Brooks Animal Law Digest - Issue No. 69 (February 8, 2021)

Utah Senate Bill 147 would prohibit the confinement of egg-laying hens in an enclosure that is not a cage-free housing system or that has less usable floor space per hen than as required by the 2017 edition of the United Egg Producers' Animal Husbandry Guidelines for U.S. Egg-Laying Flocks: Guidelines for Cage-Free Housing. The bill would also prohibit the sale or transport of eggs or egg products that the business owner knows or should know were produced by an egg-laying hen that was confined in a manner prohibited by the bill. The legislation would take effect January 1, 2025.

Kansas House Bill 2204 would declare a “meat analog” misbranded if its labeling utilizes a meat term and does not include a disclaimer of the same font, style, and size that says “this product does not contain meat,” “meatless,” or “meat-free.”

Iowa Senate Bill 1153 would grant agricultural tourism farmers, agricultural tourism professionals, and persons engaged in farming an agricultural tourism farm immunity from liability for any act or omission causing injury, loss, or death to an agricultural tourist so long as the injury, loss, or death was caused while the agricultural tourist was visiting the agricultural tourism farm and the act or omission that caused the injury, loss, or death was associated with an inherent risk of farming. An “inherent risk of farming” is defined as “a danger or hazard that is an integral part of being in a particular place on the farm or participating in a specific farming activity, if the danger or hazard would be reasonably foreseeable by a person generally familiar with that type of farm or farming activity” and includes but is not limited to “a condition or use of the land, including improvements, and any machinery, equipment or tack, employed in the production or maintenance of farm commodities on the land, the processing of commodities on the same land as they were produced, and the behavior of farm animals or other domestic or wild animals which are present on the land.”

Massachusetts House Bill 1377 would change the legal status of “pets” from personal property to companion animals, prohibit animal abusers from obtaining other animals, and place repeat offenders on a “do not adopt to” list.

New York Assembly Bill 4609 would recognize that animals are sentient beings capable of experiencing pain and fear and would establish that an animal can be a victim of a crime.

New Jersey Senate Bill 3401 would prohibit confining a pig used for breeding or cows raised for veal in a way that prevents the animal from lying down, standing up, fully extending their limbs, or turning around freely. The bill would make each animal that is confined in violation of the law a separate offense.

Florida House Bill 783 would include the illegal taking, killing, wounding, sale purchase, or possession of wild animal life, freshwater aquatic life, or marine life and related climes within the definition of racketeering.

A California federal court has denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the United States Department of Agriculture’s New Swine Inspection System.

A coalition of groups have filed a  complaint with the Federal Trade Commission arguing that Smithfield Foods misleads consumers by marketing its products as “produced in an environmentally responsible and sustainable way.”

Congress House Bill 763 would amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to include data on animal abuse in the national clearinghouse for information relating to child abuse and neglect.

New York Assembly Bill 3985 would require that the state of New York office of children and family services must investigate any individual who is accused of or investigated for animal cruelty.

New York Senate Bill 3835 would require the installation and testing of fire protection systems at pet stores.

Minnesota Senate Bill 529 and House Bill 566 would allow residential landlords to require documentation from tenants supporting their need for a service or support animal.

Iowa House Bill 170 would provide administrative, civil, and criminal immunity to veterinarians in investigations or proceedings involving the mistreatment of animals when cooperating with a peace officer to provide the officer with information related to another person’s mistreatment of an animal, cooperating with a local authority to rescue a threatened animal, participating in the disposition of a court order, or providing evidence relating to another person’s conduct that would constitute an offense punishable as a misdemeanor or felony.

Minnesota House Bill 568 would authorize a person certified by the Emergency Medical Services Regulatory Board to provide emergency medical care to a police dog.

New York Assembly Bill 4075 and Senate Bill 4254 would prohibit insurers from refusing to issue, renew, cancel, or charge an increased premium for homeowners’ insurance policies based on the breed of dog in the home.

Texas Senate Bill 552 would require each animal control authority to submit an annual report to the Department of State Health Services regarding dog bites that occurred in the jurisdiction in the preceding year.

Vermont House Bill 172 would prohibit the trapping of animals unless conducted by a licensed nuisance wildlife control operator. The bill would also prohibit the use of dogs in hunting black bears.

Utah Senate Bill 147 would prohibit the confinement of egg-laying hens in an enclosure that is not a cage-free housing system or that has less usable floor space per hen than as required by the 2017 edition of the United Egg Producers' Animal Husbandry Guidelines for U.S. Egg-Laying Flocks: Guidelines for Cage-Free Housing. The bill would also prohibit the sale or transport of eggs or egg products that the business owner knows or should know were produced by an egg-laying hen that was confined in a manner prohibited by the bill. The legislation would take effect January 1, 2025.

Wyoming House Bill 96 would establish the injection of sodium pentobarbital or a derivative of as the exclusive method of euthanasia of companion animals in animal shelters. The bill would also require that shelters adopt a euthanasia training program and require each person who conducts or assists with euthanasia to attend the program at least once every two years.

Washington Senate Bill 5411 would establish a voluntary program for nonfederal forestland owners to provide a safe harbor for the northern spotted owl.

Kansas House Bill 2204 would declare a “meat analog” misbranded if its labeling utilizes a meat term and does not include a disclaimer of the same font, style, and size that says “this product does not contain meat,” “meatless,” or “meat-free.”

New York Senate Bill 4119 proposes to lower the age for universal hunting licenses from 14 years old to 12 years old.

California Assembly Bill 384 would prohibit the discipline of a veterinarian who recommends the use of cannabis on an animal for medicinal purposes and require the veterinary medical board to issue guidelines for veterinarians to follow when recommending cannabis within the veterinarian-client-patient relationship.

Michigan House Bill 4080 would allow for the taking of “game” animals with a pneumatic gun, defined as “any implement, designed as a gun, that will expel a BB, bolt, arrow, or pellet by spring, gas, or air . . . [and] does not include a paintball gun.”

Iowa Senate Bill 1153 would grant agricultural tourism farmers, agricultural tourism professionals, and persons engaged in farming an agricultural tourism farm immunity from liability for any act or omission causing injury, loss, or death to an agricultural tourist so long as the injury, loss, or death was caused while the agricultural tourist was visiting the agricultural tourism farm and the act or omission that caused the injury, loss, or death was associated with an inherent risk of farming. An “inherent risk of farming” is defined as “a danger or hazard that is an integral part of being in a particular place on the farm or participating in a specific farming activity, if the danger or hazard would be reasonably foreseeable by a person generally familiar with that type of farm or farming activity” and includes but is not limited to “a condition or use of the land, including improvements, and any machinery, equipment or tack, employed in the production or maintenance of farm commodities on the land, the processing of commodities on the same land as they were produced, and the behavior of farm animals or other domestic or wild animals which are present on the land.”

Massachusetts House Bill 1377 would change the legal status of “pets” from personal property to companion animals, prohibit animal abusers from obtaining other animals, and place repeat offenders on a “do not adopt to” list.

Massachusetts House Bill 1362 would establish an animal abuse registry and prescribe who must register, annual fees of the registry, and penalties for failing to register. The bill would also prohibit any animal shelter, animal breeder, or pet store from providing an animal to any person on the registry.

New York Assembly Bill 4369 would authorize the issuance of two-day hunting permits in order to encourage out-of-state visitors to travel to New York during the hunting season without being required to purchase a full season pass for $100.

New York Assembly Bill 4464 would expand the current protections provided to police officers, peace officers, and other emergency personnel who remove an animal from a vehicle in extreme temperatures to any person who engages in such a rescue in good faith, who checks to see if the doors are unlocked, and who calls 911.

New York Assembly Bill 4609 would recognize that animals are sentient beings capable of experiencing pain and fear and would establish that an animal can be a victim of a crime.

New Jersey Senate Bill 3500 would require that a veterinary hospital or other establishment holding an animal seized by law enforcement hold the animal for at least seven days before euthanizing the animal.

New Jersey Senate Bill 3401 would prohibit confining a pig used for breeding or cows raised for veal in a way that prevents the animal from lying down, standing up, fully extending their limbs, or turning around freely. The bill would make each animal that is confined in violation of the law a separate offense.

Florida House Bill 783 would include the illegal taking, killing, wounding, sale purchase, or possession of wild animal life, freshwater aquatic life, or marine life and related climes within the definition of racketeering.

A California federal court has denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the United States Department of Agriculture’s New Swine Inspection System.

The National Marine Fisheries Service has announced it will hold three public meetings on its revised proposed rule to designate critical habitat for the threatened Arctic subspecies of the ringed seal and its proposed rule to designate critical habitat for the threatened Beringia distinct population segment of the Pacific bearded seal subspecies. The public hearing conference calls will be held at 4pm AKST on February 23, 24, and 25 2021.

A coalition of groups have filed a  complaint with the Federal Trade Commission arguing that Smithfield Foods misleads consumers by marketing its products as “produced in an environmentally responsible and sustainable way.”

A new article by Madeline Estell, Jaimee Hughes, and Sara Grafenauer published in Sustainability, “Plant Protein and Plant-Based Meat Alternatives: Consumer and Nutrition Professional Attitudes and Perceptions,” explores perception of plant-based products in an Australian context.