United States

Summary: This overview explains welfare issues surrounding commercial fish farms. It then suggests that fish, like other species, must have their basic needs met through recognizing the Five Freedoms.

Summary: This brief summary explores the welfare concern on commercial fish farms.

Summary: This brief summary discusses the legal status of non-therapeutic surgeries on companion animals such as tail docking, ear cropping, de-barking of dogs, and de-clawing of cats.

Summary: This overview details "cosmetic" and "convenience" surgeries in cats and dogs. The four unnecessary medical surgeries discussed include tail docking, ear cropping, devocalization, and declawing. It briefly explores arguments against the procedures and how breed registries might still require certain cosmetic procedures. Finally, it touches upon recent efforts to regulate or ban these types of surgeries both at the city and state level.

Summary: This paper outlines the lack of animal welfare standards in the farm fishery industry and argue the need to expand basic rights to these fish. The unethical treatment has flown under the radar of most animal activist groups. With the food market expanding, the conditions these fish are farmed in ways that lack any care for the welfare of the fish. Commercial fishing has been moved from the ocean into concrete holes across the country. Where there are a number or environmental and financial benefits to fish farms, the treatment of these fish certainly raise a number of ethical concerns. This paper will identify the conditions these fish are bred in, arguing for the development of regulations to control the housing of the fish and the slaughter process. Where the Animal Welfare Act is still trying to incorporate agricultural animals, including beef, swine, and chickens to its protections, very little attention is afforded to this sector of agriculture. New legislation has been put in place to regulate offshore farms, but it has yet to reach the fish farms found in places like Michigan and Ohio. This paper will argue that fish can experience pain and suffering, and legislation should be enacted to regulate the current conditions of these fishery farms.

Summary: This paper broadly defines what an invasive species is and why they pose a threat to indigenous ecological communities. The first section will examine the legislation aimed at protecting native ecologies from invasives and how these laws are often silent on the animal welfare component. The paper then examines the threat invasive species pose through four species case studies. It concludes with suggestions on how current laws and conservation policies inadequately evaluate animal welfare in the US and how future proposals should include a cost-benefit analysis for native and invasive species.

Summary: A discussion on four specific unnecessary medical surgeries in companion animals, including tail docking, ear cropping, devocalization, and declawing. This paper will examine the justifications and legal arguments both for and against the procedures. Finally, it will discuss recent efforts to ban these types of surgeries both at the city and state level, with a brief comparison of tail docking and ear cropping bans in the European Union.