OMG: McDonald’s Does the Right Thing

There are more than a few improvements McDonald’s could make to better the treatment of its customers and workers, of the animals that provide the meat it sells and of the environment. On Monday, after years of internal and external pressure, the company announced a laudable course of action regarding the sows (female pigs) in their supply chain: McDonald’s is requiring, by May, that its suppliers of pork provide plans for phasing out gestation crates. Once those plans are delivered, says Bob Langert, the company’s vice president of sustainability, McDonald’s will create a timetable to end the use of gestation crates in its supply chain. “Considering that 90 percent [of the pregnant sows] in the United States are in gestation stalls, this is a huge issue,” he says, and he’s right.

Read the rest of Mark Bittman's editorial in the New York Times...

Legislative Round-up

Pet lovers barking over California budget proposal

Pet advocates are fighting like cats and dogs to stop a deficit-slashing proposal from Gov. Jerry Brown that aims to save $23 million by ending reimbursements to animal shelters for the cost of keeping strays alive.

Read more in the San Jose Mercury News...

Hanna berates Ohio legislators on exotic pet laws

Celebrity zookeeper Jack Hanna criticized Ohio lawmakers Thursday for not yet passing a bill to regulate exotic animals, months after authorities shot dozens of lions, tigers, bears and other wild creatures let loose by their suicidal owner.

Read more in the Albany Times Union...

Animal History Museum 1st Annual Valentine's Photo Contest!

Send us your best photo of a heartfelt moment between a person and their animal companion - we'll post the entries on our photo wall and then on Monday our viewers will vote on a winner!

*The winning picture will be featured in our Tuesday, February 14th post - and DISPLAYED IN THE PERMANENT COLLECTION OF OUR "HUMAN-ANIMAL BOND" EXHIBIT!* (Once the museum opens, of course.)

Please send all photos to: support@animalhistorymuseum.org.

Fine print: by sending a photo, you agree that the Animal History Museum may use and display it. We will not sell, exchange or otherwise give your photo to any other person or entity. One entry per person please. Contest closes Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 8:00pm. Any obscene or inappropriate photos will be deleted. We reserve the right to add extra rules if we forgot anything...

Judge dismisses suit accusing SeaWorld of enslaving whales

A federal judge on Wednesday threw out an animal rights group's lawsuit accusing SeaWorld of enslaving captive killer whales, ruling that orcas had no standing to seek the same constitutional rights as people.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, had accused the chain of aquatic theme parks of violating the rights of whales under the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery in the United States.

Here's the rest of the Reuters article...

For a more detailed analysis of PETA's suit, as well as alternative approaches to gaining legal rights for non-humans, please check out noted animal law attorney Steve Wise's efforts at www.nonhumanrightsproject.org.

House axes 25-year-old 'pit bull' law

A bill eliminating a 25-year-old Ohio law automatically declaring the "pit bull" to be an inherently vicious dog was overwhelmingly approved by the state House Wednesday and is headed for Gov. John Kasich's signature.

Read more in the Toledo Blade...

(And congrats to my friend and lobbyist extraordinaire, Ledy VanKavage, and everyone else who has worked relentlessly to see this ban overturned!)

Court: Calif. gay-marriage ban unconstitutional

One small step for the gay/lesbian community... maybe not quite a giant leap yet for mankind (but definitely a move in the direction of advancing a compassionate society)... and if you ask me, this is still also a good harbinger for animal issues...

CBS News reports...

Drury University Launches Animal Studies Minor Funded by Bob Barker

Students at Drury University in Springfield, Mo. now have the opportunity to earn a minor in Animal Studies thanks to donations from Drury alumnus and former Price is Right host Bob Barker. According to Dr. Patricia McEachern (Mc-Karen), the Dorothy Jo Barker Endowed Professor of Animal Rights, several students have already begun pursuing the minor.

Read more in this Business Wire press release...

Way to go, Ohio!

Ohio was one of the few - in fact, I think maybe the only remaining - state to entirely ban pit bulls by breed. (If you've never heard of "canine profiling", think "racial profiling" and it becomes easy to see why this is just flat-out wrong.)

Thankfully, it looks like that is about to change. A measure is expected to be on its way to the Governor's desk soon that would outlaw breed discrimination in the state. A huge shout-out to Ledy VanKavage and everyone else who has worked so tirelessly to get this done!

Read more in The Columbus Dispatch...

Soap opera actor kills self after feeling pressured into euthanizing his dog

Ok, not exactly animal law... but another story that undeniably demonstrates that people can, and do, form extremely intense emotional bonds with non-humans... and the law really ought to take that value into account.

A down-on-his-luck soap-opera actor took his own life this week after he was forced to put his beloved dog to sleep under pressure from his Upper West Side condo and became wracked by grief, pals said.

The New York Post has more...

I wasn't going to blog about this initially because, well, it was just so disturbing to read that I (as I imagine many others did too) pushed it away. But after several people brought it to my attention, I changed my mind. Pushing it away does not change anything.

The likely outcome here is that nothing will happen to these condo neighbors. At best, Nick's parents or siblings (if he has any and assuming they are alive and actually maintained a close relation to him) might have an attenuated claim of some sort for emotional distress (and assuming NY law doesn't have a contemporaneous injury requirement, which many states do). One colleague suggested that perhaps karma will find the complaining neighbors. I wouldn't be opposed to that, but I wouldn't peg any hopes on that, either. Many people behave terribly towards each other all the time; they never lose sleep over it and nothing bad happens to them as a result of it.

We can't make the condo neighbors be better human beings. But we can push harder for laws that will constrain or criminalize their bullying behavior to the point where this outcome can be avoided. We can push harder for education to teach people not to arbitrarily fear based on immutable traits. And we can make it clear through our own better conduct that the time for that sort of garbage has passed. RIP Nick and Rocco.

Congrats and good luck!

Once again, a post with little to do with animal law...

But I wanted to give a big shout-out to friends, former clients and fellow animal lovers, Jim and Kris Noyes, who recently started their own new business and website. Congrats! You can check it all out at: www.goforthandfish.com. They're also on Facebook and Twitter. Good luck, guys!

Latest development in PETA's orca lawsuit

According to Steven Wise:

"Over the objections of both PETA and SeaWorld, U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey T. Miller granted a request by the Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) to appear as an amicus curiae, or "Friend of the Court," in the case PETA filed on behalf of five orcas against SeaWorld. The NhRP had not sought to appear as an amicus on behalf of either PETA or SeaWorld, but solely to assist the Court in understanding certain issues that were raised within the context of this litigation and to further the interests of the orcas."

See the full press release at nonhumanrights.org

Can't believe I forgot to post here!

Ok, so this should put to rest any doubt that my brain is truly made of swiss cheese...

I completely forgot to post about the web launch for the newest incarnation of my animal-related career. Here's Monday's announcement:

Dear Family, Friends and Colleagues:

It is with great pleasure that we announce plans for the Animal History Museum! It will be the first brick-and-mortar museum to focus on the always complex, but historically marginalized, relationship between humans, (non-human) animals and society in general. As described in our mission statement , the museum's "purpose is to serve and educate the public through the creation of a museum in Los Angeles County, California, for the collection, preservation and exploration of the history, culture, science and law relating to the relationship between human and non-human animals; by presenting exhibitions, lectures and other activities that are consistent with, and supportive of, the museum's educational goals and purpose."

Today is our social media launch! Check us out at:

www.animalhistorymuseum.org
facebook/animalhistorymuseum
twitter:@animal_history

If you like what you see, please take a minute to like the page, and/or follow us on Twitter! Most importantly, please re-post and re-tweet on your accounts to help us get the word out as widely as possible! Thank you!!!