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Animal Law

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Despite Esteem for Science, Public at Odds with Scientists on Major Issues
The Pew Research Center is taking a close look at the real and perceived role of science in the eyes of the American public and policy-makers. In a study of both the scientific community and a broad cross section of the public, Pew examined how Americans view science in relation to their own lives and public policy, in addition to investigating how scientists see themselves as agents of influence in American life. Of special interest to animal advocates is a considerably large difference in how both groups view animal research issues as well as certain matters related to food. READ MORE

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The Sympathy of Policy-Makers Towards Animal-Rights Activists, and the Future of Biomedical Research
This letter to the editor published in Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacologyargues that, despite the fact that the European biomedical community has "labored intensely" for many years to deliver on animal welfare standards, animal rights activists are winning the hearts and minds of the public and policy makers through "relentless opposition." The letter cites examples, such as the campaign to ban the transportation of primates for research, as occasions when animal advocates have caused damage to the larger research industry in the EU. READ MORE

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‘Never an It’: Intersubjectivity and the Creation of Animal Personhood in Animal Shelters
In this paper, Nicola Taylor asks sociologists to open themselves up to the further study of human-animal relationships, and specifically the way that identity and subjecthood is constructed across the human-animal dualism. Using two animal shelters from the U.K. as case studies, Taylor examines the way that animals living at those shelters are treated as persons and accorded personhood through the actions of shelter staff. Taking account of the processes of naming animals, as well as how individuals are placed into homes, Taylor shows that shelter staff take great consideration and labor in making sure that the animals in their care are taken seriously as individuals and persons. READ MORE

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Use of Animals in Research and Reporting of Animal Experiments — The Need for Improvement
This editorial in the journal Vascular Pharmacology examines EU-wide and UK-specific guidelines relating to animal welfare in laboratories. It presents the key reasons why the journal requires authors to comply with the European Union Directive on animal research, and describes the penalties that face researchers who don't. The paper notes, however, that it is very difficult for the editorial board of the journal to know if guidelines are being fully adhered to, and that they are actively engaged in a process to improve how they assess the ethics of the papers they receive. READ MORE

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Policing Farm Animal Welfare in Federated Nations: The Problem of Dual Federalism in Canada and the USA
This paper outlines problems with (and proposes some solutions for) the creation and enforcement of effective laws protecting farm animals in the United States and Canada. Taking a long view that includes an agro-anthropological analysis of how current farm animal protection laws came to be, the paper highlights how, in the both the U.S. and Canada, agriculture is a unique institution. "Achieving substantial shift in farm animal production methods, means a coordinated societal initiative to disseminate and have adopted a new societal norm." The authors argue that some kind of continental regulatory oversight, as well as more direct cooperation with policy-makers and NGOs, are possible solutions, but that any changes will cause friction with the prevailing industrial practices centered around efficiency and profits, not animal care. READ MORE

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Review of Proposed Rule Regarding Status of the Wolf Under the Endangered Species Act
This paper by the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) is an independent scientific review of the US Fish and Wildlife Service's (USFWS) proposed rule regarding the status of gray wolves in the lower 48 states. In it, a group of experts give their opinions on four key questions: 1) Did the service consider the best available scientific information, including the scientific literature, in developing this proposal? 2) Are the assumptions, analyses, and conclusions reflected in the proposed rule reasonable in light of the best information available? 3) Does the proposed rule draw reasonable and scientifically sound conclusions from Chambers et al., 2012? And 4) Does the proposed rule utilize the best available scientific information and draw reasonable and scientifically sound conclusions concerning the status of wolves? Their conclusions are presented individually, as well as through a full in-person discussion included in the paper. READ MORE

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Charter Protection for the Great Apes: A Litigation Strategy for Animal Welfare and Animal Rights Activism in Canada
In a paper published on the Social Science Research Network, David Frank Shultz analyzes the possibility of extending legal protection to non-human great apes (orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos) so that they fall within the category of ‘people' under Canadian law. Considering the issue from several different perspectives – animal rights activism, a scientific and philosophical viewpoint, and a legal perspective – Schultz believes that there is sufficient legal room for a plausible claim for great apes to be included within this group. As the law on this point is currently indeterminate, the paper gives animal rights advocates valuable material for litigation of this issue to potentially enact significant social change. READ MORE
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