The Animal Law Podcast

On this episode, I will be talking, once again, to Vanessa Shakib of the California law firm, Advancing Law for Animals. Vanessa is representing E.L., who, though you don’t know her by name, you have definitely heard about. She is the young girl whose beloved goat, Cedar, who started out as a 4H project, was brutally killed against E.L.’s wishes in what is perhaps the most outrageous behavior by law enforcement regarding an animal that we have seen in a long while. And that’s saying something. While, of course, this case, entitled E.L. v Fernandez, is in early stages, I really wanted to touch base with Vanessa to get up to speed on what really happened here and what we need to be aware of in keeping an eye on this very important, potentially groundbreaking litigation.

*We are thrilled to expand the accessibility of our podcast by offering written transcripts of the interviews! Click here to read Mariann’s interview with Vanessa Shakib.

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You can listen to the Animal Law Podcast  directly on our website (at the top of this page) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its thirteenth glorious year!

On this episode, I will be talking, once again, with Asher Smith, Director of Litigation at the PETA Foundation, about a recent victory in the 9th Circuit in Sullivan v The University of Washington. This case involves a crucially important aspect of the Animal Welfare Act – the IACUC, or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. The Act provides, rather unfortunately, that a great deal of the oversight of research facilities regarding the care of animals is essentially self-enforced, but it at least contains certain requirements regarding the makeup of the committee that does that oversight in an effort to provide some unbiased review. This litigation is one aspect of a longstanding effort on PETA’s part to obtain the information the public needs and is entitled to in order to make sure that the statute’s provisions regarding the committee are being complied with by the University of Washington, where a great deal of controversial research takes place, including on primates.  

*We are thrilled to expand the accessibility of our podcast by offering written transcripts of the interviews! Click here to read Mariann’s interview with Asher Smith.

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The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

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You can listen to the Animal Law Podcast  directly on our website (at the top of this page) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its twelfth glorious year!

On today’s episode, I will be talking to Margie Robinson, an attorney with the Humane Society of the United States. Margie will be telling us about Humane Society of the United States v National Institutes of Health, the latest lawsuit in the years-long effort to relocate to sanctuary ALL the chimpanzees formerly held for research by the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies. 

It seems unbelievable that the NIH still retains some chimpanzees in a lab setting despite the Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance, and Protection (CHIMP) Act being passed by Congress in 2000. The CHIMP Act sets forth rules establishing a federal sanctuary program funded in substantial part by the federal government and mandating that eligible chimpanzees be retired to those sanctuaries. But, even though the chimpanzees still held in laboratory settings are fully eligible under the Act to be sent to sanctuary, the NIH has yet to comply fully, so here we are. 

Sometimes –  all too often – getting a statute passed to protect animals is only the beginning of the legal effort. 

*We are thrilled to expand the accessibility of our podcast by offering written transcripts of the interviews! Click here to read Mariann’s interview with Margie Robinson.

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The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

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You can listen to the Animal Law Podcast  directly on our website (at the top of this page) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its twelfth glorious year!

On this episode, I will be talking to Taimie Bryant, a law professor at UCLA School of Law. She will explain some of the ins and outs of a law review article she recently published in the Marquette Law Review entitled “Novel Food Ingredients: Food Safety Law, Animal Testing, and Consumer Perspectives.” This article involves the question of what the FDA actually requires in order to authorize a new food product. Central to that question, as well as to a controversy about the development of Impossible Burgers, is whether animal testing is required in order to bring a new food to the market. And, even if it isn’t required, is it wise for companies to reduce their legal risks by performing such testing? This is an essential question, as we are seeing so many new vegan foods hit the market, and most of us are hoping for more. But will animals have to suffer and die for that to happen?

*We are thrilled to expand the accessibility of our podcast by offering written transcripts of the interviews! Click here to read Mariann’s interview with Taimie Bryant.

Resources:

• • Novel Food Ingredients: Food Safety Law, Animal Testing, and Consumer Perspectives
  • UCLA Animal Law and Policy Small Grants Program

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The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

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You can listen to the Animal Law Podcast  directly on our website (at the top of this page) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its twelfth glorious year!

Today I will be talking to Raffael Fasel and Sean Butler, who are the founders of the Cambridge Center for Animal Rights Law at Cambridge University in the UK. They are doing something quite special — a series of workshops in various parts of the world seeking to help law professors and lawyers, and perhaps some others, develop courses at their universities to teach Animal Rights Law. The next workshop,  held in conjunction with Vermont Law School, will be located in Burlington, Vermont in May, 2023, and registration is still open for those who might be interested in attending. But even if that’s not possible for you, I think you will have a lot to learn from this interview about their vision of what Animal Rights Law could be, different approaches that various workshop participants are taking to the topic, and their thoughts about the role of the law in moving the world forward regarding the way animals are seen and treated.

*We are thrilled to expand the accessibility of our podcast by offering written transcripts of the interviews! Click here to read Mariann’s interview with Raffael Fasel & Sean Butler.

Resources:

• • Our Hen House w/ Peter Alagona
  • Our Hen House w/ Nirva Patel
  • Our Hen House w/ Ryuji Chua
  • Cambridge Center for Animal Rights Law
  • Cambridge Center for Animal Rights Law on Instagram
  • Cambridge Center for Animal Rights Law on Twitter
  • Cambridge Center for Animal Rights Law on Facebook
  • Cambridge Center for Animal Rights Law on LinkedIn

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The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

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You can listen to the Animal Law Podcast  directly on our website (at the top of this page) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its twelfth glorious year!

On this episode, I will be talking to Alene Anello, whose law firm, Legal Impact for Chickens, is pursuing a shareholder derivative case against Costco regarding the treatment of the poor little birds whose bodies end up being their extremely popular, and very cheap, rotisserie chickens. Essentially, in Smith v Vachris, currently pending in Superior Court in King County, Washington, Legal Impact for Chickens is suing Costco’s executives on behalf of two of its shareholders for violating their fiduciary duty to act lawfully by causing the company to neglect chickens. Neglecting animals, including chickens raised for food, is, as we all know, supposed to be against the law but is virtually never brought to court because prosecutors aren’t interested. Well, this case is aiming to do just that in an innovative way. If the last time you heard about shareholder derivative actions was in law school, don’t worry. Alene breaks it all down for us in this fascinating interview.

*We are thrilled to expand the accessibility of our podcast by offering written transcripts of the interviews! Click here to read Mariann’s interview with Alene Anello.

Resources:

• • Our Hen House ep 671 w/ Altamush Saeed
  • Our Hen House ep 670 w/ Liz Ross
  • Our Hen House ep 669 w/ Karthik Sekar
  • Legal Impact for Chickens
  • Legal Impact for Chickens is hiring!
  • Legal Impact for Chickens on Twitter
  • Legal Impact for Chickens on Facebook
  • Legal Impact for Chickens on Instagram

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The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

**********

You can listen to the Animal Law Podcast  directly on our website (at the top of this page) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its twelfth glorious year!

On this episode I will be discussing a case that a lot of you have no doubt heard of, and that is National Pork Producers Council v Ross, which was recently argued in the Supreme Court. This case brings into question the constitutionality of Proposition 12, something else which many of you may be familiar with, by which California set certain limits on the sale of pork that is derived from pigs whose mothers were subjected to the particular torture of gestation crates – the very tiny metal enclosures where they are kept during their pregnancies. The thing that many of us may NOT be so familiar with is the constitutional issue at play here, that is, the application of the Dormant Commerce Clause. If that is, at best, a vague memory from law school, you have come to the right place. My guest today is Michael Dorf, who is a renowned expert in constitutional law and a vegan advocate for farmed animals everywhere. He is going to break down for us what the Dormant Commerce Clause is, why it’s dormant, and what the Justices of the Supreme Court seemed to be most interested in when they recently heard this case.

*We are thrilled to expand the accessibility of our podcast by offering written transcripts of the interviews! Click here to read Mariann’s interview with Michael Dorf.

Resources:

• • Speciesism: The Movie
  • Dorf on Law
  • Dorf on Law column: Animal Welfare Everywhere
  • Justices Ponder Implications of California’s Humane Welfare Standards for Pigs
  • SCOTUS Animal Welfare Case Could Implicate State Power to Ban Abortion Pills
  • The Animal Law Conference

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This episode of The Animal Law Podcast is brought to you in part by The Animal Law Conference. Co-hosted by the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis and Clark Law School — this year’s conference marks the thirtieth anniversary of this premier animal law event. Save the date for November 4-6, 2022!

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The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

**********

You can listen to the Animal Law Podcast  directly on our website (at the top of this page) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its twelfth glorious year!

On this episode, I will be discussing State of Utah v Hsiung, the case that has everyone in the movement talking. Wayne Hsiung and Jon Frohnmeyer will be here to discuss the prosecution of Wayne, along with his co-defendant Paul Picklesimer, for burglary and theft for entering a huge Smithfield factory farm in Utah and, while there, rescuing two sick piglets. The trial is set to begin in early October. Among other things, we will discuss whether, and how, the necessity defense exists in Utah and, if so, whether it applies to the right to rescue sick and dying animals, and whether, given their condition, these piglets could be said to have any monetary “value,” as required by the charges.

*We are thrilled to expand the accessibility of our podcast by offering written transcripts of the interviews! Click here to read Mariann’s interview with Wayne Hsiung & Jon Frohnmayer.

Resources:

• • The Simple Heart: Wayne Hsiung’s blog
  • Everybody Wayne Hsiung Tonight podcast
  • Jon Frohnmayer on Twitter
  • DXE Right to Rescue petition
  • Brooks Institute Animal Law Fundamentals
  • The Animal Law Conference

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This episode of The Animal Law Podcast is brought to you in part by The Animal Law Conference. Co-hosted by the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis and Clark Law School — this year’s conference marks the thirtieth anniversary of this premier animal law event. Save the date for November 4-6, 2022!

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The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

**********

You can listen to the Animal Law Podcast  directly on our website (at the top of this page) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its twelfth glorious year!

On this episode I will be discussing  Krasno v Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin, a crazy case involving comments made on the Facebook and Instagram accounts of the University involving the dreadful research conducted on primates at the University and, in particular, at the infamous Harlow Center for Biological Psychology. Joining me will be both the plaintiff in this case, Madeline Krasno, a former employee at the Center, and her lawyer, Caitlin Foley, of the Animal Legal Defense Fund. They will be telling us about the extraordinary lengths the University has gone to eliminate Maddie’s comments about their animal research programs from their social media pages and why and how that implicates the First Amendment.

*We are thrilled to expand the accessibility of our podcast by offering written transcripts of the interviews! Click here to read Mariann’s interview with Caitlin Foley & Maddie Krasno.

Resources:

• • OHH episode 657 w/ Christopher Soul Eubanks
  • OHH episode 656 w/ Dr Andrew Knight
  • OHH episode 655 w/ Mike Bronner & Gloria Pancrazi
  • North American Animal Law Conference
  • The Animal Law Conference

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This episode of The Animal Law Podcast is brought to you in part by The Animal Law Conference. Co-hosted by the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis and Clark Law School — this year’s conference marks the thirtieth anniversary of this premier animal law event. Save the date for November 4-6, 2022!

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The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

**********

You can listen to the Animal Law Podcast  directly on our website (at the top of this page) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its twelfth glorious year!

It’s become pretty clear that the more that meat-eating consumers find out about how the animals they eat were treated, the more temptation there is for the industry to, shall we say, fudge the truth. Thus, today I will be talking to Dije Ndreu and Brooke Dekolf of Richman Law and Policy about two cases they are currently litigating regarding the “sustainability” claims being made by Aldi Grocery Stores regarding the salmon Aldi sells in its stores. These cases are based on some compelling evidence that what Aldi means when it says “sustainable” isn’t remotely similar to the expansive meaning that most people give it. Dije and Brooke will also explain why there are two cases — one in federal court in Illinois and one in Superior Court of the District of Columbia —, why the conditions in which these salmon live and die are so dreadful both for the environment and for the salmon themselves, what the prospects are for attorney’s fees, and how consumer protection law is becoming such an important tool for those seeking to use the law to address what we are doing to animals, including aquatic ones.

*We are thrilled to expand the accessibility of our podcast by offering written transcripts of the interviews! Click here to read Mariann’s interview with Dije Ndreu & Brooke Dekolf.

Resources:

• • Our Hen House ep 654 w/ Jack Lekishon
  • Our Hen House ep 650 w/ Zach Sherwin
  • Our Hen House ep 653 w/ Monica Engebretson
  • University of Denver job listings
  • The Brooks Institute Animal Law Fundamentals
  • The Animal Law Conference

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This episode of The Animal Law Podcast is brought to you in part by The Animal Law Conference. Co-hosted by the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis and Clark Law School — this year’s conference marks the thirtieth anniversary of this premier animal law event. Save the date for November 4-6, 2022!

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The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

As the Animal Law Podcast 2021 Exclusive Sponsor, the The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy is excited to share a new FREE resource:  The Brooks Animal Law Digest – CANADA EDITION! This premier online publication offers in-depth and up-to-date coverage on Canada’s most important animal law and policy issues. It is published twice monthly as a collaborative effort with the University of Toronto Faculty of Law’s research support.

Like the Brooks Animal Law Digest – US Edition, the Canadian Digest serves as a resource for anyone interested in learning more about the field of animal law – either as a high-level overview of developments, or as a jumping off point for digging into a specific current issue in the field. All content will be accessible on the Brooks Institute website and spotlights via email twice monthly.

Click here to subscribe to the free Brooks Animal Law Digest – CANADA EDITION.

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You can listen to the Animal Law Podcast  directly on our website (at the top of this page) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its twelfth glorious year!

On this episode I will be speaking with Jessica Rubin, who is the Associate Dean of Experiential Learning and the Director of the Animal Law Clinic at the University of Connecticut School of Law. She will be discussing a Connecticut law, called Desmond’s Law, which allows law students, and lawyers, to be appointed to assist the court in certain animal cruelty cases in the hopes that these cases, which are often factually complex and not well-resourced, receive the attention they deserve. She’ll also tell us about the Animal Law Clinic, which trains and supports students involved in this work.

Plus, before we get to that interview, we also so fortunate to have Sherry Colb and Michael Dorf, both professors at Cornell Law School who you have heard from before on the Animal Law Podcast, as well as on the Our Hen House podcast, for a quick conversation about the Happy the Elephant case brought by the Nonhuman Rights Project, which, as you probably know, was recently decided in the New York Court of Appeals.

*We are thrilled to expand the accessibility of our podcast by offering written transcripts of the interviews! Click here to read Mariann’s interviews with Jessica Rubin and Sherry Colb & Michael Dorf.

Resources:

• • Happy the Elephant and Might Makes Right
  • New York’s High Court Rejects a Habeas Corpus Petition on Behalf of a Captive Elephant
  • State of New York Court of Appeals Opinion on Happy’s case
  • Desmond’s Law: A Novel New Approach to Animal Advocacy
  • Desmond’s Law: Early Impressions of Connecticut’s Court Advocate Program for Animal Cruelty Cases
  • The Brooks Institute Animal Law Fundementals
  • The Animal Law Conference

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This episode of The Animal Law Podcast is brought to you in part by The Animal Law Conference. Co-hosted by the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis and Clark Law School — this year’s conference marks the thirtieth anniversary of this premier animal law event. Save the date for November 4-6, 2022!

**********

The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

As the Animal Law Podcast 2021 Exclusive Sponsor, the The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy is excited to share a new FREE resource:  The Brooks Animal Law Digest – CANADA EDITION! This premier online publication offers in-depth and up-to-date coverage on Canada’s most important animal law and policy issues. It is published twice monthly as a collaborative effort with the University of Toronto Faculty of Law’s research support.

Like the Brooks Animal Law Digest – US Edition, the Canadian Digest serves as a resource for anyone interested in learning more about the field of animal law – either as a high-level overview of developments, or as a jumping off point for digging into a specific current issue in the field. All content will be accessible on the Brooks Institute website and spotlights via email twice monthly.

Click here to subscribe to the free Brooks Animal Law Digest – CANADA EDITION.

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You can listen to the Animal Law Podcast  directly on our website (at the top of this page) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its twelfth glorious year!

On this episode I will be talking to Asher Smith, who is the Director of Litigation at the PETA Foundation, about Usler v Vital Farms, which is a class action against an egg facility which makes some very elaborate claims about how well they are treating their hens (“our girls!”) and charges their customers a hefty premium for doing so. So, guess what? Shockingly, their chickens appear to be living miserable, short, overcrowded lives that are nothing like the bucolic heaven that customers were told about. This is one of a number of recent class actions against so-called “humane” egg farms, and it’s hugely important.

*We are thrilled to expand the accessibility of our podcast by offering written transcripts of the interviews! Click here to read Mariann’s interview with Asher Smith*

Asher Smith is Director of Litigation at the PETA Foundation. His current cases include actions under the Endangered Species Act against roadside zoos abusively keeping protected animals, constitutional lawsuits on behalf of both animals and humans, and false advertising claims challenging the deceptive marketing of animal products as “humane.” He has previously won precedent-setting victories against multiple exhibitors featured on the Netflix show Tiger King, as well as Vital Farms and Pete and Gerry’s Organics, the seller of Nellie’s Free Range Eggs. Smith joined the PETA Foundation in 2018 after working for the law firm Paul, Weiss on matters including multibillion-dollar securities litigation and the fight for gay marriage in the deep south and at the Supreme Court. He is a graduate of Yale Law School. His family includes a cat, Princessa, and a dog, Beezus.

Resources:

• • Our Hen House episode 645 w/ Dash Meizler
  • Our Hen House episode 644 w/ Gwendolyn Church
  • Our Hen House episode 643 w/ Mamta Valderrama
  • The Brooks Institute Animal Law Fundementals
  • The Animal Law Conference

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This episode of The Animal Law Podcast is brought to you in part by The Animal Law Conference. Co-hosted by the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis and Clark Law School — this year’s conference marks the thirtieth anniversary of this premier animal law event. Save the date for November 4-6, 2022!

**********

The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

As the Animal Law Podcast 2021 Exclusive Sponsor, the The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy is excited to share a new FREE resource:  The Brooks Animal Law Digest – CANADA EDITION! This premier online publication offers in-depth and up-to-date coverage on Canada’s most important animal law and policy issues. It is published twice monthly as a collaborative effort with the University of Toronto Faculty of Law’s research support.

Like the Brooks Animal Law Digest – US Edition, the Canadian Digest serves as a resource for anyone interested in learning more about the field of animal law – either as a high-level overview of developments, or as a jumping off point for digging into a specific current issue in the field. All content will be accessible on the Brooks Institute website and spotlights via email twice monthly.

Click here to subscribe to the free Brooks Animal Law Digest – CANADA EDITION.

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You can listen to the Animal Law Podcast  directly on our website (at the top of this page) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its twelfth glorious year!

On this episode I will be talking, once again, to Kelsey Eberly, who is now with Harvard Law School’s Animals, Law and Policy Program, as well as with Dena Jones of the Animal Welfare Institute about the deeply troubling topic of chicken slaughter. Specifically, we will be discussing Animal Welfare Institute v Vilsack, a case involving the rather confusing landscape of exactly what rules govern the slaughter of chickens pursuant to the Poultry Products Inspection Act, whether any of them reduce the suffering of the birds, how and why this relates to food “adulteration,” and how those rules, to the extent they exist, are enforced. As you can imagine, there is not much clarity, and considerable lack of transparency, around these issues, in spite of the fact that we are talking about the deaths of billions and billions of animals. It’s pretty unbelievable, but Kelsey and Dena attempt to help us get a clearer picture, as well as consider what can be done to make things at least a bit better.

*We are thrilled to expand the accessibility of our podcast by offering written transcripts of the interviews! Click here to read Mariann’s interview with Kelsey Eberly & Dena Jones*

Kelsey Eberly is a Legislative Policy Fellow at Harvard Law School’s Animal Law and Policy Program.  Previously, she spent over seven years working with the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s litigation team, most recently as a Senior Staff Attorney. Kelsey is one of the country’s leading experts on so-called Agricultural Gag (“Ag-Gag”) laws—state laws that criminalize or punish whistleblowing and reporting on industrial farms and slaughterhouses. She has played a key role in the ongoing litigation campaign challenging such laws for violating the First Amendment. Kelsey is also a leading voice and litigator on the “humane-washing” of animal products—the pervasive use of misleading marketing and advertising to conceal products’ inhumane origins. Her work in this sphere has resulted in several companies changing their marketing and animal welfare practices.

Dena Jones is the director of the farm animal program at the Animal Welfare Institute. She is an expert in public policy related to farmed animal welfare with a total of more than 30 years’ experience at several state, national and international animal advocacy organizations. Her areas of expertise include farmed animal industry practices and legal protections, farmed animal welfare marketing claims, and public attitudes towards animals and the use of animals for food.

Resources:

• • The Spirit of Soul Food w/ Dr Christopher Carter
  • Veganism as Decolonization w/ Lorikim Alexander
  • Undercover Investigations Have Changed Everything w/ Gemunu De Silva
  • ALP #7-The Battle Against Foie Gras With Kelsey Eberly
  • ALP #29-Battle Against Foie Gras Part Two
  • Animal Law Conference

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This episode of The Animal Law Podcast is brought to you in part by The Animal Law Conference. Co-hosted by the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis and Clark Law School — this year’s conference marks the thirtieth anniversary of this premier animal law event. Save the date for November 4-6, 2022!

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The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

As the Animal Law Podcast 2021 Exclusive Sponsor, the The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy is excited to share a new FREE resource:  The Brooks Animal Law Digest – CANADA EDITION! This premier online publication offers in-depth and up-to-date coverage on Canada’s most important animal law and policy issues. It is published twice monthly as a collaborative effort with the University of Toronto Faculty of Law’s research support.

Like the Brooks Animal Law Digest – US Edition, the Canadian Digest serves as a resource for anyone interested in learning more about the field of animal law – either as a high-level overview of developments, or as a jumping off point for digging into a specific current issue in the field. All content will be accessible on the Brooks Institute website and spotlights via email twice monthly.

Click here to subscribe to the free Brooks Animal Law Digest – CANADA EDITION.

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You can listen to the Animal Law Podcast  directly on our website (at the top of this page) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its twelfth glorious year!

On this week’s podcast I will be talking to Will Lowrey of Animal Outlook about a case that really has everyone in the animal law community talking. Several years ago Animal Outlook conducted an undercover investigation of Martin Farms, in Pennsylvania, a dairy farm that proved to be the locus of much hideous cruelty to animals. Some of that cruelty was what we often call “gratuitous,” i.e., not in the interests of the farm, just plain old ugliness. But a good deal of it consisted of the way Martin Farms conducted its business, such as the horrendous suffering inflicted upon calves in the “dehorning” process. After years of legal effort by Animal Outlook the case ended up in an appellate court in Pennsylvania which said, “yeah, this is bad”. Well, they said a lot more than that and much of it implicates one of the most nefarious legal tricks of the trade that the industry has used to avoid consequences for their illegal treatment of animals, the “customary” or “normal” farming practices exemption.

Will Lowrey is Legal Counsel for Animal Outlook. On behalf of Animal Outlook, Will is engaged in numerous lawsuits against the government and animal agriculture using a wide range of legal strategies including administrative challenges, false advertising, and animal cruelty laws. Will also supports Animal Outlook’s investigations work. Prior to joining Animal Outlook, Will clerked in the Superior Court of New Jersey and interned with the Virginia Attorney General’s Animal Law Unit and the Animal Legal Defense Fund. Before law school, Will worked a lengthy corporate career and, in his free time, helped run several non-profits focused on a variety of animal issues.

Resources:

• Animal Law Conference
• Our Hen House episode 587: Going Undercover for Animals ft. Erin Wing

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This episode of The Animal Law Podcast is brought to you in part by The Animal Law Conference. Co-hosted by the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis and Clark Law School — this year’s conference marks the thirtieth anniversary of this premier animal law event. Save the date for November 4-6, 2022!

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The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

As the Animal Law Podcast 2021 Exclusive Sponsor, the The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy is excited to share a new FREE resource:  The Brooks Animal Law Digest – CANADA EDITION! This premier online publication offers in-depth and up-to-date coverage on Canada’s most important animal law and policy issues. It is published twice monthly as a collaborative effort with the University of Toronto Faculty of Law’s research support.

Like the Brooks Animal Law Digest – US Edition, the Canadian Digest serves as a resource for anyone interested in learning more about the field of animal law – either as a high-level overview of developments, or as a jumping off point for digging into a specific current issue in the field. All content will be accessible on the Brooks Institute website and spotlights via email twice monthly.

Click here to subscribe to the free Brooks Animal Law Digest – CANADA EDITION.

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You can listen to the Animal Law Podcast  directly on our website (at the top of this page) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its twelfth glorious year!

Welcome to the Animal Law Podcast. This is Mariann Sullivan and this week’s guest is Charlotte Blattner, a Swiss lawyer and professor of law, who will be talking about primates in Switzerland and a recent ballot initiative held in Basel initiated by the Swiss organization Sentience regarding their rights. Charlotte and I will discuss this very recent effort, the pluses and minuses of using ballot initiatives, which are an important part of Swiss law, to promote the rights of animals, the meaning of the unsuccessful vote and why it should nevertheless be seen as an important step forward, and the implications of this effort for the global fight for fundamental rights for all animals.

Charlotte E. Blattner, Dr. iur., LL.M.,  is a Senior Lecturer and Researcher at the Institute for Public Law of the University of Berne in Switzerland. She obtained her doctorate in 2016 at the interface of international and animal law as part of the doctoral program “Law and Animals” at the University of Basel. Her dissertation project, Protecting Animals Within and Across Borders: Extraterritorial Jurisdiction and the Challenges of Globalization, was published open access by Oxford University Press. She also authored Animal Labour: A New Frontier of Interspecies Justice? together with Kendra Coulter and Will Kymlicka and worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Law School on a project titled “Environmental Law Beyond Anthropocentrism.” She is currently working on a project related to the complex and urgent challenges that climate change poses to Swiss constitutional and administrative law.

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The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

As the Animal Law Podcast 2021 Exclusive Sponsor, the The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy is excited to share a new FREE resource:  The Brooks Animal Law Digest – CANADA EDITION! This premier online publication offers in-depth and up-to-date coverage on Canada’s most important animal law and policy issues. It is published twice monthly as a collaborative effort with the University of Toronto Faculty of Law’s research support.

Like the Brooks Animal Law Digest – US Edition, the Canadian Digest serves as a resource for anyone interested in learning more about the field of animal law – either as a high-level overview of developments, or as a jumping off point for digging into a specific current issue in the field. All content will be accessible on the Brooks Institute website and spotlights via email twice monthly.

Click here to subscribe to the free Brooks Animal Law Digest – CANADA EDITION.

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You can listen to the Animal Law Podcast  directly on our website (at the top of this page) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its twelfth glorious year!

Welcome to the Animal Law Podcast. This is Mariann Sullivan, and this week we will be doing something a little bit different. Sherry Colb is a professor at Cornell Law School where, among many other things, she teaches an animal centric course that, to my knowledge, is quite different from most of the courses relating to animals taught at law schools. Unlike the course that I teach, which is all about the all-too-fragile law purporting to protect animals, she focuses on the reasons people should attend to animals and, specifically, the reasons they shouldn’t be eating them, or using them for other purposes. Since I had never run across a course quite like this in any law school, I invited Sherry to come on and talk about it, in the hopes that other law schools might adopt this approach, in addition to the more traditional animal law courses. After our conversation, I was so glad I did and I think you will feel the same way.

Sherry F. Colb earned an A.B. from Columbia College (Valedictorian) and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. Before joining the Rutgers University faculty, she clerked for Associate Justice Harry A. Blackmun of the United States Supreme Court. She is currently the C.S. Wong Professor of Law at Cornell University. She has co-authored a book about the connection between animal rights and zygote rights, Beating Hearts: Abortion and Animal Rights, and a book about animal rights, Mind If I Order the Cheeseburger? And Other Questions People Ask Vegans. She composes a bi-weekly column on Justia’s Verdict as well as regular posts on the blog, Dorf on Law.

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The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

As the Animal Law Podcast 2021 Exclusive Sponsor, the The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy is excited to share a new FREE resource:  The Brooks Animal Law Digest – CANADA EDITION! This premier online publication offers in-depth and up-to-date coverage on Canada’s most important animal law and policy issues. It is published twice monthly as a collaborative effort with the University of Toronto Faculty of Law’s research support.

Like the Brooks Animal Law Digest – US Edition, the Canadian Digest serves as a resource for anyone interested in learning more about the field of animal law – either as a high-level overview of developments, or as a jumping off point for digging into a specific current issue in the field. All content will be accessible on the Brooks Institute website and spotlights via email twice monthly.

Click here to subscribe to the free Brooks Animal Law Digest – CANADA EDITION.

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You can listen to the Animal Law Podcast  directly on our website (at the top of this page) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eleventh glorious year!

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak with Tyler Lobdell about Food and Water Watch v Environmental Protection Agency, in which the 9th Circuit recently held that the EPA, in setting forth permitting requirements under the Clean Water Act for the way Idaho factory farms dispose of the staggering amount of manure that they are producing, was not, in very significant ways, requiring them to monitor themselves. Since there is no monitoring other than self-monitoring, this failure obviously defeats the purpose of having the requirements in the first place and undoubtedly accounts for the dreadful condition of many Idaho waterways. Tyler also discusses the overall lax enforcement of environmental regulations as they apply to factory farms, and the important implications for this case nationwide.

Tyler Lobdell is a staff attorney with Food & Water Watch where he focuses on combating factory farms through legal advocacy. Prior to joining Food & Water Watch, Tyler spent two years as the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Food Law Fellow. He is particularly interested in the intersections between animal law and environmental law. Tyler graduated from Lewis & Clark Law School, where he served as Co-Editor in Chief of the Animal Law Review. A long-time environmentalist, Tyler spent almost 10 years leading conservation programs across the U.S. before attending law school. Aside from legal work, he currently spends his time raising two sons, caring for a flock of rescue chickens, and enjoying the outdoors.

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The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

As the Animal Law Podcast 2021 Exclusive Sponsor, the The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy is excited to share a new FREE resource:  The Brooks Animal Law Digest – CANADA EDITION! This premier online publication offers in-depth and up-to-date coverage on Canada’s most important animal law and policy issues. It is published twice monthly as a collaborative effort with the University of Toronto Faculty of Law’s research support.

Like the Brooks Animal Law Digest – US Edition, the Canadian Digest serves as a resource for anyone interested in learning more about the field of animal law – either as a high-level overview of developments, or as a jumping off point for digging into a specific current issue in the field. All content will be accessible on the Brooks Institute website and spotlights via email twice monthly.

Click here to subscribe to the free Brooks Animal Law Digest – CANADA EDITION.

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You can listen to the Animal Law Podcast  directly on our website (at the top of this page) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eleventh glorious year!

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak, once again, with Steven Wise, founder and president of the Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP). He joins me to talk about a truly extraordinary, potentially groundbreaking, case now pending in the highest court in New York State. As in the other cases Steve has joined us to discuss in the past, the issue here is a matter of whether a particular nonhuman animal, one who can be shown to demonstrate a high level of cognition and autonomy, is entitled to fundamental rights under the common law. More specifically, can an imprisoned elephant named Happy be entitled to a writ of habeas corpus?

Steven M. Wise  has practiced animal protection law for 30 years throughout the US and is the author of four books: Rattling the Cage – Toward Legal Rights for Animals; Drawing the Line – Science and the Case for Animal Rights; Though the Heavens May Fall – The Landmark Trial That Led to the End of Human Slavery; and An American Trilogy – Death, Slavery, and Dominion Along the Banks of the Cape Fear River. Watch Steve’s TED Talk on nonhuman animal rights here.

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The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

As the Animal Law Podcast 2021 Exclusive Sponsor, the The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

The Brooks Institute is excited to share a new FREE resource, Animal Law Fundamentals! Animal Law Fundamentals is a documentary-style series of video presentations and scholarly papers on the fundamentals of animal law by some of North America’s notable animal law scholars. The goal of this series is to make the fundamentals of animal law accessible to the public from premier subject matter experts. It is an orientation for anyone interested in gaining a substantive overview on an animal law subject matter quickly and effectively by listening to an academic or practicing scholar, as well as, having a companion paper into which there can be a ‘deep dive’. View the trailer, full presentation and accompanying paper here.

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You can listen to the Animal Law Podcast  directly on our website (at the top of this page) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eleventh glorious year!

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak with David Ebert, co-founder of The Animal Defense Partnerhip, about the work of this “pro bono counsel for animal protection charities.” As David points out, the purpose of ADP is not to litigate animal rights issues, but to provide animal protection nonprofits with the legal services that any type of organization needs to function properly. From the process of forming the entity and registering with the IRS, all the way to avoiding fundraising pitfalls, drafting contracts, managing crises, and handling human resources issues, those working for animals have the same legal issues as everyone else. Too often they end up spending their time and effort and money complying with such requirements, rather than being free to do the work that needs to be done to help animals directly. That’s when ADP seeks to help out.

David Ebert founded the Animal Defense Partnership with Joel Litvin after a long and successful career in commercial litigation as a means to devote himself more fully to protecting animals and reducing suffering. Before retiring from practice in October 2019, David litigated complex commercial matters and also served as outside general counsel to several small and midsize companies. Now, in addition to helping many, many animal protection organizations through ADP, David is also a member of the Pro Elephant Network, Rowdy Girl Sanctuary’s Rancher Advisory Coalition, the Board of Advisors for TerraMar Research, and the Advisory Board of FACE, i.e. Free All Captive Elephants).

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The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

As the Animal Law Podcast 2021 Exclusive Sponsor, the The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eleventh glorious year!

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak with David Michelson, Oregon-based animal rights activist and chief petitioner of the Yes On IP13 campaign, which is the effort to pass a ballot initiative that would dramatically change the legal landscape for animals in that state. Basically, what they are trying to do is to make Oregon’s anti-cruelty law do what it purports to do and what many people erroneously think it already does, i.e., protect animals from cruelty. Sounds like a modest concept, but, as we all know, if they are successful, it would change everything. Honestly, this interview kind of blew my mind and shifted my horizons about what is possible. I hope it does the same for you.

David Michelson is an Oregon-based animal rights activist operating as the chief petitioner of the Yes On IP13 campaign and serving as director of the petition committee End Animal Cruelty. Originally with a background in psychology and public health, David’s dedication to animal rights activism began after bearing witness to the pigs being sentenced to gas chambers as part of the slaughter process. After first joining the animal rights movement in Denver, Colorado as an organizer for street outreach, David has since relocated to Portland.

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The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

As the Animal Law Podcast 2021 Exclusive Sponsor, the The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

The North American Animal Law Conference, in collaboration with the Canadian Animal Law Conference Scholars Track, will showcase animal law and policy scholarship that is conducive to deeper thought and consideration of a particular topic. The North American Animal Law Conference features keynote presentations by prominent scholars from across North America and a culminating evening panel of renowned experts. It is a 1-day virtual event, Friday October 1. More information can be found at thebrooksinstitute.org/naalc-2021.

You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eleventh glorious year!

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak with Piper Hoffman of Animal Outlook and, once again, to Jay Shooster, of the Richman Law Group, about Animal Outlook v Cooke Aquaculture, a consumer protection case brought in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia based in allegations of deceptive advertising about the welfare of fish, specifically the salmon in Cooke’s aquaculture facilities. You may recall seeing some of the footage of the treatment of these salmon when Animal Outlook first released the results of this undercover investigation. You may also recall having heard about it on Our Hen House, our sister podcast, when we had Erin Wing, the undercover operative who took that footage, on to tell us about it back on Episode 587. Now we are covering the next development, i.e., this consumer protection lawsuit that is using the information gathered in that investigation to bely some of the claims made about how these poor fish are treated.

Piper Hoffman brings more than 20 years of legal experience to bear as the Senior Director of Litigation at national farmed animal advocacy group Animal Outlook. Vegetarian since childhood and vegan since the 20th century, she earned her J.D. cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she successfully lobbied the school to offer its first Animal Law class. After a federal clerkship, Piper began her animal law career as a staff attorney at the Animal Legal Defense Fund. She has taught Animal Law at New York City law schools since 2014. Piper is especially proud of her past contributions to Our Hen House’s website, podcast, and much-missed TV show.

Jay Shooster is an associate and the Senior Animal Welfare Legal Fellow at Richman Law Group. Jay has represented nonprofits and consumers in numerous cases against large food companies, including Tyson Foods, Kraft Heinz, and Unilever.

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The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

As the Animal Law Podcast 2021 Exclusive Sponsor, the The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

The North American Animal Law Conference, in collaboration with the Canadian Animal Law Conference Scholars Track, will showcase animal law and policy scholarship that is conducive to deeper thought and consideration of a particular topic. The North American Animal Law Conference features keynote presentations by prominent scholars from across North America and a culminating evening panel of renowned experts. It is a 1-day virtual event, Friday October 1. More information can be found at thebrooksinstitute.org/naalc-2021.

You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eleventh glorious year!

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak with Cristina Stella, a managing attorney at the Animal Legal Defense Fund, about ALDF v Foster Poultry Farms, currently pending in Superior Court in Merced County, California. This fascinating case is rooted in a provision of the California state constitution governing water use. I have to say even I was shocked to find out the amount of water they use to slaughter chickens, particularly given the wasteful and hideous cruel methods used. It was also shocking to find out how, in these dire times of extreme drought, poor communities in California’s Central Valley are suffering in spite of state constitutional provisions designed to protect access to water.

As a managing attorney at the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Cristina Stella litigates on behalf of farmed, wild, and captive animals who are subjected to systemic cruelty and exploitation in commercial industries. Her cases primarily focus on increasing transparency in the industrial agriculture system and challenging industrial agricultural practices that harm animals, the environment, and public health. Cristina also teaches animal law as an adjunct professor at the University of California, Davis School of Law and is the co-author of the investigative report, America’s Secret Animal Drug Problem: How Lack of Transparency is Endangering Human Health and Animal Welfare.

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The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

As the Animal Law Podcast 2021 Exclusive Sponsor, the The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eleventh glorious year!

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak with Emily Jeffers of the  Center for Biological Diversity about the 9th Circuit’s recent decision in Center for Biological Diversity v Haaland, in which the court decided that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s sudden about face, in 2017, on whether the Pacific Walrus is subject to the protections of the Endangered Species Act was not adequately supported. In this far-ranging conversation, we get into how difficult the walruses’ lives have become since the ice has started to disappear from their traditional habitat, the influence of the change in administrations on Endangered Species Act enforcement and, most fundamentally, how much can the Endangered Species Act do to protect animals in the era of climate change and biodiversity collapse.

Emily Jeffers is Staff Attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, working in the Center’s Oceans program. Emily graduated from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law and received her bachelor’s degree in biology from Yale University. Before joining the Center, Emily served as a law clerk to the Honorable Gregory J. Hobbs, Jr. of the Colorado Supreme Court and worked as a wildlife biologist in California and Idaho.

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The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

As the Animal Law Podcast 2021 Exclusive Sponsor, the The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eleventh glorious year!

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak with Professor Karen Bradshaw about her new book,  Wildlife as Property Owners: A New Conception of Animal Rights, which has been making quite a splash in the animal law world. It’s not often we get a chance to talk about property law and trusts and estates law on this podcast but that’s what we’ll be doing today, along with some Indigenous and Nature Rights law thrown in. This conversation may just expand your thinking about what is possible for those who are working to protect wild animals.

Karen Bradshaw is a Professor of Law and the Mary Sigler Fellow at Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University. She is concurrently a Faculty Affiliate Scholar at the New York University School of Law Classical Liberal Institute and Senior Sustainability Scientist at the Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University. She is also a contributing co-editor of Wildfire Policy: Law and Economic Perspectives. You can connect with her at kmbradshaw.com or KM_Bradshaw on Twitter or km.bradshaw on Instagram.

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The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

As the Animal Law Podcast 2021 Exclusive Sponsor, the The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eleventh glorious year!

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak with Laura Fox and Daniel Wiener about The Humane Society of the United States v. United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services, in which animal advocacy groups are taking on the USDA’s plans for what to do to the chickens who, trapped in factory farms, inevitably come down with bird flu, endangering humans as well as birds with a potential pandemic. After the USDA virtually ignored the suggestion that the birds should be kept in less crowded and less brutal surroundings as a way to possibly avoid such an outbreak, the agency instead decided the birds’ ventilation should be shut off so they can slowly die a horrible death. Oh, and the “farmers” will be compensated by taxpayers for their losses. The horrors visited upon animals seem to keep getting worse, but at least a recent standing decision in US District Court in California will let the case proceed and the courts will have an opportunity to decide whether they have finally just gone too far.

Laura Fox joined the Humane Society of the United States’ Animal Protection Law department in 2015 as an attorney focusing on issues related to puppy mills, and now is the Staff Attorney for Farm Animal Protection working on efforts to reduce extreme confinement practices and challenging their environmental impacts. She is also an Adjunct Professor of Animal Law at George Mason’s Scalia Law School. Daniel Wiener is an associate in the Litigation practice of Shearman and Sterling.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eleventh glorious year!

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak with Vanessa Shakib of Advancing Law for Animals about Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation and Stop Animal Exploitation Now! (“SAEN”) v USDA, in which the plaintiffs sought to vacate two rules promulgated by USDA’s Animal Care division without notice to the public or an opportunity to comment, as required by the Administrative Procedure Act. These rules concerned the implementation of two new enforcement policies, the Orwellian-entitled, “Teachable Moments Rule” and “Self-Reporting Rule,” that drastically limited the ability of concerned members of the public and others to ascertain the true violation history regarding the treatment of animals at licensed facilities, including both puppy mills and laboratories. She’ll also tell us about the recent settlement that resolved the lawsuit and how members of the public can best make use the information now available on the USDA website.

We also speak briefly about a recently filed case, also on behalf of SAEN, against the University of Southern California regarding the stark contrast between the University’s claims regarding how animals are kept in their laboratories and the evidence the plaintiff has  gathered revealing a much darker picture. 

Vanessa Shakib co-founded and co-directs Advancing Law for Animals, a non-profit law firm for our non-human friends that focuses on animal law, government accountability, and illegal business practices. There, she develops impact litigation to further the interests of animals exploited in research and industrial food production. Vanessa regularly presents talks as an invited expert in animal law both nationally and abroad.

Prior to animal law, Vanessa specialized in illegal taxation, consumer protection, and inverse condemnation, among other practice areas. Her track record in government oversight informs her work at Advancing Law for Animals, where she has successfully challenged cruel and illegally-promulgated regulations at the federal level, and lack of animal-welfare enforcement at the local level. Vanessa continues to consult on a variety of legal matters through her private practice, Shakib Law, PC.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eleventh glorious year!

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak with Christopher Berry, a managing attorney in the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Litigation Program, where he oversees strategic impact litigation to protect the lives of and advance the interests of animals. Christopher and I speak about Caru SPCA v Anthony, in which a California backyard breeder/puppy mill was shut down by the Superior Court of California for Solano County under various sections of the Vallejo California Municipal Code, along with a California state law entitled the Pet Breeders Warranty Act (Health & Safety Code Sections 122045 – 122315).

In spite of complaints made for years to local authorities, this sub-standard breeding facility for Carolina Dogs had been permitted to continue doing business in spite of the poor treatment of the dogs. What changed? The Caru SPCA appeared on the scene with the mission of  preventing “cruelty to animals by use of all legal means, by working cooperatively with law enforcement and humane agencies, by promoting the enforcement of animal protection laws, and by educating others about the laws that protect animals and humane standards of care for animals.” You will want to hear about how this organization came into being, the role of the Animal Legal Defense Fund in aiding in the creation of this independent entity with statewide jurisdiction, and what an SPCA can do that other individuals and organizations are unable to do to protect animals under California law. This could be a game-changing development for animals.

Christopher Berry is a managing attorney for the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s litigation program where he oversees and litigates strategic impact cases involving a broad range of animal protection issues. In the wake of government acquiescence of illegal activity, he has brought private enforcement actions in civil court to stop illegal puppy laundering, fur farming of a threatened species, and animal hoarding. He also leverages litigation against the government itself, thereby catalyzing revision of the USDA’s rubberstamp policy for Animal Welfare Act licenses, the USDA’s blackout of records generated under the Animal Welfare Act, and North Carolina’s approval of gas chambers for routine euthanasia at animal shelters.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eleventh glorious year!

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I am so pleased to welcome Brittany Peet, Deputy General Counsel for Captive Animal Law Enforcement for the PETA Foundation. We follow up on her appearance on Episode 42 when she told us all about PETA’s case against notorious roadside zoo and big cat abuser Tim Stark of Indiana’s “Wildlife in Need.” Little did we know at the time that Stark would be one of the players in the Tiger King, the wildly popular Netflix series that revealed the dark underbelly of the tiger biz in the US, such as a murder for hire plot and numerous violations of the Endangered Species Act, ranging from records violations all the way to killing 5 tigers. Now, Brittany is here to report on the ongoing struggle on the legal front to get the Tiger King’s tigers out of captivity and into sanctuaries, which has resulted in substantial progress in improving the government’s standards regarding the treatment of tigers and other endangered animals in captivity.

Brittany Peet is the Deputy General Counsel for Captive Animal Law Enforcement for the PETA Foundation, and works on behalf of animals who are held captive in roadside zoos, traveling shows, and the film and television industries through legal and regulatory actions and public advocacy campaigns. She also negotiates and coordinates wild and exotic animal rescues for PETA, and has overseen the rescues of more than 400 chinchillas, 73 bears, 75 big cats, 13 chimpanzees, and two baboons.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eleventh glorious year!

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I welcome Laura Fox, Staff Attorney for Farm Animal Protection at The Humane Society of the United States, to talk about the 4th Circuit’s decision in McKiver v Murphy Brown, which has created quite a stir in the animal law world. It is a story which we have all heard before — neighbors of pig factory farms in North Carolina whose homes, some of which have been in their families for generations, have been rendered close to uninhabitable by the stench and degradation of the environment caused by nearby pig factory farms. The reason that this case stands out in particular for animal advocates is the extraordinary concurrence by Judge James Harvie Wilkinson III, which not only finds merit in the plaintiffs’ arguments, but sympathizes with the animals whose misery and confinement are not only horrific, but are part and parcel of the harms created by these facilities. You are not going to want to miss this episode.

Laura Fox joined HSUS’s Animal Protection Law department in 2015 as an attorney focusing on issues related to puppy mills and now is the Staff Attorney for Farm Animal Protection. Laura works to protect farm animals from the industrialized practices of factory farms, including by reducing extreme confinement practices and challenging their environmental impacts.

A large aspect of Laura’s work is spent filing complaints with federal and state agencies and litigating issues arising under the National Environmental Policy Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, the Freedom of Information Act, and other federal statutes, as well as litigating consumer protection cases at the state level.

Laura is also an Adjunct Professor of Animal Law at George Mason’s law school and has taught courses in philosophy and ethics.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eleventh glorious year!

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I welcome back Rebecca Cary of the Humane Society of the United States to speak with us about the recent decision from the Ninth Circuit in North American Meat Institute v Becerra, in which the court upheld Proposition 12 in the face of arguments by the plaintiff that it violates the Dormant Commerce Clause.

Proposition 12 is, of course, the California ballot initiative that, among other things, imposed a sales ban in California on products that don’t comply with certain California laws regarding the treatment of certain farmed animals. As we discuss on this episode, sales bans are a vital tool in protecting states’ ability to make their laws regarding the treatment of animals effective, and they are, as a result, vehemently opposed by animal use industries. This is an important case, indeed.

Rebecca Cary is a Senior Staff Attorney at The Humane Society of the United States, where she has worked since 2010 in the Animal Protection Litigation section. The bulk of her work focuses on farm animals and constitutional defense litigation. She graduated from Northeastern University School of Law in 2009, where she successfully petitioned the school to include an animal law class in its curriculum.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year!

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak with Jay Shooster, of the Richman Law Group, about two complaints the firm has filed with the Federal Trade Commission, on behalf of various complainants, about representations Tyson Foods has made about the chicken flesh that it sells in grocery stores around the country. From whether the products made of that flesh are “natural,” to environmental concerns regarding its production methods, to allegations regarding the welfare of the birds, to how its workers are treated, particularly in Covid-times, Tyson’s practices are being laid bare by these complaints, and it’s not a pretty picture.

Jay Shooster is an associate and the Senior Animal Welfare Legal Fellow at Richman Law Group. Jay has represented nonprofits and consumers in numerous cases against large food companies, including Tyson Foods, Kraft Heinz, and Unilever.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year!

This episode is sponsored by Forager Project,  an organic, plant-based family-owned and operated food company creating innovative, delicious tasting products sourced from nature’s finest ingredients – nuts, seeds, ancient grains, fruits and vegetables. Crafted in its own unique purpose-built creamery – the only 100% organic, plant-based facility of its kind – Forager Project’s family of foods includes  100% vegan yogurts, nut milks, sour cream, kefirs, shakes and butter.

About Forager Project’s Vote Campaign: Forager ​is committed to helping cultivate democracy. During the next month, Forager Project​ will be shifting packaging on its yogurts, kefirs, and milks to encourage consumers nationwide to get involved and vote this November and launching a broader effort to encourage everyone to vote this November 3rd. Visit ForagerProject.com/vote to check on your voting status

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I am once again lucky enough to be speaking with Eric Glitzenstein, this time about a recent resounding success for animals, specifically birds, in Natural Resources Defense Council v US Dept. of the Interior. This case involves a recent “opinion” issued by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, which, since its issuance, has dramatically reinterpreted the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to reduce protections for birds by requiring that the only covered acts are ones that are “directed” at birds. Yikes! As seems obvious, birds are most frequently put in danger in the modern world because they are in someone’s way, not just because someone sets out to kill them on purpose. Fortunately a conglomeration of advocacy groups got together and cried foul (or fowl!) (sorry). And, fortunately, the Southern District of New York agreed. And, to add to the good fortune, we have Eric, a true model of the consummate legal qualities of passion and clarity, here to tell us the story.

Eric Glitzenstein is the Director of Litigation of the Center for Biological Diversity, a national conservation and wildlife protection organization. Eric oversees and coordinates the Center’s litigation conducted by more than 50 in-house attorneys along with outside counsel. Prior to joining the Center, Eric was cofounder and managing partner of Meyer Glitzenstein & Eubanks LLP, a public-interest law firm in Washington, D.C. Eric is also a Lecturer in Law at Harvard Law School, where he will teach Wildlife Law in Spring 2021.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning, weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year!

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I am delighted to welcome Cheryl Leahy, Executive Vice President of Animal Outlook, about US ex rel. COK v Superior Farms, which arose out of Animal Outlook’s investigation into the largest lamb slaughterhouse in the US. This investigation uncovered numerous violations of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (HMSA) as well as the Federal Meat Inspection Act. Cheryl explains that the ritual halal slaughter performed in this slaughterhouse is NOT exempted from the HMSA, as many believe, but is covered by different rules, which were not followed here. Moreover, since some of the flesh from these lambs was sold to the federal government as halal meat, this created fertile ground for a lawsuit pursuant to the False Claims Act. It is Cheryl’s hope that the successful settlement of this suit will be one of many lawsuits brought pursuant to this statute, which has the potential to be a promising avenue for requiring laws protecting animals to be followed, not to mention for protecting the government from being defrauded. Indeed, this case has the potential to serve as a model for lawyers interested in suing animal abusers, helping animals, stopping fraud on the government, and making a few, or maybe more than a few, bucks.

Cheryl Leahy is the Executive Vice President of Animal Outlook, having served, from 2006-2019, as Animal Outlook’s General Counsel. She works on the strategic direction of the organization as a whole, especially focusing on the use of undercover investigations as a mechanism for high-impact advocacy, and on targeting large-scale abuse of farmed animals through proactive litigation. Her work includes challenging cruel, yet standard, practices forced upon farmed animals as well as unfair industry practices such as misleading marketing of meat, milk, and eggs often found in grocery stores.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year!

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak once again to Amanda Howell of the Animal Legal Defense Fund about Miyoko’s Kitchen v Ross, in which one of our very favorite companies is suing the State of California, specifically its Department of Food and Agriculture, for violating its rights under the First Amendment. The lawsuit arose out of  certain enforcement threats Miyoko’s Kitchen received regarding its label for its (utterly delicious) vegan butter. More specifically, the state is troubled that that label is deceptive in that it indicates, inter alia, that the package contains “vegan butter” and that the product inside is “cruelty-free.” Recently, the Northern District of California determined that the State’s motion to dismiss for lack of ripeness was without merit. Thus, the case is now proceeding, and the court will soon decide whether to grant a preliminary injunction prohibiting the state from moving forward with enforcement. We discuss both the motion to dismiss and the pending motion for a preliminary injunction. Clearly, this case is important not only for the future of Miyoko’s Kitchen, but for the future of the many plant-based foods that are designed to remind eaters of animal-based foods with which they are familiar. The stakes are high.

Amanda Howell is a Staff Attorney at the Animal Legal Defense Fund. She works to combat humane-washing, unconstitutional AgGag laws, and the animal agriculture industry’s attacks on plant-based foods. Prior to joining ALDF, Amanda co-headed the food law practice at the Stanley Law Group and focused on state and nationwide class action litigation. Before that she served as Assistant Director of Litigation at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Amanda has contributed to the National Association of Consumer Advocates’ Standards and Guidelines publication, the National Consumer Law Center’s Class Actions Manual, and two chapters in the latest edition of What Can Animal Law Learn from Environmental Law.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year!

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak with Bruce Wagman about American Anti-Vivisection Society v USDA, in which the 9th Circuit recently held that, at long (really, really long) last, the USDA will be required to write regulations to protect those birds who are covered by the Animal Welfare Act, such as those in the wholesale pet trade, in zoos, etc. Bruce and I last discussed this same issue on Episode 8, during a prior attempt to force the agency to do its duty, and it is a real joy to see this issue resolved in the birds’ favor.

Bruce Wagman conducts  an exclusive animal law practice at Riley Safer Holmes and Cancila, where he litigates, drafts animal-friendly legislation, oversees rescue operations, and consults clients who care for and protect animals. He is the co-author of Animal Law: Cases and Materials and A Worldview of Animal Law. He is also a founder of Project Chimps, a chimpanzee sanctuary that is home to chimpanzees retired from research laboratories. His practice covers a broad range of animal-related legal issues — including cases involving the use of animals in entertainment, biomedical research, animal agriculture/food production, animal cruelty, and wildlife control.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year!

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak with Alexis Andiman and Sylvia Lam about Cape Fear River Watch v. United States Environmental Protection Agency, a case currently pending in the Fourth Circuit, in which their clients challenge the EPA’s guidelines for the amount of pollution that slaughterhouses are permitted to emit into waterways. With slaughterhouses in the news for other reasons, here is one more way in which they are causing enormous harm with which we should all be familiar. Fortunately, the Clean Water Act sets standards and guidelines, but, unfortunately, they are not being followed. This lawsuit seeks to set that right.

Alexis Andiman is staff attorney with the Sustainable Food & Farming Program at Earthjustice, where she works to improve our nation’s food system, from crop selection and farming practices to food processing and accessibility.  Prior to joining Earthjustice, Alexis completed fellowships with the Conservation Law Center and Clinic at Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law and the Center for Biological Diversity.  She received her J.D. with honors and a Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law from Lewis & Clark Law School.  While in school, Alexis worked as a legal writing teaching assistant and interned with a variety of environmental and conservation organizations, including Columbia Riverkeeper, Advocates for the West, and the Earthrise Law Center.

Sylvia Lam works as a staff attorney at the Environmental Integrity Project. She joined EIP in 2015 and works primarily on litigation relating to Clean Water Act rulemaking and enforcement matters as well as the Freedom of Information Act. She holds a J.D. from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. During law school, Sylvia interned for EIP, the Environmental Law Institute, U.S. EPA Region III’s Office of Regional Counsel, and the Land Law Section of the California Office of the Attorney General. Prior to law school, she worked for an environmental consulting firm, where she analyzed the implications of climate change on U.S. water security.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year!

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak with regular Animal Law Podcast guest Delcianna Winders along with two of her students in the Lewis and Clark Law School Animal Law Litigation Clinic, Hira Jaleel and Irene Au-Young, on a case they filed on behalf of several animal welfare organizations including Farm Sanctuary, Animal Legal Defense Fund, Animal Outlook, Animal Welfare Institute, Compassion in World Farming, Farm Forward, and Mercy For Animals. This case was brought against the US Department of Agriculture and the Food Safety and Inspection Service over what the plaintiffs claim is these agencies’ “unlawful failure to protect the more that half million pigs who arrive annually at slaughterhouses in the United States unable to rise or walk,” otherwise known as “downed pigs.”

We discuss at length how the charges brought in this lawsuit violate the Human Methods of Slaughter Act and the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the causes of action presented in this case, and the significant decreases in agency regulation that have exacerbated the already horrific  conditions for these animals, as well as for people.

Delcianna J. Winders is a clinical professor of law and the director of the Animal Law Litigation Clinic at Lewis & Clark Law School, the world’s only law school clinic dedicated to farmed animal advocacy. Her scholarship has appeared in numerous law reviews, and she has also published extensively in the popular media. Prior to joining the Lewis & Clark faculty, Professor Winders was vice president and deputy general counsel for the PETA Foundation, the first academic fellow of the Harvard Animal Law & Policy Program, and a visiting scholar at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. She has also taught animal law at Tulane University School of Law and Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. She frequently gives talks on animal law subjects, has been interviewed by major national and international news outlets, and was featured in O, The Oprah Magazine as one of “Six Women Who Dare.” Winders received her BA in Legal Studies with highest honors from the University California at Santa Cruz, and her JD from NYU School of Law. Following law school, she clerked for the Hon. Martha Craig Daughtrey on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Hailing from Pakistan, Hira Jaleel is currently pursuing her LL.M in Animal Law from Lewis & Clark Law School. Hira is a recipient of a Fulbright scholarship as well as Lewis & Clark’s Animal Law LL.M Leadership Award. She received her B.A-LL.B (Hons.) from the Lahore University of Management Sciences and is licensed to practice as an attorney in Pakistan. After graduation, Hira practiced in one of Pakistan’s top law firms for two years. There, she worked on litigation against the practice of dog fighting in Pakistan as well as litigation pertaining to the implementation of CITES in the country in a case related to wild felids being imported to be exhibited in political rallies. She has previously advised clients on Pakistan’s whistle-blowing laws vis-a-vis reporting of animal abuse in live animal export, and on the legal rights of clients threatened with eviction and seizure of their companion animals by housing authorities. Hira is working on litigating for farmed animals as part of the Animal Law Litigation Clinic at Lewis & Clark and is also currently interning with Animal Law Reform South Africa.

Irene Au-Young is a third-year law student at Lewis & Clark Law School. Irene’s passion for animal law was realized when her family adopted two pit bull terriers. Irene hopes to use her legal education to combat the social and legal elements that play into breed specific legislation. She also hopes to combat issues around animal agriculture and how they interrelate to both food security and climate change. In addition to animal law, Irene is interested in immigrants’ rights, specifically challenging policies that attempt to disqualify immigrants from receiving access to the courts.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year!

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I’m bringing you something a little bit different. I speak with Wayne Hsiung of Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), who is a lawyer but is also one of the defendants in the cases we’ll be speaking about today. The felony charges being brought against him and other DxE activists, in multiple states, are a result of open rescues of sick and dying animals from factory farms, which have been followed by prosecutions in which activists, including Wayne, are being charged with a wide range of offenses–including “theft of fruits and vegetables.” We talk about the challenges of mounting a defense against these charges and how the lobbying influence of the agriculture industry directly targets animal activists.

Wayne Hsiung is a lawyer, former law professor, and co-founder of the global animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE). His work as an open rescue activist has been reported on in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and ABC’s Nightline. Prior to co-founding DxE, Wayne published research (with Cass Sunstein) on climate change’s impact on wildlife, practiced law at two national firms, and had an active pro bono practice defending victims of domestic violence.

DxE’s mission is to build a grassroots movement for animals. According to DxE, “We believe in a world where animals are treated like living creatures, not things, and where every slaughterhouse has been transformed into a sanctuary. We aim to pass an animal bill of rights that gives every animal the right to live free from violence and exploitation — in one generation.”

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year!

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak with Rebecca Cary of the Humane Society of the United States about Just Puppies v Frosh, a case brought against the Attorney General of of Maryland arguing that that state’s ban on the sale of dogs and cats in pet stores was unconstitutional. Rebecca is the attorney who wrote and filed the amicus brief filed by HSUS in favor of the state’s position defending the “Pups’ Act.” We discuss the recent decision of the United States District Court for the District of Maryland upholding the law against dormant commerce clause, preemption, and equal protection arguments. We also discuss why this decision is not only significant in and of itself but also bodes well for the over 300 laws being passed around the country imposing similar sales bans in an effort to undermine puppy and kitten mills, which are generally the source of the animals sold in most pet stores.

Rebecca Cary is a Senior Staff Attorney at The Humane Society of the United States, where she has worked since 2010 on Constitutional & Policy Defense Litigation. She graduated from Northeastern University School of Law in 2009, where she successfully petitioned the school to include an animal law class in its curriculum. Prior to law school, Rebecca earned a B.A. from the University of California San Diego, where she co-founded a student animal organization and participated in grassroots animal activism. She lives with her two rescue cats in Washington, DC.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year!

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak with Cristina Kladis and Professor Delcianna Winders of the Lewis and Clark Law School Animal Law Litigation Clinic about the very first case filed by the clinic, Farm Sanctuary v USDA. This very important lawsuit seeks to invalidate the agency’s new rules eliminating line speed limits for pig slaughter, thereby putting pigs, workers and the environment at even greater risk from the horrors perpetrated in these slaughterhouses. If that were not enough, these rules also delegate much of the responsibility for oversight of the slaughter process from USDA inspectors to untrained slaughterhouse workers. Then, in addition to this groundbreaking lawsuit, we discuss the formation of this brand new clinic, which is devoted to litigation regarding farmed animals.

Cristina Kladis is a third-year law student at Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, where she lives with her dog, Nyx. She came to law school with a plan to specialize in environmental and animal law, hoping to fight factory farming and other forms of environmental injustice. In addition to environmental and animal law, Cristina is interested in prisoners’ rights and free speech protections for protestors and media. After graduating from law school, she will be a litigation fellow at the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year!

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak with Jessica Blome and Amanda Howell about the second chapter in the legal effort to close down Cricket Hollow Zoo, a sad roadside “attraction” where animals have been languishing in terrible conditions for years. I last spoke to Jessica on Episode 10 about some Endangered Species Act litigation that managed to free the animals covered by that law, but hundreds of animal remained, left to suffer merely because their species was not at risk. This time Jessica, along with the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Amanda Howell, went back for the rest, suing on behalf of some deeply concerned citizens under Iowa Nuisance Law and basing their claim that this horrific facility was a public nuisance because it was in violation of the Iowa Anti-Cruelty statute. This is a fascinating case, with a (mostly) satisfying ending. But it also highlights some of the extraordinary gaps in current law “protecting” animals and the extraordinary lengths that must be gone to in order to get them out of obviously abusive situations.

Jessica Blome is a senior associate at Greenfire Law where she primarily practices in the areas of environmental, animal, open government, and land use law. She represents clients in citizen suit enforcement, climate change, and strategic impact litigation. Her practice includes litigating and advising under the Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, RCRA, CERCLA, NEPA, CEQA, Administrative Procedure Act, Animal Welfare Act, Endangered Species Act, FOIA, California Public Records Act, and Brown Act. Before Greenfire Law, Jessica worked as an Assistant Attorney General in the Missouri Attorney General’s Agriculture & Environment Division, Senior Staff Attorney for the Animal Legal Defense Fund, and Deputy Director of the San Francisco Ethics Commission. She earned her law degree from the University of Iowa and has a B.A. in Organizational Communication, with Minors in Journalism and Ethics, from the University of Northern Iowa. Jessica is passionate about public lands access, wilderness protection, and outdoor recreation. She spends her weekends in the wild spaces in and around the Bay Area.

As a staff attorney for the Animal Legal Defense Fund Amanda Howell uses her background in strategic impact litigation to help us win big for animals. Prior to joining ALDF, Amanda’s career was focused on improving the food system and curbing the harmful practices of multinational corporations. She is dedicated to using her skills to combat iniquity and believes that changing how we view and treat animals will simultaneously improve life for all sentient beings and positively impact individual health, public health, and our environment. Amanda graduated from Northwestern University with a triple major in Political Science, International Studies, and Spanish. She received her law degree from Boston University, where she was the managing editor for the American Journal of Law and Medicine.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year!

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak with Professor Katherine Meyer, Director of the Animal Law and Policy Clinic at Harvard Law School, along with two of her students, Boanne Wassink and Brett Richey. The three of them speak with me about the very first case filed by the Animal Law and Policy Clinic, New England Anti-Vivisection Society v Perdue, which involves a petition for rulemaking filed with the USDA way back in 2014 trying to get the agency to rewrite rules interpreting the requirements in the Animal Welfare Act requiring psychological enrichment for primates.  We discuss the lack of enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, the importance of considering the psychological well-being of primates, and  how this case is affected by standards put forth by the National Institutes of Health for chimpanzees used in research. They also talk about the work that the Animal Law and Policy Clinic is doing and what it hopes to accomplish, including, such as in cases like this one, improved enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act.

Katherine Meyer was a founding partner of the public interest law firm, Meyer Glitzenstein & Eubanks, which the Washingtonian Magazine hailed as “the most effective public interest law firm in Washington, D.C.” She has extensive federal and state court litigation experience, and is known for finding innovative ways to advance her clients’ interests. Professor Meyer has extensive experience litigating cases under the Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Animal Welfare Act, Freedom of Information Act, and other environmental and open government laws, and has also successfully litigated many cases to protect the wild horses in the West.

Brett Richey, Harvard Law School ‘21, is a native of Pasadena, California. Brett graduated magma cum laude from Vanderbilt University in 2018, where she majored in Public Policy Studies and minored in Corporate Strategy. During Brett’s senior year at Vanderbilt, she wrote an undergraduate thesis analyzing the relationship between early childhood court involvement and future juvenile delinquency. Since coming to Harvard, Brett has become very interested in animal law, and particularly hopes to advocate for the wellbeing of captive animals kept in research labs and exhibitions. After graduating from law school, Brett plans to be a trial attorney in Washington, DC, and someday hopes to run for elected office. Outside of class, Brett enjoys supporting the Boston Red Sox, visiting local craft breweries, traveling to new countries, and winning escape rooms with her friends.

Boanne Wassink, now a third-year student at Harvard Law School, graduated from Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, where she majored in mathematics and physics. After planning for many years to be a research mathematician and earning her Master’s in Mathematics at the University of Iowa, Boanne made a career change to enroll in law school. During her 1L year at Harvard, Boanne discovered the field of animal law and quickly became involved through courses; research assistantships; the Animal Law Society, of which she is Vice President; and now the Animal Law & Policy Clinic. Along the way she decided to devote her career to helping animals through the legal system. After graduating this May, Boanne will clerk for two years at the Staff Clerk’s Office of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. After that, she hopes to return to her native Iowa and join the fight against factory farming. When she’s not at school, Boanne spends her time relaxing with her husband, playing with their two young children, and telling their daughter bedtime stories about lawyers helping animals.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year! 

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak with Professor Sherry Colb of Cornell Law School along with one of her students, Jareb Gleckel. We’ll be speaking about a recent article they have co-written, “Labeling Alternative Meat: Constitutional Choices That Can Dictate the Future of Food,” __ Animal L. R. __ (forthcoming, 2020), that is about the constitutionality of legislation that seeks to limit, and in some cases criminalize, the types of labels that can be used for plant-based foods. We start by discussing a new decision on a motion for a preliminary injunction in Turtle Island Foods v Richardson, otherwise known as the  Missouri Tofurky case (which I discussed with Amanda Howell on Episode 43) and move on to discuss the constitutional issues that are at issue in that and similar cases, some of the wide-ranging implications of these cases, and some potentially powerful alternative arguments. It’s a fascinating and lengthy discussion that you’re sure to find informative regarding a crucial issue for the future of food, and the future of animals.

Sherry F. Colb is the C.S. Wong Professor of Law at Cornell University. She was valedictorian of Columbia
College and received her law degree magna cum laude from Harvard. She then went on to clerk for Judge Wilfred Feinberg (on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit) and then Justice Harry A. Blackmun (on the U.S. Supreme Court). In addition to teaching courses in constitutional criminal procedure, evidence, and animal rights, she has published articles in a variety of law reviews, including Stanford, Columbia, N.Y.U., and G.W., and written two books about animal rights, Beating Hearts: Abortion and Animal Rights (co-authored with Michael C. Dorf) and Mind If I Order the Cheeseburger? And Other Questions People Ask Vegans. She composes a bi-weekly column on Justia’s Verdict as well as regular posts on the blog, Dorf on Law.

Jareb Gleckel is a third-year law student at Cornell and lives in Ithaca with his dog, Gatsby. Before starting law school, he co-founded and ran Hamptons Chess, which became known for its local outreach in Suffolk County, New York. Jareb also writes literary fiction, and Trident Media Group will represent his first two novels. After graduating, he will clerk for Judge Richard Wesley (on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit) and Judge Paul Oetken (in the Southern District of New York).

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year! 

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak with Margaret Kwoka a professor at the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver, about the Animal Welfare Act and the Freedom of Information Act,  and how these pertain to the ongoing case of Animal Legal Defense Fund vs. The U.S. Department of Agriculture. This case involves the USDA’s blackout of various enforcement records, crucial to the work of animal protection organizations, that were formerly available via the USDA’s website and have now either disappeared or been redacted into uselessness. We’ll be discussing a recent successful decision in the 9^th Circuit regarding the agency’s refusal to post these records. It’s an important case for people within the animal advocacy movement and beyond whose work relies on access to information from government agencies.

Professor Kwoka’s research interests center on government secrecy, the Freedom of Information Act, procedural justice, and judicial review of agency actions. Her articles have appeared or will appear in the Yale Law Journal, Duke Law Journal, Boston University Law Review, and UC Davis Law Review, among others. She has also testified in Congress on government transparency, received the inaugural Society of American Law Teachers (SALT) Junior Faculty Teaching Award, and her research was featured in the New York Times. She teaches administrative law, civil procedure, federal courts, and national security law.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year! 

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak with Marc Fink, a senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity and an expert in Public Lands Law and the Endangered Species Act. We discuss the recent decision in Save the Scenic Santa Ritas v US Army Corps of Engineers. This important case involves the potential construction of a huge copper mine right outside Tucson, Arizona. Marc explains how outdated mining law has been used in an attempt to justify the mine, as well as the many potential destructive ramifications for endangered species inhabiting the affected area, including the jaguar. We also discuss the increasing importance of the Endangered Species Act as more and more species are threatened by the climate crisis and other environmental disasters, how recent changes imposed by the current administration seek to limit the Act’s protective powers, and some of the litigation that is being initiated to fight those changes.

Marc Fink is the Public Lands Legal Director and Senior Attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. He oversees litigation in the Center’s Public Lands Program. His docket includes a variety of endangered species and public-lands cases across the country. Marc graduated from Lewis and Clark Law School with a certificate in environmental and natural resources law. Before joining the Center in 2007, he worked as a staff attorney at the Western Environmental Law Center.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year! 

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak once again with Justin Marceau, author of the controversial new book Beyond Cages: Animal Law and Criminal Punishment. We discuss why he believes there has been an overemphasis on criminal prosecution of animal abuse as a strategy for systemic change and what types of cruelty he believes are, and are not, appropriate for traditional forms of criminal prosecution and punishment. He also discusses the fundamental importance of informing the fight to protect animals with current thinking regarding racism and mass incarceration and how the the punishments we traditionally use for animal cruelty crimes are not only ineffective in addressing institutionalized violence, but potentially are counterproductive in that they can be responsible for causing increased criminal behavior.

Justin Marceau is Professor of Law and the Animal Legal Defense Fund Professor at Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver. He also serves as the reporter for the pattern criminal jury instruction committee of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, and as an inaugural member of the animal welfare committee (PAW) formed by a proclamation of the Governor of Colorado to advise the First Gentleman on strategies for improving the protection of animals in Colorado. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Justice for Animals Award and the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar’s Gideon Award.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year! 

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak with Laura Fox of the Humane Society of the United States about administrative efforts to address false and deceptive advertising from Pilgrim’s Pride regarding their treatment of chickens.  These efforts include a complaint made to the Federal Trade Commission asking it to investigate the advertising and enjoin Pilgrim’s Pride from continuing to issue misleading claims pertaining to animal welfare, as well as subsequent requests for similar enforcement to state consumer protection agencies and attorneys general. Additionally, a complaint was made to the Securities and Exchange Commission about possible stakeholder fraud in violation of federal securities laws, also pertaining to the false and deceptive claims made by Pilgrim’s Pride about humane treatment.

Laura Fox is a Staff Attorney in the Animal Protection Litigation program at HSUS, working to protect farm animals from the industrialized practices of factory farms, including by eliminating extreme confinement and unnecessary suffering and challenging their environmental impacts. A large aspect of her work involves filing complaints with federal and state agencies and litigating issues arising under the National Environmental Policy Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, the Freedom of Information Act, and other federal statutes, as well as litigating consumer protection cases at the state level. Laura is also an Adjunct Professor of animal law at George Mason’s law school, and has also taught courses in philosophy and ethics. Laura graduated from Vermont Law School with a J.D. and Master of Environmental Law and Policy and also holds a master’s in philosophy from George Mason University.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year! 

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak to Abby Volin about how the issue of finding housing with pets is directly related to the complex legal issues surrounding both service and assistance animals (spoiler alert: they are not the same thing!). She tells me about how most housing providers haven’t kept up with the needs of renters who live with animals, creating a situation in which demand for animal-friendly housing is vastly outpacing supply, and in which landlords are missing out on great tenants for all the wrong reasons. She also explains how the Fair Housing Amendments Act and Americans with Disabilities Act define disability and in what ways they protect people trying to find, or keep, their service or assistance animals living with them in their homes. Adding to the confusion are different standards applying on airplanes to such animals and a good deal of publicity about some peculiar applications of those standards. As a result, this is an area that has become so fraught with misconceptions regarding how reasonable accommodation laws work and whether there is  fraud within the system that state legislatures have started to pass laws that criminalize the fraudulent use of service and assistance animals. Abby explains how this creates further difficulties for people with disabilities who need access to housing for themselves and their animals. 

Abby Volin is President of Opening Doors, a consulting firm that helps housing professionals manage pets on properties and counsels tenants with their pet-related housing issues. She is a nationally recognized expert on animal accommodation law and frequently holds lectures for landlords, attorneys, tenants, animal welfare organizations, and healthcare providers. Prior to founding Opening Doors, Abby worked as a policy specialist at The Humane Society of the United States and started her career as a litigator. Abby earned her JD from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and BA from Tufts University.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year! 

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak to Kelsey Eberly and David Muraskin about what the average consumer thinks when they see the words, “Natural Choice,” on a meat or poultry product and what the truth is about the products that carry that label. That’s the fundamental issue in the case that they have been litigating in the District of Columbia Superior Court — Animal Legal Defense Fund v Hormel Foods Corp. Unfortunately, as too often happens when it comes to animal law, after years of litigation that question was not even addressed in the court’s recent decision dismissing the case based on standing and preemption. Kelsey and Dave explain why they think that decision was wrong and likely to be overturned on appeal and why this case is so important, not only because it drastically narrows the District’s consumer protection law, which had been thought to be the strongest in the country, but because of what it means for the unseen victims here, the animals trapped in Hormel’s supply chain.

Kelsey Eberly assists Animal Legal Defense Fund with its cases and projects. She graduated from UCLA Law School in May 2014, where she focused on animal, environmental, and administrative law. While attending law school, Kelsey was the chair of the UCLA Animal Law Society—that school’s Animal Legal Defense Fund Student Chapter. She was also a writing advisor to first year law students in UCLA’s Lawyering Skills clinical program. Prior to this, she earned a graduate certificate in Animal Policy and Advocacy from Humane Society University. In 2006, she received a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from Middlebury College, with a double major in English and Spanish.  

David Muraskin is a Food Safety & Health Attorney at Public Justice, focusing on Public Justice’s efforts to promote sustainable animal farming agriculture and hold factory farms accountable for the negative social and environmental effects of their production methods. Prior to joining Public Justice, he worked on a variety of consumer litigation, first as the Alan Morrison Supreme Court Assistance Project Fellow with Public Citizen and then as an attorney in McKool Smith’s whistleblower practice. He has worked with the United States and numerous States to prosecute first-of-its-kind qui tam litigation and represented clients in cases from state trial courts to the United States Supreme Court concerning constitutional and statutory claims. From 2009-2011, he was a law clerk to Judge James L. Dennis on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year! 

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast I welcome back to the Animal Law Podcast regular guest Delci Winders, who will give us updates on some interesting Animal Welfare Act cases. The first case deals with the blackout on the USDA’s website regarding information dealing with enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act. In 2017 the USDA deleted many Animal Welfare Act records from its website, reversing what had been an automatic practice of posting those records as part of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This has resulted in enormous problems for animal welfare organizations, consumers, and others in trying to figure out which entities are in compliance with the Act.

The second case we discuss involves an update on the USDA’s practice of rubber-stamping license renewals for facilities regardless of their compliance history. The agency has recently set forth a proposal to resolve this unfortunate situation. Delci discusses the good, and the bad, about that proposal. She also tells us her views on what proper enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act would look like.

Delcianna J. Winders is PETA’s Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Captive Animal Law Enforcement. She recently completed two years as the first Academic Fellow of the Harvard Animal Law & Policy Program and a visiting scholar position at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University.  Her work has appeared in the Denver Law Review, Ohio State Law Journal, NYU Law Review and the Animal Law Review and she has a piece forthcoming in the Florida State Law Review as well as a forthcoming book chapter on the Endangered Species Act and captive wildlife. Winders has also published extensively in the popular press.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year! 

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast I speak to Christopher Berry of the Animal Legal Defense Fund about ALDF vs. The Food and Drug Administration, an unusual and years-long Freedom of Information Act case involving attempts to obtain information about egg-laying hens in Texas. This case went to a full-blown trial, took up hundreds of attorney hours, and changed the standard of review for FOIA cases. Christopher talks to us about the unusual Texas law that led to the initial FOIA request, the unique challenges that this case posed, and what it could mean for the future of FOIA.

Christopher Berry is a senior staff attorney in the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s litigation program where he develops and litigates strategic impact cases affecting a broad range of animal protection issues including captive wildlife, companion animals, animals in research, and factory farms. His work on behalf of animals spans many areas of law and includes all stages of litigation including motion practice, trials, and appeals. As an undergraduate at the University of South Dakota, he authored an honors thesis arguing that invasive medical testing on animals violates fundamental principles of bioethics. Chris graduated from the law school at the University of Michigan Law School in 2011, and began working immediately afterward for the Animal Legal Defense Fund. 

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year! 

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast I speak to Jonathan Lovvorn, Chief Counsel and Senior VP for Animal Protection at the Humane Society of the United States. He tells us about some recent cases that attempted to invalidate statutory bans on the sale of particularly cruel products, including caged eggs, foie gras, and other products produced in extreme confinement, in California and Massachusetts. These cases, which involve, among other subjects, Constitutional issues of federal preemption and the dormant commerce clause, were recently denied an appeal to the Supreme Court, which is very good news for animals.

Jonathan Lovvorn is Chief Counsel & Senior Vice President for Animal Protection Litigation at The Humane Society of the United States. He also holds academic appointments at Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Georgetown University Law Center, and New York University School of Law. He teaches courses on animal law, wildlife law, and climate policy, and has published a number of articles concerning the intersection of animal law, environmental law, and food policy. He has litigated extensively on behalf of animals and the environment, written hundreds of state and federal animal protection laws, and served as the primary legal strategist for major animal protection ballot measures. He received an LL.M. in Environmental Law from Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College, and a J.D. from University of California Hastings College of the Law.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year! 

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast I speak to Amanda Howell, a Staff Attorney at the Animal Legal Defense Fund, about a lawsuit that was recently brought in federal court in Missouri seeking to invalidate, as unconstitutional, a law that prohibits the producers of plant-based and cell-based products from misrepresenting those products as “meat.” The plaintiffs in this case, Tofurky and the Good Food Institute, argue that  the language of the law is vague, over-protective, and ineffectual at protecting the public from misleading information.

Amanda Howell’s work at ALDF focuses on combating humane-washing, AgGag laws, and the animal agriculture industry’s attacks on plant-based foods. Prior to joining ALDF, Amanda co-headed the food law practice at the Stanley Law Group—using state consumer protection laws to combat false advertising and deceptive practices. Prior to that, Amanda served as Assistant Director of Litigation at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Amanda has contributed to the National Association of Consumer Advocates’ Standards and Guidelines publication, the National Consumer Law Center’s Class Actions Manual, and has co-authored an article for the Food and Drug Law Institute’s Food and Drug Policy Forum on “natural” labeling issues.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year! 

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I talk to Brittany Peet, the director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement at the PETA Foundation, about her efforts to use the Endangered Species Act to help some tiger cubs and other animals who have been subjected to horrific maltreatment at the rather disturbingly named organization Wildlife In Need, a roadside exhibitor in Indiana.

This case, captioned PETA v Wildlife in Need and Wildlife In Deed, is currently pending in the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, which has already issued a preliminary injunction. It highlights so much of what is wrong with our current regulation of captive wildlife and the alarmingly lax enforcement of the few regulations that are in place. Brittany will also tell us about a related successful action against Wildlife in Need’s veterinarian. 

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year! 

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I talk to Tony Eliseuson of the Animal Legal Defense Fund about the potential impact of the proposed and proceeding border wall between the United States and Mexico on many species of animals, including endangered ones. We also discuss the several ongoing legal cases surrounding these issues which are based on a wholesale disregard of numerous environmental law, including the Endangered Species Act.  I hope you find the conversation as shocking, and illuminating, as I did.

Tony is a nationally recognized attorney who joined the Animal Legal Defense Fund after a 15-year career as a partner with a leading global law firm. Tony’s path to the Animal Legal Defense Fund began when he was a young associate encouraged by a colleague with a passion for animal law. Tony went on to work on several pro bono cases with the Animal Legal Defense Fund before he joined as full time staff. Before leaving his firm, Tony was named a national Law360 Rising Star for 2014 and was selected to the Illinois Super Lawyer list each year from 2014 to 2017 .

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year! 

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I’m so pleased to welcome back Matthew Liebman of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, who will be speaking with us about the case of JUSTICE, an American Quarter Horse, by and through his Guardian, Kim Mosiman, Plaintiff, v. GWENDOLYN VERCHER, Defendant. It is certainly a unique case. Justice is bringing a negligence per se claim against his former owner, who previously pled guilty to misdemeanor animal neglect. We discuss the fascinating intricacies of this case, why negligence per se is a particularly apt cause of action for such groundbreaking litigation, what it means to be considered a “person” under the law, and the broader legal implications around Justice’s case. We also discuss the recent disappointing decision, and plans to appeal.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year! 

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I’m so pleased to welcome back environmental lawyer Bill Eubanks of Meyer, Glitzenstein & Eubanks, who will be speaking with us about wild horses. Specifically, he will be discussing plans currently underway at the Bureau of Land Management to clear all the wild horses out of the Caliente Complex, a 700,000 acre area of Nevada where these horses have roamed for many years. While the plan is to get every single one of these horses out, that is not the case for the thousands of cattle and sheep grazing in this area under sweetheart leases granted to private entities by the federal government. Bill will give us the latest on those plans, as well as on the lawsuit he has recently filed on the part of concerned organizations and individuals to stop this travesty.

Bill practices in the areas of federal appellate and trial court litigation under the Endangered Species Act and other federal statutes involving animals and the environment. He’s worked on cases challenging oil spill response strategies harming sea turtles, getting protections for Indiana bats from an industrial wind energy project, obtaining agency records regarding federal financing of coal-fired power facilities, forcing a reconsideration of critical habitat for the California tiger salamander, reducing off-road vehicle use in Big Cypress National Preserve. He also teaches a course examining the intersection of environmental law, food systems, and agricultural policy at Vermont Law School, American University’s Washington College of Law, and at the George Washington University Law School. Among his numerous publications is Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Law, which he co-authored and co-edited.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year! 

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I’m so pleased to welcome back Gabriel Walters, Counsel and Manager of Legislative Affairs for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Foundation, where he contributes to PETA’s efforts to pass legislation and win court cases that help animals. Joining us will be PETA Research Associate Jeremy Beckham, who will be providing his expertise on the facts of a very intriguing case. 

If you listened to the interview with Alka Chandna on Episode  392 of  the Our Hen House podcast you are already familiar with some of the underlying facts of the years of research that has been and continues to be performed on golden retrievers at Texas A&M University that is purported to be related to muscular dystrophy. In the lawsuit we will be discussing today, PETA is suing the university, which is a public, government-funded, university, for what it asserts are violations of the First Amendment in shutting out all comments on the University’s Facebook page regarding the research. What a fascinating topic! You do not want to miss this interview!

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year! 

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I’m bringing you something a little different. I speak with Justin Marceau not about a litigated case, but about the Animal Welfare Act and his recent Hastings Law Journal article, “How The Animal Welfare Act Harms Animals”.  We talk about the failings of this statute and the suffering that the Act contributes to, despite purporting to do otherwise.

Justin Marceau is a professor of law at the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver. The focus of his teaching and scholarship includes criminal law, criminal procedure, federal jurisdiction, constitutional law, habeas corpus, the death penalty, and animal law. He also holds what is believed to be the first animal law chair in the country, the Animal Legal Defense Fund Professorship. He was honored as the 2016 Vermont Law School Distinguished Scholar in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems and spent two weeks in residence at the Vermont Law School. He is actively researching a variety of food and animal law issues in preparation for a variety of courses and articles he hopes to pursue in the future.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year! 

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak with Kim Richman of the Richman Law Group about several different cases he is working on that are all tied together by the theme of “truth in advertising.” We discuss what it means when animal agriculture companies advertise their products as “all-natural,” how that relates to evidence that such food contains trace amounts of antibiotics, what the law says about calling food all-natural, and the consumer protection cases Kim is bringing against companies that he asserts are using advertising that is  deceptive.

Kim Richman, founder of the Richman Law Group, is a litigator of and for the people. Through an activist approach to law and policy, Kim has endeavored to clean our adulterated food systems of contaminants ranging from trans fat and GMOs to synthetic ingredients and pesticides. Most recently, Kim’s mission-driven client base of consumers, NGOs, and progressive business is focused on tackling factory farming practices that threaten animal welfare, the environment, and human health. The firm was founded on the idea that what has not been achieved through legislation can sometimes be achieved through litigation. This tight-knit cadre of tenacious and diverse professionals is dedicated to fighting for the rights of its clients, and through them, the needs of the community at large.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year! 

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, Mariann speaks with Sarah Hanneken, a litigation fellow at the Animal Legal Defense Fund, about the case of Brown v. Kemp, which was recently brought in federal District Court in Wisconsin. The case, brought by a journalist, a documentarian and an activist, seeks to invalidate some of the newly-enacted amendments to Wisconsin’s hunter harassment statute (Wis. Stat. § 29.083) on First Amendment and Due Process grounds.

They also talk about the important role of Wolf Patrol, an organization dedicated to the recovery of gray wolves in the lower 48 states. Wolf Patrol encourages “a greater understanding and tolerance for cultural world views that promote a harmonious co-existence with wolves and other predators.” Its activities in Wisconsin, and how they have been hampered by the hunter harassment statute, constitute much of the factual background for this case.  

Sarah Hanneken joined the Animal Legal Defense Fund in 2014 as a clerk in the Litigation Program. Through her work, Sarah hopes to shift people’s perception of the other species with whom we share our homes, neighborhoods and planet.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year! 

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, Mariann will be speaking with environmental lawyer Bill Eubanks of Meyer, Glizenstein & Eubanks about a case involving whether or not the National Environmental Policy Act and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act will be able to protect a pair of bald eagles in Colorado from developers. Bill gives us an in-depth explanation of the statutes relevant to this case, and discusses why it’s so important that the permit secured by the developers be vacated so that these nesting eagles and their newborn chicks can be protected.

Bill practices in the areas of federal appellate and trial court litigation under the Endangered Species Act and other federal statutes involving animals and the environment. He’s worked on cases challenging oil spill response strategies harming sea turtles, getting protections for Indiana bats from an industrial wind energy project, obtaining agency records regarding federal financing of coal-fired power facilities, forcing a reconsideration of critical habitat for the California tiger salamander, reducing off-road vehicle use in Big Cypress National Preserve. He also teaches a course examining the intersection of environmental law, food systems, and agricultural policy.at Vermont Law School, American University’s Washington College of Law, and at the George Washington University Law School. Among his numerous publications is Food, Agriculture, and Environmental Law, which he co-authored and co-edited.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year! 

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, Mariann will be speaking with three educators from Harvard’s Animal Law & Policy Program. Faculty Director Kristen Stilt, Executive Director Chris Green, and Policy Director Jonathan Lovvorn. They take Mariann on a deep dive into all the aspects of this fascinating program. You’ll hear about the various classes offered in animal law, how the faculty and students are working together to change the landscape of animal law, and the upcoming development of an Animal Law and Policy Clinic.

They also discuss their individual focuses. Kristen talks about her work related to animal welfare in the Halal meat industry. Jon elaborates on his studies on the impacts of food animals and domestic animals on climate change, and Chris talks about his involvement with the summer program at the University of Illinois with the Animals and Society Institute.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its ninth glorious year! 

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast,  Mariann will be speaking once again with Steven Wise, who heads up the Nonhuman Rights Project, and who was last on the podcast on Episodes 1 and 2 to tell us about the litigation brought in New York State trying to free several chimpanzees living in New York.

Today, Steve will be updating us about that case, but primarily he’ll be talking about the NHRP’s latest habeas corpus petition, Matter of Nonhuman Rights Project o.b.o. Beulah, Minnie and Karen v R.W. Commerford & Sons. This matter, brought in Connecticut on behalf of three elephants, has recently been rejected by a Connecticut court in a rather peculiar decision, which pointed out, among other things, that the elephants’ owners were in a better position to litigate on their behalf than the Nonhuman Rights Project. Pretty strange, right?

Steve is, of course, the founder and president of the NhRP. He has practiced and taught animal protection law for 30 years throughout the US and is the author of four books: Rattling the Cage – Toward Legal Rights for Animals; Drawing the Line – Science and the Case for Animal Rights; Though the Heavens May Fall – The Landmark Trial That Led to the End of Human Slavery; and An American Trilogy – Death, Slavery, and Dominion Along the Banks of the Cape Fear River.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eighth glorious year! 

Welcome to the 31st episode of the Animal Law Podcast! Mariann is joined once again by Delcianna Winders, PETA’s Vice President and Deputy General Counsel for Captive Animal Law Enforcement, to discuss PETA v Miami Seaquarium, which she just argued in the 11th Circuit. The case involves an animal with whom you are probably also familiar. Lolita is an orca who, in spite of enormous efforts to help her both from on the ground activists and activist lawyers, continues to languish in absolutely hideous conditions at the Miami Seaquarium. The case we will be discussing today holds out the best hope for getting her out of the hideous conditions in which she lives and setting precedent to require that the Endangered Species Act be enforced in a way that does more for the animals it purports to protect.

Though Delci is now with PETA, she recently completed two years as the first Academic Fellow of the Harvard Animal Law & Policy Program. She has published extensively both in academic venues and in the popular press and she has taught animal law at a number of prominent law schools. She is also an author of the chapter on animal welfare in the upcoming third edition of the American Bar Association treatise on the Endangered Species Act.

Delcianna Winders is vice president and deputy general counsel for Captive Animal Law Enforcement for the PETA Foundation and a Haub Environmental Visiting Scholar at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. Delci’s legal advocacy pushes authorities to create and enforce laws designed to help captive animals who are suffering in roadside zoos or beaten into performing in circuses, and her scholarship focuses on the intersection of administrative and animal law.  She recently completed a two-year stint as Harvard’s first-ever Animal Law & Policy academic fellow, has published in media outlets and law reviews across the country, and was featured in O, The Oprah Magazine as one of “Six Women Who Dare.”

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eighth glorious year! 

Welcome to the 30th episode of the Animal Law Podcast! Mariann is joined by Matthew Strugar of the Law Office of Matthew Strugar, who returns to the Animal Law Podcast to discuss a suit recently filed on behalf of the White Coat Waste Project against the Greater Richmond Transit Company for refusing to run White Coat Waste’s advertisement criticizing deadly and invasive dog experiments at the Richmond-based Hunter Holmes McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Researchers at the McGuire VAMC have induced heart attacks in dogs, surgically implanted pacemakers in dogs and forced them to run on treadmills, and killed dogs in botched surgeries. The McGuire VAMC is the only federal laboratory conducting maximum pain experiments on dogs in which pain relief is intentionally withheld. Because the McGuire VA’s dog experiments are funded by taxpayers, White Coat Waste Project attempted to run ads on Richmond buses in conjunction with Tax Week this past April. The transit company rejected the ad citing its vague policy against “political ads.” Matthew will explain why this refusal is, in his view, in violation of the First Amendment.

Matthew began his career at the Center for Constitutional Rights in NYC, where he supported the SHAC 7—animal rights activists who faced charges under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. In 2011, he joined the PETA Foundation as Director of Litigation, where he oversaw and litigated matters involving the First Amendment and animal law. More recently, Matthew founded the Law Office of Matthew Strugar to return to civil rights, prisoners’ rights, police misconduct, and protester defense, in addition to animal law.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eighth glorious year! 

Welcome to the 29th episode of the Animal Law Podcast! Mariann is joined by Kelsey Eberly of the Animal Legal Defense Fund, who returns to the Animal Law Podcast to discuss the 9th Circuit’s recent decision in Association des Éleveurs de Canards et D’oies du Quebec v Becerra.  The battle to ban the force-feeding of ducks and geese and the sale of its products has been long fought in California. In this eagerly awaited decision, the Court overturned a prior decision of the district court that had found that California’s landmark law regulating the production and sale of foie gras was preempted by federal law.

Kelsey Eberly is a staff attorney at ALDF and has been working on a wide variety of cases and matters involving foie gras and the cruel method of force-feeding used to produce it. She was among the attorneys who worked on the amicus brief filed by ALDF in this case.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eighth glorious year! 

Welcome to the 28th episode of the Animal Law Podcast! Mariann is joined by Laura Friend to discuss a recently decided case in which The Humane Society of the United States, along with the Conservation Council of Hawaii, the Center for Biological Diversity, and multiple individual plaintiffs, sued the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources for failing to comply with the Hawaii Environmental Policy Act (HEPA) in issuing permits for the industrial collection of aquarium fish from Hawaii’s delicate coral reefs. Hawaii is the largest domestic source of species intended for the aquarium trade, and the Department was issuing permit upon permit for companies to remove unlimited numbers of rare and exotic fish without any consideration of the devastating impacts these activities have on the environment. After losing at the trial court level, and losing in the intermediate court of appeals, Plaintiffs finally obtained victory earlier this month when the Supreme Court of Hawaii ruled that these devastating practices could no longer continue without first undergoing environmental review. This decision explained that the aquarium industry impacts the coral reef ecosystem, and therefore is covered under HEPA. The decision also creates strong legal precedent for the broad reach of that Act to apply in many other circumstances that impact animal welfare and conservation.

Laura Friend is an attorney for The Humane Society of the United States, where she began working after graduating from Georgetown University Law Center in 2014. She is part of the Wildlife and Animal Research team of HSUS’ Animal Protection Litigation department. Laura’s docket covers a wide variety of issues, from fighting to increase protections for marine mammals and captive exotic animals, to combatting international wildlife trafficking and inhumane hunting practices across the country.  She accomplishes these goals through a variety of means, including drafting administrative petitions and comments on proposed agency actions, and filing lawsuits and amicus briefs to advance the organization’s cause.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eighth glorious year! 

Welcome to the 27th episode of the Animal Law Podcast! Mariann is joined by Matthew Strugar, who tells us about a Federal judge’s decision to declare Utah’s ag-gag law unconstitutional. The Ag Gag Law was part of a movement among agricultural states to stop undercover investigations by animal rights groups. Like other state’s ag gag laws, Utah’s made it a crime to obtain employment at an animal agricultural facility and then film mistreatment. It also made it a crime to obtain employment at an animal agricultural facility through misrepresentation, including when an applicant refused to out himself or herself as an animal rights activist as part of the application process.

Matthew began his career at the Center for Constitutional Rights in NYC, where he supported the SHAC 7—animal rights activists who faced charges under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. In 2011, he joined the PETA Foundation as Director of Litigation, where he oversaw and litigated matters involving the First Amendment and animal law. More recently, Matthew founded the Law Office of Matthew Strugar to return to civil rights, prisoners’ rights, police misconduct, and protester defense, in addition to animal law.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eighth glorious year! 

Welcome to the 26th episode of the Animal Law Podcast! Mariann is joined by Jonathan Lovvorn, Senior Vice President and Chief Counsel for Animal Protection Litigation at The Humane Society of the United States, where he has litigated extensively on behalf of animals and the environment. Jon also holds academic appointments at Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Georgetown University Law Center, and New York University School of Law, and has published a number of articles concerning animal law, climate change, and wildlife policy.

On this episode, Jon tells us about Waterkeeper Alliance v EPA, in which the DC Circuit ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to close a loophole that has allowed hazardous substances released into the environment by factory farms to go unreported. This is a rare victory in the fight against the toxic emissions spewing from factory farms, and, among other things, Jon and Mariann discuss whether this favorable decision is a hopeful harbinger of increased attention to the environmental harms of factory farming. As part of this discussion, Jon offers his thoughtful and considered fears regarding climate change and the enormous contributions of animal agriculture to that and other harms.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eighth glorious year! 

Welcome to the 25th episode of the Animal Law Podcast! Mariann is joined by Collette Adkins, Senior Attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity in the Endangered Species Program, who focuses on combating exploitation and cruel treatment of rare wildlife. 

On this episode, Collette talks about the lawsuit against the Trump administration for repealing protections for wolves, bears, and other wildlife on Alaska’s national wildlife refuges. President Trump signed legislation on April 3 — rushed through Congress under the Congressional Review Act — that repealed an Obama administration rule that prohibited killing wolves and their pups in their dens, gunning down bears at bait stations, and shooting them from airplanes. Under the legislation signed by Trump, all of these practices can now be allowed. This case raises some fascinating and complex issues, including Constitutional considerations of separation of powers.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eighth glorious year! 

Welcome to the 24th episode of the Animal Law Podcast! Mariann is joined by Jenni James, counsel for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Foundation. Through lawsuits, support for new legislation, and other legal efforts, Jenni pushes authorities to create and enforce local, state, and federal laws designed to help animals who are used and abused.

On this episode we are going to be talking about Cohhn v Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, which is currently pending in the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland. This case brings together a number of interesting and important themes, including the potential uses of taxpayer standing (hint: Maryland is pretty special here!), the hideous cruelty of bow-hunting, and the tendency for exceptions to cruelty laws to grow much bigger than they were meant to be because of the completely erroneous assumption that, if something is exempted from a cruelty law, that means it’s not cruel.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Special thanks to OHH’s Anne Green and Michael Harren. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eighth glorious year! 

Welcome to the 23rd episode of the Animal Law Podcast! Mariann is joined by Gabriel Walters, Counsel and Manager of Legislative Affairs for the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Foundation, where he contributes to PETA’s efforts to pass legislation and win court cases that help animals. He’ll be talking about PETA v Department of Agricultural Resources, which is currently pending in the Supreme Court of Massachusetts.  The case involves PETA’s attempts to gain some information about primates coming into Massachusetts and the stone wall that they ran into. Massachusetts Public Records Law, which is a mini-Freedom of Information Law – was interpreted in some very peculiar, and ominous, ways in order to keep this information out of PETA’s hands. This case, now on appeal, is an important one for anyone interested in keeping the information flowing regarding what’s happening to animals.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Special thanks to OHH’s Anne Green and Michael Harren. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eighth glorious year! 

This is no place for a tiger

Welcome to the 22nd episode of the Animal Law Podcast! Today, Mariann is joined by Matthew Liebman, Director of Litigation at the Animal Legal Defense Fund, and Adam Milasincic, trial lawyer with the Houston firm Ahmad, Zavitsanos, Anaipakos, Alavi & Mensing P.C.  Matthew and Adam update us on the case against Landry’s, or to be precise, on Landry’s case against animal activists. For over a decade, Landry’s Downtown Aquarium in Houston, Texas has deprived four white tigers of everything that even remotely resembles what their life would be in the wild. These tigers – Nero, Marina, Coral, and Reef – have no opportunities to run, jump or engage in other natural behaviors. Although the Animal Legal Defense Fund offered last year to re-home the tigers in lieu of litigation, that offer was rejected. Instead, Landry’s decided to sue ALDF and others for libel. Undeterred, the defendants brought a motion to dismiss that not only succeeded, but did so in spectacular fashion.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Special thanks to OHH’s Anne Green and Michael Harren. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eighth glorious year! 

Welcome to the 21st episode of the Animal Law Podcast! Today, Mariann is joined by Delcianna J. Winders, currently an Academic Fellow of the Harvard Animal Law & Policy Program and a co-plaintiff in a lawsuit against the USDA. This Freedom of Information Law suit seeks to compel the USDA to replace the records, recently purged from their website, that detail violations of the Animal Welfare Act. This is a huge crisis for anyone working to help animals in the industries that are regulated by the Act, and they are fighting back! In fact, this situation is moving so quickly that Mariann and Delci recorded an update about an additional lawsuit filed in this ongoing saga. Listen and learn the latest on the fight to get the records back!

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Special thanks to OHH’s Anne Green and Michael Harren. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eighth glorious year! 

James Whitlock

Welcome to the 20th episode of the Animal Law Podcast! Today, Mariann is joined by Jamie Whitlock and Doug Ruley, who focus on environmental law at Davis & Whitlock, P.C., in Asheville, North Carolina. Jamie has litigated numerous environmental and land use cases in federal district courts nationwide, the state courts of North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, and Arkansas, and in local and administrative venues throughout the southeast. Doug has litigated cases involving the forests and biodiversity of the Appalachians, air and water pollution, and transportation and land use, among many others. 

Douglas Ruley

On today’s show, Jamie and Doug discuss the deplorable conditions at the Cherokee Bear Zoo for grizzly bears, who live out their lives in concrete pits begging for food from benighted tourists. Can this be legal? Jamie and Doug, who have brought a lawsuit seeking to free the bears, consider how the intersections between the Endangered Species Act and the Animal Welfare Act open up the possibility of freeing them from their terrible lives. What does it mean to “harm,” “take” and “harass” captive wildlife? What is a “generally accepted” husbandry practice? We’ll consider these and other questions, and what the answers mean for these desperate animals.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Special thanks to OHH’s Anne Green and Michael Harren. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eighth glorious year! 

Welcome to the 19th episode of the Animal Law Podcast! Today, Mariann is joined by attorney Bryan Pease. Bryan’s law practice focuses on government transparency and freedom of speech and assembly, as well as the protection of animals, the environment, and consumers. He’s been involved in numerous cases on behalf of activists with the Animal Protection and Rescue League, which he co-founded in 2003.

On today’s show, Bryan and Mariann discuss the lawsuit he recently brought in federal court in California arguing that the treatment of chickens for the religious ritual of Kapporot is in violation of California’s anti-cruelty law. Not only does this case involve questions about how a private citizen can get into court to argue that California’s criminal cruelty law has been violated, but it brings up hugely important issues regarding conflicts between First Amendment freedoms and the enforcement of laws protecting animals. You are not going to want to miss this one!

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Special thanks to OHH’s Anne Green and Michael Harren. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its seventh glorious year! 

Welcome to the 18th episode of the Animal Law Podcast! Today, we are joined by Ryan Shapiro and Jeffrey Light. Ryan is a Ph.D. candidate at MIT, as well as a Research Affiliate at Harvard University, and a leading expert on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Jeffrey, who is Ryan’s lawyer, is a D.C.-based FOIA specialist attorney, who also specializes in activist defense and civil rights. 

On today’s show, Ryan and Jeffrey discuss how they used FOIA to expose the improprieties of a major agricultural lobby and a U.S. government agency against Hampton Creek Foods. They also talk about their other animal and activist work, including a new project called Operation 45. This episode is sure to give you hope!

Signed into law in 1966 by President Johnson, the Animal Welfare Act turns 50 this year. The Animal Law and Policy program at Harvard Law School marks this anniversary with the conference The Animal Welfare Act at Fifty, bringing together experts from the academic, legal, governmental, and non-profit arenas to assess the past and consider recommendations for the future of the AWA. Friday and Saturday, December 2 & 3 at Harvard Law School. Space is limited, so register now.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Audio editing is provided by Eric Milano of Love Loft Studio. Special thanks to OHH’s Anne Green and Michael Harren. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its seventh glorious year! 

Welcome to the 17th episode of the Animal Law Podcast! Today, I am joined by Matthew Liebman, Chief Legal Counsel in the litigation program at the Animal Legal Defense Fund. Matthew has litigated cases including ALDF v. Otter, the first lawsuit to successfully invalidate an Ag-Gag law; and Bennett v. McDaniel, which rescued a captive bear from a small concrete cage where she had languished for 16 years, among many others. 

On today’s show, Matthew takes us through the case against Santa Cruz Biotechnology, a producer and purveyor of antibodies that uses live animals; in essence, it’s a blood farm. Using California’s Unfair Competition Law, ALDF seeks to demonstrate that California’s state animal cruelty laws are being violated. Although ALDF’s case was initially dismissed, after a shockingly effective enforcement action by the United States Department of Agriculture under the Animal Welfare Act, ALDF’s case has been refiled.

Signed into law in 1966 by President Johnson, the Animal Welfare Act turns 50 this year. The Animal Law and Policy program at Harvard Law School marks this anniversary with the conference The Animal Welfare Act at Fifty, bringing together experts from the academic, legal, governmental, and non-profit arenas to assess the past and consider recommendations for the future of the AWA. Friday and Saturday, December 2 & 3 at Harvard Law School. Space is limited, so register now.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Audio editing is provided by Eric Milano of Love Loft Studio. Special thanks to OHH’s Jasmin Singer, Anne Green, and Michael Harren. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its seventh glorious year! 

Welcome to the 16th episode of the Animal Law Podcast! Today, I am joined by Michael Jasny, Director of the Marine Mammal Protection Project at the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). Michael is a leading expert in the law and policy of ocean noise pollution. For more than a decade, he has directed high-profile litigation, lobbying efforts, science-based policy development, and public advocacy to improve the regulation of this emergent global problem. 

On today’s show, Michael tells us about a recent victory for whales and other marine mammals in the 9th Circuit. In NRDC v Pritzker, the court was confronted with the questions that arise under the Marine Mammal Protection Act when the Navy is too noisy. Of course, what we’re talking about here is not ordinary noise, it’s the kind of unrelenting noise created by sonar that can drive these animals insane. You’re going to want to hear all about this victory, and why the Marine Mammal Protection Act is such a powerful statute for animals (and why it’s not nearly powerful enough).

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Audio editing is provided by Eric Milano of Love Loft Studio. Special thanks to OHH’s Jasmin Singer, Anne Green, and Michael Harren. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its seventh glorious year! 

Welcome to the 15th episode of the Animal Law Podcast! Today I am joined by Delcianna J. Winders, who is currently an Academic Fellow of the Harvard Animal Law & Policy Program and who formerly headed up the PETA Foundation‘s Captive Animal Law Enforcement Division. I could not be more excited about this episode, not only because I have known Delci since she was in law school, but also because she has been doing some kick-ass research on one of my favorite topics, the federal Animal Welfare Act.

Among the things I’ll be discussing with Delci are “warnings” and how they are used, or misused, in administrative law. Specifically, when it comes to animals, what exactly does it mean when someone who is licensed by the USDA to keep animals under the Act receives a “warning” that they are not up to snuff?  (Spoiler alert: it doesn’t mean much.) She’ll also be talking about why renewals of licenses, even for facilities that have been found in violation of the Act, are simply “rubber-stamped” as A-OK. Is this the way that licensing is supposed to work, or should it be tougher to renew? That’s a question the courts have been struggling with, and Delci will be offering her own opinion on this hotly contested issue.

Delci will also tell us a bit about the Harvard Animal Law and Policy Program, which I know everyone is eager to hear about. All in all, I think it’s safe to say that you’re going to find this episode extremely enlightening.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Audio editing is provided by Eric Milano of Love Loft Studio. Special thanks to OHH’s Jasmin Singer, Anne Green, and Michael Harren. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its seventh glorious year! 

We’re headed to Canada for Episode 14 of the Animal Law Podcast for a discussion of, yes, bestiality, and a rather surprising decision by the Canadian Supreme Court. I am joined by two superb Canadian animal law attorneys, Camille Labchuk, the executive director of Animal Justice, and Peter Sankoff, a law professor with the University of Alberta Faculty of Law.

They will discuss the Court’s decision in R. v D.L.W., a case in which they were actively involved as intervenors, and they will also explain why that decision, though, on the surface, disappointing, actually demonstrates why animals are making headway in the Canadian courts.

I’ll also be talking about the Oregon Supreme Court’s recent decision in State v Newcomb, which involves the question of whether the defendant’s property rights extend so far as to prohibit the State from drawing blood — without a warrant — from her emaciated dog in order to diagnose him. As it turned out, the diagnosis was starvation, which led to criminal charges for the defendant. Hailed by many as a groundbreaking decision regarding the status of animals as property, this case actually may not go as far as some hope, but it is certainly still a step in the right direction.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Audio editing is provided by Eric Milano of Love Loft Studio. Special thanks to OHH’s Jasmin Singer, Anne Green, and Michael Harren. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its seventh glorious year! 

When I first heard that these chimps, who had been trapped in research facilities in the US for their whole lives, were not going to sanctuary, I was very disappointed. The sanctuary movement for chimpanzees has grown by leaps and bounds to accommodate all of these extraordinary individuals who are, at long last, emerging from hell. Then, when I heard that they were being sent, instead, to a zoo in England, where they would be put on display and most likely bred, I was confused. How the hell was that happening?

But when I heard the full story, which is still unfolding and whose final chapter has yet to be written, I was furious. You will be too, and you will also be fascinated by the legal battle that is being waged to get the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to require that these chimpanzees end up where they belong — in a sanctuary that will care for them and look out for their best interests, and will not try to make a buck (or a pound) off of them.

That battle is being waged by one of the finest lawyers in the animal law movement, Katherine Meyer, a founding partner of the extraordinary public interest law firm of Meyer, Glitzenstein and Eubanks. You will not want to miss the exciting, convoluted and, yes, infuriating legal tale of the efforts to get these animals to safety, using the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Freedom of Information Act.

Before Kathy joins me, I’ll be talking about some of the latest developments for emotional support animals. Yes, I know that all of us get emotional support from animals, but the whole question of who qualifies legally as such, and exactly what that means for whether those animals can stay in their homes, is a complicated and, increasingly, a controversial one.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Audio editing is provided by Eric Milano of Love Loft Studio. Special thanks to OHH’s Jasmin Singer, Anne Green, and Michael Harren. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its seventh glorious year! 

I am so excited about Episode #12 of the Animal Law Podcast! This episode features the the Humane Society of the United States’ Nick Arrivo, and he will be talking about his efforts to protect some iconic American predators, including Grizzly Bears, cougars, and bobcats, from the ravages of hunting and trapping. It’s a pretty complicated business, involving state and federal administrative law, and includes a discussion of how the Endangered Species Act can sometimes be used to protect animals who are not “endangered” within the meaning of that statute (though they are certainly in plenty of danger from those who wish them harm). Why does everyone hate the predators so much? Could it have something to do with the livestock industry wanting to protect their turf?

Before we talk to Nick, I’ll be offering some of my opinions (pretty negative ones) on one of the legislative roadblocks set up by the State of New York to protect the dairy industry from competition. Why is it that the government seems to think it’s a bad thing if someone produces a vegetable based product that tastes like milk and is cheaper than milk, even when that product is clearly labeled as “non-dairy?” Who is the government trying to protect here, consumers or the dairy industry? Hmmmm. I’ll leave it to you to figure that out.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Audio editing is provided by Eric Milano of Love Loft Studio. Special thanks to OHH’s Jasmin Singer, Anne Green, and Michael Harren. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its seventh glorious year! 

Episode #11 of the Animal Law Podcast has hit the airwaves! This episode features the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Lindsay Larris, who will tell us about the lawsuit, brought by a bunch of people who say they got bamboozled by Barkworks, a California pet store chain that is telling people they don’t get their puppies from puppy mills. ALDF asserts that’s not entirely (or even a little bit!) true. Since the laws protecting consumers from being deceived are a whole lot stronger than the laws protecting the puppies themselves, that’s the way to get them into court and, hopefully, save lots of puppies (as well as their doggie parents, not to mention their human guardians) from mistreatment. Next steps in this important lawsuit — let’s make this a class action!

I will, as always, also be shooting my mouth off. I’ll take the opportunity to discuss some articles that David Wolfson and I wrote years ago about farmed animals and the law. “Foxes in the Henhouse: Animals Agribusiness and the Law, A Modern American Fable” in Animal Rights: Current Debates and New Directions; “What’s Good for the Goose… The Supreme Court of Israel, Foie Gras, and the Future of Farmed Animals in the United States,” in the 2007 volume of the Duke Journal of Law and Contemporary Problems; and “If it Looks Like a Duck: New Jersey, The Regulation of Common Farming Practices, and the Meaning of ‘Humane,’” in Animal Law and the Courts. Then I’ll discuss some of the new developments in regulations regarding farmed animals — from the recent retraction by the German government of its proposed regulation banning the grinding up of male chicks to the new proposed regulations from the Obama administration regarding the treatment of farmed animals in organic production — and I’ll discuss why the industry is never going to be regulated, or persuaded, to treat animals any better because they simply can’t afford to do so. It’s just too expensive.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Audio editing is provided by Eric Milano of Love Loft Studio. Special thanks to OHH’s Jasmin Singer, Anne Green, and Michael Harren. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its seventh glorious year! 

Episode #10 of the Animal Law Podcast is up, and it’s an important one! This episode features the Animal Legal Defense Fund‘s Jessica Blome, Senior Staff Attorney, and Jeff Pierce, Litigation Fellow, and they will be telling us about their recent victory in their fight to get animals out of the Cricket Hollow Zoo, a roadside outfit in Iowa. Aside from the enormity of this victory for the animals directly involved, this case sets an important precedent for using the Endangered Species Act in the future to protect captive animals. Already, other efforts are under way to get these animals OUT! This case is one more piece of evidence that things are shifting for animals and attitudes are changing, in the courts and in society.

I’ll also be talking about how lawyers who aren’t litigators are working, or could be working, to help animals. The importance of transactional work and the need for lawyers to negotiate and advise in order to help animals is sometimes overlooked in the focus on litigation. I was reminded of this by the recent article in the Michigan State Law Review by the brilliant Professor Taimie Bryant, of UCLA Law School. If, as I have said about a million times, the single most important thing anyone can do to help animals is make delicious vegan food, then perhaps the single most important thing lawyers can do for animals is help people who are making that food negotiate regulations and get their products on the market.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Audio editing is provided by Eric Milano of Love Loft Studio. Special thanks to OHH’s Jasmin Singer, Anne Green, and Michael Harren. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its seventh glorious year! 

Great news! For Episode 9 of the Animal Law Podcast, I will be joined by the brilliant Eric Glitzenstein of Meyer, Glitzenstein and Eubanks in Washington, DC. Eric is a highly experienced environmental and animal attorney and what he has to say about the wind industry (yup) and animals may surprise you. He’ll be discussing some recent successful litigation brought to make sure that the Fish and Wildlife Service does not let Big Wind off the hook in making sure that it sites its projects in ways that do not destroy eagle populations. This interview really highlights that, when it comes to animals, messing with the environment — even with good intentions — must be done with care and attention to the needs of animals.

I’ll also be talking about an update on PETA’s suit against Whole Foods, which I spoke about with PETA attorney Jared Goodman on Episode 5, and I’ll be shooting off my mouth about why animal protection groups are not necessarily all on the same page when it comes to going after products derived from animals that are better than the rest, but still pretty awful.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Audio editing is provided by Eric Milano of Love Loft Studio. Special thanks to OHH’s Jasmin Singer, Anne Green, and Michael Harren. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its seventh glorious year! 

Bruce Wagman

I am delighted to be joined for Episode 8 of the Animal Law Podcast by long time animal rights lawyer and partner at Schiff Hardin, Bruce Wagman. Bruce will explain the completely crazy situation that has been created by the USDA’s refusal to write regulations covering birds under the Animal Welfare Act, even though they have admitted FOR YEARS that such regulations are warranted and necessary. While there are many egregious situations that come up in animal law, the government’s acknowledged failure to comply with the law in this instance is simply outrageous. Bruce will also tell us about the litigation he has brought on behalf of the Alternatives Research & Development Foundation, that will attempt to compel this relief long due, and long denied, to the birds who are covered by the Act. It’s really a crazy situation.

I’ll also be talking about emotional support animals, and one particular emotional support turkey who recently flew Delta. Can turkeys qualify as emotional support animals? What’s the difference between emotional support animals and service animals? And what should the rules really be when it comes to recognizing the emotional support animals supply to people? I may not answer all these questions, but I’ll certainly offer some opinions. I always like to do that!

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Audio editing is provided by Eric Milano of Love Loft Studio. Special thanks to OHH’s Jasmin Singer, Anne Green, and Michael Harren. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its seventh glorious year! 

Jasmin and I were just in France, and, though we had a wonderful time and piles of delicious vegan food, sadly, the foie gras was everywhere. It is, after all, Christmas, and apparently that’s considered the perfect season to eat the swollen, diseased liver of a duck or goose who has repeatedly had food forced down his throat.

Foie gras is also the topic for this month’s Animal Law Podcast, though we’ll be talking about banning it, not eating it for the holidays. Our guest is Kelsey Eberly, an attorney with the Animal Legal Defense Fund, who is heading up their current efforts to get this abomination off the table and into the dustbin of history. From a federal petition to have foie gras, which is, after all, the liver of a seriously ill animal, declared an “adulterated” food, to defending, so far unsuccessfully, California’s law banning the sale of this hideous food, ALDF has mounted numerous efforts against foie gras. Tune in to hear Kelsey go into detail on each of them.

Before Kelsey joins me, I’ll also be talking about foie gras, and specifically about the Israeli Supreme Court’s groundbreaking decision to ban force-feeding. My colleague David Wolfson and I wrote an article about that a few years back, and, as far as I’m concerned, it’s a decision that remains intensely interesting for anyone who cares about animals.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Plus, we offer some fantastic thank you gifts for your donations. Thank you for helping us create quality content! 

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Audio editing is provided by Eric Milano of Love Loft Studio. Special thanks to OHH’s Jasmin Singer, Anne Green, and Alessandra Seiter. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its sixth glorious year! 

I’m so excited about Episode #6 of the Animal Law Podcast! This episode features Anna Frostic, the Senior Attorney for Wildlife and Animal Research for the Humane Society of the United States’ Animal Protection Litigation department, and she has an important story to tell about the long-term battle to get chimpanzees out of research facilities in the United States. This effort has had many different components, in the legislatures, the agencies, and the courts, and each development has depended on the work that was done before it. Sometimes legal change doesn’t happen all at once, and we are lucky to be witness to fruits of this work. As we all know all too well, there are not a lot of legal successes in the movement to protect animals, and we should savor them when they occur, and learn from them in order to come up with ways to bring protections to all chimpanzees, and, of course, to animals who don’t belong to species that are in such special favor.

I’ll also be talking about my upcoming trip to Paris, where I’ll be headed to UNESCO headquarters to  present a paper co-authored with the brilliant Professor Taimie Bryant, of UCLA Law School at a conference sponsored by La Fondation Droit Animal, Éthique et Sciences. I’ll be discussing why it is so difficult to achieve reform for animals in the United States, and, in particular, why so many legislative attempts ultimately fail to be sustained in the courts. From foie gras, to pig slaughter, to shoes made out of kangaroos, why is it so hard to pass laws that “stick?”

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Plus, we offer some fantastic thank you gifts for your donations. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Audio editing is provided by Eric Milano of Love Loft Studio. Special thanks to OHH’s Jasmin Singer, Anne Green, and Alessandra Seiter. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its sixth glorious year! 

Jared Goodman + kitties

Here it is – Episode #5 of the Animal Law Podcast! This brand new episode features Jared Goodman, Director of Litigation for the PETA Foundation, whom I love chatting with, and not only because he is my former student (!). An even better reason is that he has been keeping himself busy causing well-deserved legal trouble for all sorts of animal users and abusers. This week, we will be talking to Jared about PETA’s recent lawsuit against Whole Foods regarding some of the language Whole Foods uses to describe its meat products. When it comes to animals, is Whole Foods the angel or the devil? Or something in between? Regardless of where you come down on that question, we can all agree that they should be telling us the truth, and PETA claims that they’re not. Jared will also be filling us in on what PETA’s recent undercover investigation at a Whole Foods supplier uncovered, and why he believes it provides further support for the lawsuit. 

I’ll also be talking about language, the stock in trade of every lawyer, and the sometimes very odd meanings given to words when they apply to animals. What does “sentience” really mean, anyway? Or, when someone says that it was “necessary” to cause an animal to suffer, do they really mean necessary, in any coherent definition of that word? Language can get pretty tricky when people are talking about animals and that can have some major implications for the law.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Plus, we offer some fantastic thank you gifts for your donations. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Audio editing is provided by Eric Milano of Love Loft Studio. Special thanks to OHH’s Jasmin Singer, Anne Green, and Alessandra Seiter. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its sixth glorious year! 

Matt Penzer

It’s time for Episode 4 of the Animal Law Podcast, hosted by me — Mariann Sullivan! This brand new episode features Matt Penzer, who has been heading up the “check-off” litigation for HSUS. Matt will rip the lid off the machinations of the pork industry to funnel millions of dollars collected by the USDA into financing its lobbying efforts. And what do you suppose the pork industry spends its time, and money lobbying for? To a large degree, it is lobbying against the legislative efforts of animal rights advocates to ban things like gestation crates. Pretty sleazy, right? Matt will be filling us in on the details of the recent decision from the DC Circuit allowing this litigation to move forward. If successful, this lawsuit could result in the pork industry losing millions of dollars in lobbying funds. We’ll also chat a bit about some of the other uses (and misuses) of the largely invisible checkoff programs, including the recent revelations about the use of egg checkoff money to take down vegan mayo producer Hampton Creek Foods.

I’ll also be offering a few opinions of my own about when litigation on behalf of animals is useful. Sometimes it’s so frustrating that the changes we can make via the law, even when we’re successful, seem so small. In a legal landscape where opportunities for legal change are limited, when is it worth it? It’s a tough question, and one we all have to think about all the time.

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You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Plus, we offer some fantastic thank you gifts for your donations. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Audio editing is provided by Eric Milano of Love Loft Studio. Special thanks to OHH’s Jasmin Singer, Anne Green, and Alessandra Seiter. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its sixth glorious year! 

Photo courtesy of University of Denver — Sturm College of Law

We’re so excited about Episode 3 of the Animal Law Podcast! This brand new episode features Professor Justin Marceau, one of the lead counsel on the recent Ag Gag victory in Idaho. He’ll be filling us in on the details of that decision, in which Idaho’s hideous law was held unconstitutional in Federal district court on 1st Amendment and Equal Protection grounds. He’ll also be talking a bit about what this means for the future of ag gag in other states around the country, and he’ll also tell us all about his new role at the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law, where he holds the nation’s first Chair in Animal Law.

As you may know, the first two episodes of The Animal Law Podcast featured Steven Wise (Episode 1 and Episode 2), talking about the efforts of the Nonhuman Rights Project to obtain personhood, and habeas corpus, for chimpanzees. (Bonus: Read the transcripts from Episodes 1 & 2!) Today’s episode is so very different — talking about lawyers who are defending the rights of activists to let us know what is really happening on factory farms. Animal law truly runs the gamut, and, as it turns out, both cases are on the cutting edge of the law.

I’ll also be offering a few opinions of my own, including a brief discussion about a few recent cases that have upheld the rights of communities to ban the sale of puppy mill dogs. There’s so much happening!

You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Plus, we offer some fantastic thank you gifts for your donations. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Audio editing is provided by Eric Milano of Love Loft Studio. Special thanks to OHH’s Jasmin Singer, Anne Green, and Alessandra Seiter. Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning,  weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its sixth glorious year! 

As you are probably aware, a decision just came down in one of the Nonhuman Rights Project‘s groundbreaking lawsuits regarding chimpanzees being held captive in New York State. Since the Animal Law Podcast had interviewed Steven Wise for Episode 1 regarding these cases, we wanted to make sure you got this latest update. Fortunately, he graciously agreed to come back on and inform us about exactly what the new decision is all about. So here is the second episode, way ahead of schedule, a bit shorter than usual, and, most of all, right on top of the latest developments!

You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would also consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible! Plus, we offer some fantastic thank you gifts for your donations. Thank you for helping us create quality content! The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. Special thanks to OHH Media Coordinator Alessandra Seiter for acting as the Associate Producer of the Our Hen House podcast! The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the signature, weekly OHH podcast — now in its sixth glorious year! 

Mariann Sullivan: Photo by Derek Goodwin.

UPDATE — 7/31/15: As you are probably aware, a decision just came down in one of the Nonhuman Rights Project’s groundbreaking lawsuits regarding chimpanzees being held captive in New York State. Since the Animal Law Podcast had interviewed Steven Wise for Episode 1 (BELOW), regarding these cases, we wanted to make sure you got this latest update. Fortunately, he graciously agreed to come back on and inform us about exactly what the new decision is all about. So after you listen to the first episode, be sure to listen to the follow-up interview on the second episode — which is way ahead of schedule, a bit shorter than usual, and, most of all, right on top of the latest developments!

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Finally! For such a long time, I’ve wanted to interview the lawyers who are doing cutting edge work for animals and get them to reveal their secrets. Well, maybe not the secrets that the animal abusers they are fighting would want to get hold of. But — as a passionate (and nosy) animal rights law professor and activist — I’ve been thirsty for the details, not only about the animals these lawyers are trying to help, but I want to know the legal ins-and-outs, too. This is the stuff that law is made of. The stuff that actually changes the way society works. This is what I love.

So here we are, at Episode 1 of the brand new Animal Law Podcast, which I will be hosting once a month. For all of you Our Hen House podcast devotees (thank you!), don’t worry: Our signature weekly podcast is remaining very much in tact, and is growing bigger and better before my and Jasmin’s eyes. It’s not going anywhere! We are simply (or not so simply) expanding our media landscape — introducing a couple additional podcasts to our multimedia hub. The Animal Law podcast, hosted by yours truly, is the first expansion. Huzzah!

Steve Wise: Image courtesy of the Nonhuman Rights Project.

And — pinch me, please — we have managed to score, for our very first episode, a lawyer who has been working for animals for his entire career. Steven Wise, and his Nonhuman Rights Project, is taking on the legal system full force, by using the most fundamental principles of the law — principles of justice, fairness, equality — and showing how they must be applied to animals or they lose their meaning.

I really think you’re going to love this interview, and — dare I say — this podcast. We will be bringing you a new interview at least once a month, and there are so many possibilities to choose from. So, if you’re a lawyer, or a law student, or a person who’s interested in how the law works (or doesn’t work) when it comes to animals, please tune in, let us know what you think, and tell us who you want to hear from next.

You can also listen and subscribe on iTunes.

You can listen to our podcast directly on our website (beneath this paragraph!) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes! Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would also consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible! Plus, we offer some fantastic thank you gifts for your donations. Thank you for helping us create quality content! The Our Hen House theme song is written and sung by the incredible Michael Harren. Special thanks to OHH Media Coordinator Alessandra Seiter for acting as the Associate Producer of the Our Hen House podcast! The graphics for the OHH podcasts are created by the wonderful Laurie Johnston of Two Trick Pony. Don’t forget to also listen to the signature, weekly OHH podcast — now in its sixth glorious year!