Brooks Animal Law Digest - Issue No. 27 (April 20, 2020)

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has signed into law Senate Bill 1030, which will ban exhibits that allow direct contact between members of the public and dangerous captive animals (defined as any bear, cougar, jaguar, leopard, lion, nonhuman primate, tiger, or any hybrid of such animals). The law will take effect July 1, 2021.

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam vetoed a bill passed by both the House and Senate that would have prohibited foods to be labeled as “milk” unless that product was “obtained by the complete milking of a healthy hooved mammal.”

A federal court has dismissed a lawsuit brought by several animal rights advocates and individuals that challenged the National Marine Fisheries Service’s decision not to enforce a permit condition requiring SeaWorld to release the necropsy report of an orca whale named Tilikum. The court found that the plaintiffs lacked Article III standing because they “failed to allege a cognizable informational injury.”

A federal judge has invalidated a 2014 biological opinion issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service which had found that lobster fishing along the Atlantic coast would not have a significant impact on the right whale population. The court invalidated the opinion because it was issued without an estimate of how many whales would be taken, as required by the Endangered Species Act.

The Fish and Wildlife Service has settled a suit brought against it by logging industry and related groups, alleging that the agency violated the Endangered Species Act when it established 9.5 million acres as critical habitat for the threatened northern spotted owl. The settlement requires that the agency initiate a new rulemaking process to determine whether some of that area should be delisted.

The Food and Drug Administration has issued a letter to cultivated dairy startup Perfect Day, stating that the agency currently has “no questions” regarding the company’s conclusion that its non-animal whey protein is Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) for its intended use.

The Fish and Wildlife Service has announced it will prepare a draft environmental impact statement supplement in conjunction with a proposed rule to revise the experimental population of the Mexican wolf. This agency action is in response to a ruling by a federal court that the agency’s 2015 rule failed to further long-term conservation of the species and inappropriately determined that the species was nonessential. The agency will accept public comments on this issue until June 15, 2020.

Canadian organization Animal Justice has filed a complaint with the Competition Bureau of Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, alleging that King Cole Ducks’ advertisement of its products as humane is misleading. The complaint follows a live rescue effort conducted at the company in February.

A new book, Green Meat?: Sustaining Eaters, Animals, and the Planet, examines the complexity of the relationship between raising animals for food and sustainability by considering the issue from interdisciplinary lenses.

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam has signed into law Senate Bill 1030, which will ban exhibits that allow direct contact between members of the public and dangerous captive animals (defined as any bear, cougar, jaguar, leopard, lion, nonhuman primate, tiger, or any hybrid of such animals). The law will take effect July 1, 2021.

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam vetoed a bill passed by both the House and Senate that would have prohibited foods to be labeled as “milk” unless that product was “obtained by the complete milking of a healthy hooved mammal.”

A federal court has dismissed a lawsuit brought by several animal rights advocates and individuals that challenged the National Marine Fisheries Service’s decision not to enforce a permit condition requiring SeaWorld to release the necropsy report of an orca whale named Tilikum. The court found that the plaintiffs lacked Article III standing because they “failed to allege a cognizable informational injury.”

A federal judge has invalidated a 2014 biological opinion issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service which had found that lobster fishing along the Atlantic coast would not have a significant impact on the right whale population. The court invalidated the opinion because it was issued without an estimate of how many whales would be taken, as required by the Endangered Species Act.

A New York Deli has filed suit against top turkey producers, including Perdue, Tyson, Butterball, and Hormel, alleging that the companies conspired to illegally trade price data and raise the price of their products.

The Fish and Wildlife Service has settled a suit brought against it by logging industry and related groups, alleging that the agency violated the Endangered Species Act when it established 9.5 million acres as critical habitat for the threatened northern spotted owl. The settlement requires that the agency initiate a new rulemaking process to determine whether some of that area should be delisted.

A federal court has found that two Washington dairy farms continued to pollute local drinking water even after a 2015 agreement with nonprofits that the companies would take steps to manage pollution output. The judge will consider additional briefing before ruling on appropriate sanctions.

The Food and Drug Administration has issued a letter to cultivated dairy startup Perfect Day, stating that the agency currently has “no questions” regarding the company’s conclusion that its non-animal whey protein is Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) for its intended use.

The Fish and Wildlife Service has announced it is considering several applications for Endangered Species Act permits. The applications include requests to import a snow leopard to John Ball Zoo in Michigan and to captive breed Arabian oryx and Eld’s deer at a game ranch in Texas. The agency is accepting comments on the applications until May 13, 2020.

The National Marine Fisheries Service has announced it will move forward on a petition to consider listing the Chinook salmon on the Oregon coast as a threatened or endangered Evolutionarily Significant  United under the Endangered Species Act. The agency will now conduct a status review to determine whether the action is warranted. The agency is accepting comments on this action until June 12, 2020.

The Fish and Wildlife Service has announced it will prepare a draft environmental impact statement supplement in conjunction with a proposed rule to revise the experimental population of the Mexican wolf. This agency action is in response to a ruling by a federal court that the agency’s 2015 rule failed to further long-term conservation of the species and inappropriately determined that the species was nonessential. The agency will accept public comments on this issue until June 15, 2020.

The Fish and Wildlife Service has issued a final rule, amending the species of birds protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. In addition to correcting the spelling and taxonomy of some species, the rule adds 75 species to the list and removes eight. In conjunction with this final rule, the agency has published an amended list of the nonnative species of birds to which the Migratory Bird Treaty Act does not apply.

Canadian organization Animal Justice has filed a complaint with the Competition Bureau of Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, alleging that King Cole Ducks’ advertisement of its products as humane is misleading. The complaint follows a live rescue effort conducted at the company in February.

A new book, Green Meat?: Sustaining Eaters, Animals, and the Planet, examines the complexity of the relationship between raising animals for food and sustainability by considering the issue from interdisciplinary lenses.