Animal Law Podcast #17: Matthew Liebman on the Case Against the “Walmart of Antibodies”

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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