Animal Law Article Index for
Animal
Website Links For
Animal
 

Information About

Animal Law




Currently, animal law is being taught at numerous law schools in the country, including as Harvard, Stanford, UCLA, Northwestern, University of Michigan and Duke. As of January 2006, more than 65 law schools throughout the country have animal law classes in their curriculums. A growing number of state and local bar associations now have animal law committees. [http://www.animallawprogram.org/articles/NewJersey_Lawyer.pdf

Animal law issues encompass a broad spectrum of approaches—from philosophical explorations of the rights of animals to pragmatic discussions about the rights of those who use animals, who has standing to sue when an animal is harmed in a way that violates the law, and what constitutes legal cruelty. {Link without Title} Animal law permeates and affects most traditional areas of the law – including tort, contract, criminal and constitutional law. Examples of this intersection include:

  • Animal custody disputes in divorce or separations.

  • Veterinary malpractice cases.

  • Housing disputes involving “no pets” policies and discrimination laws.

  • Damages cases involving the wrongful death or injury to a companion animal.

  • Enforceable trusts for companion being adopted by states across the country.

  • Criminal law encompassing domestic violence and anti-cruelty laws.


The comprehensive animal law casebook is ''Animal Law Cases and Materials - Second Edition'', co-authored by Sonia S. Waisman, Bruce A. Wagman, and Pamela D. Frasch. Because animal law is not a traditional legal field, most of the book’s chapters are framed in terms of familiar subsets of law such as tort, contract, criminal and constitutional law. Each chapter sets out cases and commentary where animal law affects those broader areas.




References:
“Animal Law: Yesterday and Today” Bernstein, Robin, ''New Jersey Lawyer'', p. 27., August 2005.

“Animal Law: Yesterday and Today” Bernstein, Robin, ''New Jersey Lawyer'', p. 23., August 2005.




External Links: