Brooks Animal Law Digest - Issue No. 15 (February 3, 2020)

The United States District Court for the District of Kansas ruled that the state’s ag-gag law violated the First Amendment by banning undercover investigations at factory farms and slaughterhouses. The law was the oldest of its kind in the country, dating to 1990. This is the fifth ag-gag law to be struck down in the country.

Senate Bill 1029, The Courthouse Dogs Act, would make clear that federal courts have the authority to allow certified therapy dogs in courthouses to assist survivors of trauma as they testify.

Last June, the Oregon governor signed Senate Bill 638, a bill that requires research facilities that use cats or dogs for laboratory research to offer the animals up for adoption prior to euthanizing them. The legislation went into effect at the start of this year.

In a 2-1 decision, the Ninth Circuit reversed the trial court judge in the climate change public trust case, and ruled that the Plaintiff children lack standing because they cannot demonstrate redressability—i.e., the court does not have not have the power to remedy the government-wide actions and inactions that contribute to climate change. The lawsuit, originally filed in 2015 by 21 youth plaintiffs, alleged that the government has violated the youngest generation’s constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property through its actions that cause climate change, as well as failed to protect public trust resources.

The United States District Court for the District of Kansas ruled that the state’s ag-gag law violated the First Amendment by banning undercover investigations at factory farms and slaughterhouses. The law was the oldest of its kind in the country, dating to 1990. This is the fifth ag-gag law to be struck down in the country.

Friends of Animals won a procedural victory with respect to its Endangered Species Act listing petition to have a wild horse herd listed as endangered or threatened. The court ruled that the Fish and Wildlife Service’s new state notification requirement for listing petitions violated the agency’s statutory obligation to provide an initial response to the petition within 90 days based on the evidence submitted with the petition, and without obtaining additional information from a state.

The Fourth Circuit has reversed the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia’s order that a lawsuit alleging that Tina Ray’s Fourth Amendment rights were violated when a police officer shot and killed Jax, her German Shepard companion, failed to state a claim because the officer was entitled to qualified immunity.

The Center for Biological Diversity, Earth Justice, Defenders of Wildlife, and other conservation groups have notified the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of their intent to sue the agency under the Endangered Species Act. The groups allege that the service has failed to take any steps to protect wolverines, despite an earlier court ruling stating that the agency must take such steps.

The Center for Biological Diversity and Healthy Gulf have filed a lawsuit alleging that the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has failed to list the Pearl River map turtle and the Pascagoula map turtle as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act, despite best available scientific evidence.

A California federal judge has refused to grant approval of a $6.5 million settlement in a price-fixing lawsuit against Chicken of the Sea, a canned tuna company. The judge denied the settlement because it is not clear that the proposed settlement is in the best interest of the class.

The Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club have notified the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of their intent to file suit over the agency’s plans to allow 72 grizzly bears to be killed in order to accommodate livestock grazing in the Bridger-Teton National Forest.

A D.C. federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service failed to fully assess current threats to and current status of long-eared bats when it declined to give them full protection under the Endangered Species Act, instead listing them as threatened.

A California Superior Court judge has ruled that Don Lee farms, a supplier to plant-based meat company Beyond Meat, is likely to prevail in its lawsuit against the company for breaching its manufacturing agreement.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced the availability of a draft recovery plan for the Topeka shiner, an endangered fish species. The agency is accepting comments on the proposed plan until March 17, 2020.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced its intention to reclassify the humpback chub, an endangered fish species, to threatened, with a Section 4(d) Rule. The agency is accepting comments on the proposed change until March 23, 2020.

The Department of Transportation has proposed undertaking rulemaking to limit the definition of service animal to dogs trained for specific tasks and to no longer recognize emotional support animals under any category other than as a pet.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced the availability of a draft recovery plan for the threatened Dakota skipper. The agency is accepting comments on the proposed plan until February 24, 2020.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced the availability of a draft recovery plan for the rusty patched bumble bee. The agency is accepting comments on the proposed plan until February 24, 2020.

A petition submitted on behalf of Food & Water Watch, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Reports, and several individuals requests that the Food Safety Inspection Service declare a number of types of Salmonella outbreaks to be per se adulterants in meat and poultry products under the Federal Meat Inspection Act and Poultry Products Inspection Act. The agency is accepting comments on the petition until March 23, 2020.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that it is beginning its 5-year status review of 30 endangered and threatened animal species spanning California and Nevada. The review includes the Peninsular bighorn sheep, several species of butterflies, and the Yosemite Toad. The agency is accepting comments to assist in this review until March 27, 2020.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed designating critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act for the Big Sandy crayfish and the Guyandotte River crayfish. The agency is accepting comments on the proposal until March 30, 2020.

The National Marine Fisheries Service has announced that it will not designate critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act for the chambered nautilus at this time. The agency cited the fact that the species exists mostly outside of the jurisdiction of the United States for this decision.

The National Marine Fisheries Service has announced the availability of a draft recovery plan for the black abalone for public review. The agency will accept comments on the draft until March 30, 2020.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed to codify a policy that eliminates criminal penalties for incidental takes of migratory birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The agency is accepting comments on the proposal until March 19, 2020. Meanwhile, the unofficial policy is already being challenged in federal court by the Center for Biological Diversity.

French agriculture minister Didier Guillaume announced that France will ban the now-controversial practice of shredding male chicks alive by 2021.

New research suggests that while birds are adapting to climate change, they are likely not adapting quickly enough to protect their species.

A new review of the possibilities of cell cultured meat encourages integration of multidisciplinary research, including synthetic biology and bioreactor engineering.

Rich Hardy, a former undercover investigator in for over two decades, has published a new book entitled Not As Nature Intended.

California-based company Memphis Meats has closed out its latest round of fundraising with just over $160 million, including investments from the likes of Bill Gates and meat companies Tyson and Cargill.

The Chancellor of Texas A&M University has called upon the President of Harvard University, Lawrence Bacow, to investigate Harvard faculty members for contacting researchers who had published studies arguing that the link between red meat consumption and health impacts should not be taken serious and encouraging them to withdraw the research.

Maple Leaf Foods has announced that it is “carbon neutral,” while critics call the move greenwashing as the company still emits significant amounts of greenhouse gases.