United States

Summary:

This article addresses three primary legal questions. First, the article discusses issues related to ownership of and responsibility for feral cats, analyzing the treatment of ownership and responsibility under both feral cat statutes and common law. Second, the article addresses the question of whether feral cat keepers or caretakers can be held civilly liable for the actions of feral cats. Third, the article discusses the ways in which feral cat keepers or caretakers may be exposed to criminal liability for abandonment, neglect, or failure to comply with state or local animal ownership requirements.

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This paper examines state and local statutes and regulations regarding private possession of captive wildlife, or exotic pets. It also discusses the policy and constitutional issues surrounding these regulations.

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This paper examines laws enacted in response to what some politicians see as a trend toward extremism in the name of protecting animals, Congress and several states have passed, or are currently considering passing, legislation setting harsher penalties for those involved in what has now been coined “ecoterrorism” or “agroterrorism.” This paper will examine some of the recently passed laws and legislation and the cases which have interpreted these laws. It will then analyze some of the constitutional issues raised by critics of the new legislation.

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This article discusses the trends in state Equine Activity Liability Statutes (EALA). Included are the general provisions of EALA statutes, policy reasons behind their adoption, exceptions under the statutes, and recent cases that interpret these acts.

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This is a detailed discussion of the connection between Domestic Abuse and Animal Abuse. This article explores how abusers use animals as a means of control and the problems that victims face when leaving a domestic violence situation with an animal. A few states allow a victim to include their animals in the protection order, and several other states are introducing similar legislation.

Summary:

This discussion analyzes the historical significance and legislative history of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Act's effectiveness in protecting dolphins. Included in the topics are international efforts in dolphin conservation and more recent concerns of human interaction with dolphins.

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This article discusses the method of dolphin drive hunting, particularly in Japan, and the conventions and agreements that may potentially provide the best protection for dolphins from these hunts. It also discusses the welfare issues surrounding the hunting methods and the Japanese cultural interest in maintaining the hunts.

Summary: This article was originally posted by the Animal Legal & Historical Center five years ago and the authors feel it has been in need of revision for some time. We will from now update the article periodically in this location so that those readers who are involved in creating dog parks, and legislators and their staff involved in modifying laws and regulations to take into account the significance of dog parks in the legal and governmental systems of states, counties, and municipalities, can have what benefit our analysis may provide concerning developments relevant to their interests. Also, those committees and groups that must decide on rules for use of a dog park to be posted at an entrance gate can understand what we think is appropriate and reasonable for a list of requirements, given that users will not want to spend large amounts of time reading a legal text before getting a dog inside the park.

The article begins with our views on how dog park law has evolved in recent years, then discusses the laws and regulations that apply to dog parks and similar spaces. It then reviews the rules that often apply to the users of dog parks around the United States. Finally, the model laws and rules are contained in the last section. The model law provisions are somewhat unusual in contemplating the adoption of provisions at a number of legislative levels. Thus there is no single proposed law, but rather a collection of suggested modifications of statutes and regulations, some of which may be appropriately contained in a statute in one jurisdiction but a regulation in another, depending on where related issues are addressed in the codes and rules issued by a state, county, municipality, or other park-regulating entity. [1]

Summary:

This paper explores state and municipal dog impound laws, focusing specifically on loose dog laws, dogs chasing livestock laws, and public health laws. In doing so, the paper examines grants of police power to seize and destroy dog and what due process requirements constrain these state actions.

Summary:

This article provides a detailed discussion of dog bite law and liability. It includes an introduction to tort law as well as common torts involving dogs. An examination of strict liability and vicious propensity is also included.