Animal Law

Texas Court Nibbles on State’s ‘First Free Bite’ Rule

In Texas, dogs get a “first free bite,” a sort of get-out-of-jail-free card for owners to escape legal liability if their previously gentle pooch gets rough. But on Friday the state’s supreme court ruled that dog owners still have a responsibility to stop an attack once it begins, the Austin…

Mar 31, 2008 8:18 PM CDT

Pet Food Suits Near Settlement

Consolidated lawsuits against a distributor of contaminated pet food are nearing settlement. Lawyers on both sides of the case told the New Jersey Law Journal that a settlement could be reached within a few weeks. The suits were consolidated in New Jersey federal court. The suits say at least 3,730…

Mar 10, 2008 1:05 PM CDT

Pro Golfer Charged With Beaning Bird

Updated: Apparently irritated by the noisy call of a red-shouldered hawk as he was trying to tape an instructional video in Florida last year, National Tour pro Tripp Isenhour started driving some balls in the direction of the protected migratory bird. He didn’t have any luck at 300 yards. But…

Mar 6, 2008 11:31 PM CST

Lawyer’s Death After Shark Bite Ignites Legal Debate

The death last week of an Austrian attorney who was bitten by a shark has sparked a debate about cageless shark diving. The practice, which involves baiting the waters with chum to attract sharks, is illegal in the United States but permitted in the Bahamas, where Markus Groh was headed…

Mar 3, 2008 4:37 PM CST

Buglife’s Big Day in Court

A nonprofit conservation trust for invertebrates was to appear in High Court in the United Kingdom today, to argue that a rare teddy-bear-like spider has a right to life under recently enacted animal protection laws. Buglife was expected to contend that a developer who wants to build a mail distribution…

Feb 22, 2008 10:56 PM CST

Law Prof Sees ‘Explosion of Interest’ in Animal Issues

Ninety ABA-approved law schools teach courses in animal law, up from only a handful that offered such classes a decade ago. A Michigan State law professor, David Favre, tells USA Today the development is part of “an explosion of interest” in animal welfare issues. Just as law students in the…

Jan 28, 2008 3:17 PM CST

Big Brother is Watching ... in the Barnyard

Seeking to help prevent widespread outbreaks of animal illness that can affect humans, such as avian flu and mad cow disease, federal officials are in the fledgling stages of implementing a national identification program. Eventually, it will require many farmers to register and microchip individual animals among their livestock, and…

Jan 14, 2008 5:33 PM CST

Lawsuit Question: Is Stray Voltage or Lack of ‘Cow Comfort’ Thinning Herds?

At least six lawsuits in southern Minnesota contend stray voltage from overloaded power lines is harming cattle. Electricity needs to run in a complete circuit, but sometimes it can’t return to its source because of power line disrepair or overload, the Associated Press reports. When blocked, the electricity goes into…

Jan 10, 2008 7:23 PM CST

Almost-Grand Champion Owner Has Cow Over Competition Counterclaim

A youth whose grand champion steer and goat lost their competition titles thinks the livestock association countersuit against him is, well, a lot of bull. The Pasadena Livestock Show and Rodeo pulled the 2004 title from the steer because of an anti-inflammatory medication administered for a rash and from the…

Jan 7, 2008 3:12 PM CST

Duck Cruelty Case Creates Controversy for Animal Rights Attorney

A young animal rights attorney in Minneapolis is on the hot seat after writing to the judge hearing a case against a man accused of ripping the head off of a live duck in front of onlookers at a downtown hotel. Corwin Kruse, a lawyer at Dorsey & Whitney who…

Dec 14, 2007 5:15 PM CST

Girl Teary Over Town Board’s Fowl Vote

Two years ago, a Pennsylvania girl won a prize from her municipality’s recreation board for having the most unusual pet—a rooster. But now, in the latest decision in a case that has been ongoing for months, the North Huntingdon Township zoning hearing board has said Melissa Hensler must get rid…

Dec 6, 2007 12:01 AM CST

Big Bequest Puts Wealthy Dog at Risk

A massive $12 million trust established by hotel heiress Leona Helmsley under her will to take care of her beloved dog, Trouble, has created problems for the well-to-do canine after Helmsley’s death earlier this year. Kidnappers and blackmailers reportedly have threatened the 4½ pound Maltese after news of her big…

Dec 4, 2007 4:36 PM CST

Supporters Rally Round Dog While Worker Recovers From Mauling

Thousands of people have petitioned New Jersey’s governor for a pardon for a dog named Congo sentenced to die for mauling a landscaper. The German shepherd attacked Giovanni Rivera as he arrived with a crew of day laborers at the home of Guy and Elizabeth James. Among the injuries he…

Nov 30, 2007 5:18 PM CST

Cat Killer in a Peck of Trouble Over Piper Plovers

The trial of a Texas bird-watching enthusiast for killing a cat turns on whether the victim, named Mama Cat, was feral. James M. Stevenson, the founder of the Galveston Ornithological Society, is being prosecuted under a law that bars the killing of cats “belonging to another,” the New York Times…

Nov 14, 2007 4:25 PM CST

100 Protest N.J. Dog’s Death Sentence

More than 100 people protested outside Princetown Township Municipal Court in New Jersey over a judge’s order to euthanize a dog. The 2-and-a-half-year-old German Shepherd named Congo was determined to be vicious after he attacked and mauled a landscaper who came into his yard last June, reports an ABC-affiliated station…

Nov 13, 2007 11:59 PM CST