Kudos to one New York City District Attorney's Office

Unlike the Kit Carson County D.A.'s office (see Sept. 13th post below), one NYC prosecutor is taking animal cruelty seriously. Former Mets minor leaguer-turned-actor, Joseph Petchka, is on trial for allegedly killing his ex-girlfriend's cat, Norman, in a fit of jealous rage after complaining she loved the cat more than him.

Read about the trial in this AP article appearing on MSN.com.

I can't help but note a couple of things. One is that AP is reporting that the pair had only been dating six weeks at the time of Norman's death. What was this guy thinking? That his girlfriend would abandon all other relationships in her life for someone she had been dating for six weeks?

More importantly, the article also says that when Petchka alleged went into his drunken rage at about 3 a.m., ex-girlfriend Lisa Altobelli left the apartment to protect herself but apparently didn't think Norman was in danger. What was she thinking? Yes, technically, she shouldn't have to fear for Norman's safety, but then again, she shouldn't have had to fear for her own, either.

I certainly wish A.D.A. Leila Kermani good luck with this trial. I hope Petchka is convicted and sentenced to the fullest extent of the law. I hope this case sends a message to animal abusers to think twice about committing violent crime against the defenseless - and I hope that it also sends the message that if the N.Y.C. D.A.'s office goes after animal abusers like this it will go after perpetrators of human crimes hard too. But at the same time, there is also a message for victims here. Don't let yourself become a victim. Get out. And take everyone else with you.

Gustav Pets Return Home

All of the efforts made after Hurricane Katrina to address problems with evacuating and reuniting people with their companion animals appear to be paying off. Check out this encouraging update in last Friday's ASPCA newsletter.

$7 Million text message settlement!

Ok, this has absolutely nothing to do with animal law, but I definitely wanted to give a shout out to a colleague, Jay Edelson, who just obtained a huge, honkin' settlement in a class action suit targeting unwanted text messaging spam.

CONGRATULATIONS JAY!

For anyone who's ever wanted to reach through their phone and choke the telemarketer spamming them, this one's for you! Read more about the settlement here....

Book Review

Ok, I haven't read this (yet), but it looks pretty good so I figured I'd pass along this link now to a review by Elana Kirsh in The Jerusalem Post for a new book examining the intersection between animal rights and religion:

For the Love of Animals
By Kathryn Shevelow
Henry Holt
368 pages; $27.50

Though religion is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of animal protection, Judaism definitely gets a better rap than Christianity in this flowing narrative of the rise of the animal rights movement in 18th century England. In many of the stories that American writer Kathryn Shevelow uses to paint the picture of the often frustrating tale of the fight for non-human animal rights, she points out that scriptural references came more often from the Torah than from the New Testament, which tends to see animals as existing to fulfill human needs than as fellow beings.

While far from religion-based, For the Love of Animals: The Rise of the Animal Protection Movement brings up serious moral and ethical questions that traditionally society has looked to religion to solve, especially in this era and region. How do animals experience pain? Do they suffer? Are they equal to humans? Do animals have immortal souls (obviously working on the assumption that humans do)? And, most importantly, are animals entitled to rights, and, if so, which rights? Leading on from this, the central theme of the book essentially focuses around the question of whether or not animals should be protected by the law.

Read the rest of the review here...

Shame on one District Attorney's Office in Colorado

In a criminal matter that could have resulted in more than 120 years in prison if convicted on all counts, a man accused of aggravated animal cruelty in starving 41 dogs to death is apparently going to be getting a plea from the Kit Carson County D.A.'s office that won't result in any jail time at all.

Read more here....

Shame shame shame on the D.A.'s office for not taking this matter seriously.

Republican ticket could take a lesson...

If Senator McCain really wants to campaign on the promise of change, here's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to both distance himself from Bush administration policies (and who doesn't want to distance himself from Bush policies, these days?) and embrace wildlife/environmentalism: follow the lead of one very unusual crime-fighter.

Seems that a black bear in Utah has taken the law into his own paws and raided a marijuana-growing operation hidden in the woods on Bear Mountain. Now THAT'S animal law! Read the rest of the story from this Brigham Young article...

Another class action lawsuit against pet food manufacturers

This entry comes courtesy of a reader (thank you, Lynette... whoever and wherever you are...)

There's another lawsuit apparently pending against some major pet food manufacturers. It's not about tainted food, but alleges that the claims these manufacturers make about the healthfulness of their products are false and misleading. Not that this comes as news to the small universe of people who are painfully aware of what goes into a lot of pet food (as well as commercial livestock feed), such as diseased animals. But I imagine it does come as a rather unpleasant shock to the overwhelming majority of the public at large. You can read more about the case here, on the plaintiff attorneys' website.

I must admit I'm not familiar with this suit, although if any of the attorneys involved (yes, even the defense attorneys), would like to add a comment here, or call me, I'd be happy to hear from you.

Illinois passes good samaritan law for animals

Just before the Labor Day holiday, the Illinois governor signed an act into law amending the state's anti-cruelty statute. Here's the synopsis:

Amends the Humane Care for Animals Act. Provides that any person, including a veterinarian, who in good faith provides emergency care or treatment without fee to an injured animal or an animal separated from its owner due to an emergency or a disaster is not liable for civil damages as a result of his or her acts or omissions in providing or arranging further care or treatment, except for willful or wanton misconduct. Provides that the statute of limitations is 2 years for a violation of the Act (instead of cruelty to animals). Effective immediately.

Here's the link if you want to check out more details on HB5076...

More of the same from the insurance industry...

I was reading through the September edition of the AAA magazine (not sure if it's available online to everyone or only members, but I suppose if you are really burning with curiosity you could check AAALiving.com) and came across a small item on page 39 entitled "Pet Coverage". To most consumers, I imagine that the information in the story will come as good news: AAA will pay up to $500, either for vet bills or to replace your animal if it dies, in a motor vehicle accident that is covered under the policy at issue. Other than the fact that anyone who has a companion animal will bristle at the notion that their companion can be replaced for $500, seems like AAA is recognizing that animals have value, right?

Don't be so sure. Fact is, most car insurance policies have a $500 limit for property damage anyway. I personally don't have AAA auto insurance (just the standard roadside assistance plan - which I've periodically needed and has worked, btw) so I haven't read their policy, but I imagine that's what's in there. So it's really just a matter of marketing spin, not anything new or improved from the evil-as-ever insurance empire.

The AAA article also reminded me of something I saw in the August (?) issue of Sports Illustrated. A horse jockey who used his whip to poke a horse in the eye was ordered to pay for the horse's vet bills and undergo an anger management class. My boyfriend asked me if I wanted to blog about that, but I decided against it at the time. I'm glad someone held the jockey responsible (if memory serves, it was a horseracing association, rather than the local authorities), but the penalties imposed did not go at all beyond what the law already provides for anyway.

Again, sorta reminiscent of the tainted pet food settlement that I've lamented about several times already. $24M seems like a lot, but does not actually include any payments beyond what the law minimally requires already.

Oh well. Change comes slowly.

The windy city gets fish-friendly...

Ok, so this doesn't exactly make up for Mayor Daley's heavy-handed (and imho) ill-considered repeal earlier this year of the foie gras ban...

but one eco-conscious advocacy group has created a rather unique sanctuary for fish who live in the chop of the busy Chicago River: a fish hotel.

Read more from the local CBS affiliate here...

Animal rights: Another reason not to vote for Sarah Palin

As if most Democrats actually need another reason not to vote for the Republican ticket...

In addition to being in favor of defacing the planet with ANWAR drilling... supporting the war in Iraq... making numerous factual errors in her nomination acceptance speech, such as stating that Barack Obama has never authored a piece of legislation... publicly touting an abstinence-only policy for other parents' unwed teens but has a pregnant 17-yr-old daughter herself... well, I could go on but you get the idea...

Check this out:

The Alaska governor not only favors - but is herself a participant - in the "sport" of aerial wolf gunning. What is aerial wolf gunning, civilized people may ask?

Read this recent Slate article to find out...

Chicago man accused of throwing kitten off second-floor porch

Aggravated animal cruelty charge is filed

By Steve Schmadeke |Chicago Tribune reporter

11:03 PM CDT, September 2, 2008

A Logan Square man was charged with aggravated animal cruelty Tuesday after he flung a 2-month old calico kitten from a second-story porch because he said it had scratched him, authorities said.

Read the rest of the article here...