Brooks Animal Law Digest - Issue No. 47 (August 31, 2020)

Kentucky Bill Request 243 proposes amending the law to include violence against an animal when used as coercive conduct as part of the definition of domestic violence and abuse.

A federal court in California has granted Miyoko’s request for a preliminary injunction barring the state from barring the company using terms like “dairy” and “butter” on its products. In the lawsuit, Miyoko’s contends that such a step would violate the company’s First Amendment rights.

National Audubon Society, Natural Resources Defense Council, Center for Biological Diversity, and Friends of the Earth have filed suit against the Bureau of Land Management and the Fish and Wildlife Service, alleging that the agencies’ authorization of an oil and gas leasing program in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuse violates the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act. Other coalitions have launched similar lawsuits, led in turn by the Northern Alaska Environmental Center and the Gwich’in Steering Committing.

The Eleventh Circuit has rejected a RICO challenge to animal retailer Petland’s alleged fraud scheme.

A federal judge in New Mexico has dismissed two lawsuits brought against Tyson and other food companies, challenging the companies’ practice of labeling beef products produced from cows raised in foreign countries as a “product of the USA.” The court found that such challenges were preempted by the Federal Meat Inspection Act.

A new article published in Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal critiques the implementation of the Animal Welfare Act in zoos and makes recommendations to improve animal welfare.

A new book by Katja Guenther, The Lives and Deaths of Shelter Animals, brings a sociological perspective into animal shelters and argues that inequalities among animals are linked to human ideas about race, class, gender, ability, and species.

Kentucky Bill Request 243 proposes amending the law to include violence against an animal when used as coercive conduct as part of the definition of domestic violence and abuse.

A federal court in California has granted Miyoko’s request for a preliminary injunction barring the state from barring the company using terms like “dairy” and “butter” on its products. In the lawsuit, Miyoko’s contends that such a step would violate the company’s First Amendment rights.

National Audubon Society, Natural Resources Defense Council, Center for Biological Diversity, and Friends of the Earth have filed suit against the Bureau of Land Management and the Fish and Wildlife Service, alleging that the agencies’ authorization of an oil and gas leasing program in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuse violates the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act. Other coalitions have launched similar lawsuits, led in turn by the Northern Alaska Environmental Center and the Gwich’in Steering Committing.

The Eleventh Circuit has rejected a RICO challenge to animal retailer Petland’s alleged fraud scheme.

The Center for Biological Diversity has filed suit against the Chief of the U.S. Forest Service and the Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service over the agencies’ handling of protections for the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse under the Endangered Species Act.

A federal judge in New Mexico has dismissed two lawsuits brought against Tyson and other food companies, challenging the companies’ practice of labeling beef products produced from cows raised in foreign countries as a “product of the USA.” The court found that such challenges were preempted by the Federal Meat Inspection Act.

Two conservation groups have given notice to a resort in Florida that they intend to sue under the Endangered Species Act for allegedly harming nesting and hatching sea turtles with illegal artificial lighting.

22 states have filed suit challenging the administration’s new NEPA rule updating its regulations instructing federal agencies on how to implement the National Environmental Protection Act.

The Center for Biological Diversity, San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society, and Friends of Big Bear Valley have filed suit against the County of San Bernardino, saying that a newly approved luxury housing development does not meet the California Environmental Quality Act requirements.

A new article published in Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal critiques the implementation of the Animal Welfare Act in zoos and makes recommendations to improve animal welfare.

A new book by Katja Guenther, The Lives and Deaths of Shelter Animals, brings a sociological perspective into animal shelters and argues that inequalities among animals are linked to human ideas about race, class, gender, ability, and species.