-Scooper Law

A small town in Germany is planning to perform a DNA test on every licensed dog to make it easier to enforce a pooper-scooper law. Owners who don’t pick up after pets can then be matched to the evidence that scofflaws leave behind, which a dog warden will collect, reports…

Feb 2, 2009 5:32 PM CST

The Price is Right: Bob Barker Gives $1M for New Animal Law Program at Virginia

Add the University of Virginia to a growing list of well-known law schools that are offering animal law programs thanks to the generosity of television game show host Bob Barker. Barker, perhaps best-known as the former host of the Price is Right, has just given $1 million to establish a…

Jan 13, 2009 11:35 PM CST

Md. Court Clerk Takes Dog to Work

When Margaret Rappaport is busy working at the Howard County Circuit Court, so is her three-pound dog. Rappaport, the Maryland court’s clerk for 18 years, takes Shayna Madel, a 4-year-old Yorkshire Terrier with her everywhere, including her job at the Ellicott City courthouse, reports the Howard County Times. The dog…

Jan 12, 2009 8:25 PM CST

Woman Blames Law Firms in Claimed Kitty Caper; NY Case to be Appealed

Darlene Feger still misses Kisses, the Persian cat who disappeared from her New Jersey home seven years ago. And she has the ongoing legal battle to prove it. After seeing what she believes was a photo of her feline on a website for the Warwick Valley Humane Society 10 days…

Jan 8, 2009 5:57 PM CST

Supreme Court Could Hear Challenge to Law Barring Animal Cruelty Videos

The solicitor general has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to decide the constitutionality of a law barring depictions of animal cruelty. The justices are likely to grant the request, for two reasons, the New York Times reports. A request for a decision from the solicitor general is heeded more often…

Jan 6, 2009 7:19 PM CST

Dog Law Can Pay in Kibble, But Offers Other Benefits

It isn’t likely to be the most lucrative of law practices. But representing animals and their owners is a growing field due in part to the satisfaction that the job can offer. Among those who have made it a big part of their professional lives is Texas attorney Zandra Anderson,…

Dec 8, 2008 11:25 PM CST

Newly Unemployed: Thousands of Texas Fish Used in Banned Pedicure Practice

Worried about the potential risks of fish nibbling at customers’ tootsies, the state of Texas banned the pedicure practice yesterday. “Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation spokeswoman Susan Stanford said the agency was concerned about salons using the same fish to clean the skin of multiple customers, leaving them open…

Oct 9, 2008 7:09 PM CDT

Dog Breeder Sues Movie Studio Over Famous Canine Name: Rin Tin Tin

A Texas dog breeder whose family has been protecting the legacy of Rin Tin Tin for more than 50 years says in a lawsuit that a new movie has sullied it. Daphne Hereford contends that Finding Rin Tin Tin, a foreign movie that was released on DVD in this country…

Oct 7, 2008 8:38 PM CDT

Sonar, F-Bombs and Public Parks

An eclectic blend of cases and three-a-day arguments are on tap this term

Oct 1, 2008 6:45 PM CDT

Sodomizing a Sheep Doesn’t Put Perp on Michigan Sex Offender List

Despite a trend toward recognizing limited animal rights on the estate planning front, a Michigan appeals court has taken a traditional view of the law concerning a man convicted of sodomizing a sheep. Jeffrey Scott Haynes, 45, a habitual offender who is serving a 2½- to 20-year prison term for…

Sep 25, 2008 6:54 PM CDT

Oregon Deer Custody Case Snowballs; Appeals Court Hearing is Held

An ongoing case over the custody of a deformed deer that has become a family pet was reportedly the subject of an Oregon Court of Appeals hearing yesterday. Although the state contended that the Molalla family, headed by James Filipetti and Francesca Mantei, broke the law by keeping the fawn…

Sep 23, 2008 7:18 PM CDT

Ex-Lawyer Sentenced to 15 Years to Life in Dog Mauling

A former lawyer whose dogs mauled and killed a neighbor has received a higher sentence—15 years to life in prison—in her second sentencing in the case. Judge Charlotte Woolard of San Francisco Superior Court sentenced ex-lawyer Marjorie Knoller yesterday for the death of Diane Whipple, the New York Times and…

Sep 23, 2008 11:29 AM CDT

Helmsley’s Estimated $8B Fortune Helps Get Top Billing for Animal Rights

Think of how much trouble the difference between the sexes has caused. And then ponder this: if a fledgling movement to recognize limited rights for animals gains its wings, a whole new series of complex distinctions will have to be made. “We’re talking about beings as different as chimpanzees, pigs,…

Sep 22, 2008 9:43 PM CDT

UK Appeals Court OKs Hefty Alimony Payment for Ex-Wife’s Horses

An investment banker in the United Kingdom had argued that his soon-to-be ex-wife could and should cut her post-divorce expenses by eliminating an unjustified extravagance—her three horses. But, finding that the horses have been an important part of the woman’s life during their 11-year marriage and that she was devoted…

Sep 22, 2008 6:23 PM CDT

Buying a Home Where Buffalo Roam Lands Software CEO in Criminal Court

Keeping a 2,000-pound animal contained when the grass looks good on the other side of the fence isn’t easy. And it isn’t required under Colorado’s open-range law, which allows livestock to roam wherever they wish. If property owners don’t want animals on their land, they are the ones who must…

Sep 12, 2008 10:43 PM CDT