Brooks Animal Law Digest - Issue No. 74 (March 1, 2021)

House Bill 1258 and Senate Bill 370 would “support small and very small meat and poultry processing establishments” by requiring the Food Safety and Inspection Service to make model Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points plans publicly available; increase the federal government’s cost share of state meat and poultry inspection systems from 50% to 65%; incentivize the creation of additional cooperative interstate shipment programs; provide meat processing training grants; and create a grant program to provide reimbursement grants of up to $500,000 to cover costs associated with meeting state or federal inspection guidelines, expanding infrastructure, and adapting to future market needs. The full text of the proposed legislation is available here.

House Bill 547 proposes to amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act to allow some retail and restaurant establishments to sell over the internet and ship state-inspected meat and poultry products directly to household consumers.

Illinois House Bill 3969 would expand the state’s current prohibition on the use of an elephant in a traveling animal act to prohibit the use of any bear, cougar, elephant, jaguar, leopard (except for clouded leopards), lion, non-human primate, or tiger in a traveling animal act. Violation of the act would be a Class A misdemeanor.

Alabama Senate Bill 244 would prohibit any person from importing, exporting, transport, selling, receiving, acquiring, purchasing, breeding, or possessing a “large wild cat, great ape, wolf, or non-native bear.” The bill includes exemptions for persons in legal possession of such an animal prior to the effective date of the act, animal protection organizations, federal or state wildlife enforcement officers acting within the scope of their authority, veterinary hospitals, research facilities “holding a Class R registration under the federal Animal Welfare Act,” nonprofit wildlife sanctuaries, persons who possess a “valid United States Department of Agriculture Class A, B, or C license . . . and is in compliance with the federal Animal Welfare Act,” and intermediate handlers as defined in the federal Animal Welfare Act. The bill also authorizes the confiscation of such an animal if the animal poses a danger to the public, a veterinarian determines the animal “is in imminent danger of loss of life as a result of the action or inaction of its possessor,” or the possessor is convicted of violating any of the provisions of the bill.

Kansas Senate Bill 269 would prohibit the possession or breeding of “dangerous regulated animals” except by persons who possess a valid United States Department of Agriculture license and are in compliance with the Animal Welfare Act. The bill would also expand the definition of “dangerous regulated animals” to include wolves and non-human primates (in addition to lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, cheetahs, mountain lions, bears, and non-native venomous snakes). The bill includes an exemption for those who lawfully possessed a nonhuman primate or wolf prior to July 1, 2021.

Connecticut Senate Bill 925 would prohibit the import, possession, and transport of “any specimen . . . including any part, product, or offspring thereof, or the dead body or parts thereof” of an African elephant, African lion, African Leopard, black rhinoceros, white rhinoceros, or African giraffe.

Rhode Island House Bill 5731 would prohibit engaging in or hiring another to engage in the force-feeding of an animal “to create a force-fed poultry product” and ban the sale of or import into the state of “any force-fed poultry product.” A violation could result in a $500 civil penalty (per offense, per day) and prosecution by the board of health.

Rhode Island House Bill 5761, entitled the “Family Farm Protection Act,” would prohibit the commencement or expansion of operations by “large concentrated animal feeding operations” on or after the date of the bill’s passage and require the cessation of operations by any large CAFO after January 1, 2040. “Large concentrated animal feeding operation” is defined by the number of animals present, depending on species. A violation of the prohibition could result in civil penalties up to “$10,000 per violation, per day.”

Texas House Bill 2217 would declare a food misbranded “if it is an imitation of another food, including any food that approximates the texture, flavor, appearance, or other aesthetic qualities of or the chemical characteristics of any specific type of poultry or poultry product, meat or meat food product, egg or egg product, or fish” unless the food is labeled with “the word ‘imitation’ immediately followed by the name of the food imitated” and, as applicable, the words “this product does not contain animal protein,” or the words “meatless,” “meat free,” or “egg free.”

New York Assembly Bill 5746 would prohibit any person from organizing, sponsoring, conducting, promoting, or participating in “any contest, competition, tournament, or derby with the objective of taking or hunting wildlife for prizes or other inducement, or for entertainment.” The ban would not apply to contests with the objective of hunting white-tailed deer, turkeys, or bears.

Texas House Bill 2277 would declare a food misbranded if it is labeled with “a term that has a [federal] standard of identity, if the product does not meet the [federal] standard of identity”; “a claim that the food product is nutritionally similar or superior to a food product with a [federal] standard of identity unless the food product’s label contains a factual comparison of the food products’ nutritional values”; or “an image, depiction, or graphic of a livestock animal, if the food product does not contain a product derived from a livestock animal,” unless the food is labeled with “the word ‘imitation’ immediately followed by the name of the product imitated” and, as applicable, the words “this product does not contain animal protein,” “meatless,” “meat free,” or “egg free.”

Colorado Senate Bill 135 would prohibit the use in a traveling animal act of any “Cetartiodactyla other than bison, cattle, deer, elk, goats, reindeer, swine, and sheep; Felidae other than domestic cats; wild Canidae other than domestic dogs; Marsupialia; nonhuman primates; Perissodactyla other than horses, donkeys and mules; Pinnipedian; Proboscidea; Ratites; Spheniscidae; and Ursidae,” including hybrids, whether wild-borne or captive-bred.

Pilgrim’s Pride has pled guilty to conspiring to fix the price of chicken products sold for food and has been fined $107,923,572.

A new lawsuit alleges fifteen directors breached their fiduciary duty with regard to the company’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The complaint cites insufficient provision of PPE to workers, failure to warn employees of possible exposure to positive cases of the coronavirus, efforts to have the industry deemed “essential,” wrongful death lawsuits, and false and misleading statements regarding the company’s handling of the pandemic.

A panel of California state judges has upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a proposed class action alleging Foster Farms misleads customers with its American Humane Association certification labels. The panel held that the claims were preempted under the Poultry Products Inspection Act because the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection System approved the labels.

The Animal Welfare Institute has filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission over Boar’s Head Provisions’ use of the term “humanely raised” on its turkey and chicken sausage products.

National Marine Fisheries Service has proposed a new rule that would remove the regulatory restriction that limits the processing of squids and sculpins to fishmeal only.

House Bill 1258 and Senate Bill 370 would “support small and very small meat and poultry processing establishments” by requiring the Food Safety and Inspection Service to make model Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points plans publicly available; increase the federal government’s cost share of state meat and poultry inspection systems from 50% to 65%; incentivize the creation of additional cooperative interstate shipment programs; provide meat processing training grants; and create a grant program to provide reimbursement grants of up to $500,000 to cover costs associated with meeting state or federal inspection guidelines, expanding infrastructure, and adapting to future market needs. The full text of the proposed legislation is available here.

House Bill 547 proposes to amend the Federal Meat Inspection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection Act to allow some retail and restaurant establishments to sell over the internet and ship state-inspected meat and poultry products directly to household consumers.

Connecticut Senate Bill 923 would require the Connecticut Sentencing Commission to review the state’s animal cruelty laws, penalties imposed by such laws, and “whether there are national or regional trends concerning changes to such penalties.” The bill would also require the Commission to provide a report on its findings to the legislature and Governor.

West Virginia House Bill 2629 would allow all former members of the United States armed forces “who have been honorably discharged or administratively discharged under honorable conditions” to “hunt, trap or fish in season . . . without obtaining a license.”

West Virginia Senate Bill 394 would waive fees associated with any license required to hunt or fish for anyone who serves as a municipal volunteer firefighter.

Alaska House Bill 107 would allow anyone who “has been discharged from military service . . . under honorable conditions” or who is an active duty member of the military to receive “a resident hunting and sport fishing license . . . without charge.”

Minnesota House Bill 1406 would require that the owner of escaped Cervidae immediately report the escape, allow licensed hunters to “kill and possess escaped farmed Cervidae,” require testing of escaped Cervidae for chronic wasting disease, and revise identification requirements for farmed Cervidae.

Minnesota House Bill 1386 would provide a sales tax exemption for animal shelters’ purchases that are used “directly in the activities of rescuing, sheltering, and finding homes for unwanted animals” subject to certain exceptions.

Illinois House Bill 3969 would expand the state’s current prohibition on the use of an elephant in a traveling animal act to prohibit the use of any bear, cougar, elephant, jaguar, leopard (except for clouded leopards), lion, non-human primate, or tiger in a traveling animal act. Violation of the act would be a Class A misdemeanor.

Massachusetts House Bill 4085 would require the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to “enter into a cooperative agreement . . . with the United States Department of Agriculture to take on duties relative to the inspection of slaughter and meat inspection programs” and establish a commission to “develop regulations for the state inspection and enforcement program.”

Maine Senate Bill 222 would require the court in divorce proceedings to consider “with respect to a companion animal . . . the well-being of the companion animal and all relevant factors,” including the amount of time each individual has spent with the animal, the individuals’ ability to provide for the needs of the animal, the emotional attachment of an individual to the animal, and any history of domestic violence or animal abuse.

Oregon House Bill 3187 would establish the “Oregon Wildlife Council” and task it with developing and implementing a “comprehensive media-based public information program to promote the essential roles of hunting and fishing in wildlife conservation.”

Georgia House Bill 574 would provide reimbursement opportunities for local governments that impound or care for more than 29 dogs or cats or more than 9 equines.

Iowa Senate Bill 435 would amend the state’s prohibition against animal abuse to exempt from the statute any “person who acts in a manner consistent with customary animal husbandry practices.” The Iowa statute already exempts livestock from the offenses of “animal neglect” and “animal torture.”

Utah House Bill 420 would prohibit pet stores from offering a cat or dog for sale, unless the animal was obtained through an animal rescue organization or animal shelter and “no portion of a fee associated with [the] animal . . . is paid to the host pet store or to a person affiliated with the host pet store.”

Iowa House Bill 670 would create a fund to award financial assistance for the expansion, refurbishment, or creation of a new small-scale meat processing business, licensed custom locker, or mobile slaughter unit. The bill would also create a task force “for the purpose of exploring the feasibility of establishing a community college artisanal butchery program.”

Alabama Senate Bill 244 would prohibit any person from importing, exporting, transport, selling, receiving, acquiring, purchasing, breeding, or possessing a “large wild cat, great ape, wolf, or non-native bear.” The bill includes exemptions for persons in legal possession of such an animal prior to the effective date of the act, animal protection organizations, federal or state wildlife enforcement officers acting within the scope of their authority, veterinary hospitals, research facilities “holding a Class R registration under the federal Animal Welfare Act,” nonprofit wildlife sanctuaries, persons who possess a “valid United States Department of Agriculture Class A, B, or C license . . . and is in compliance with the federal Animal Welfare Act,” and intermediate handlers as defined in the federal Animal Welfare Act. The bill also authorizes the confiscation of such an animal if the animal poses a danger to the public, a veterinarian determines the animal “is in imminent danger of loss of life as a result of the action or inaction of its possessor,” or the possessor is convicted of violating any of the provisions of the bill.

Kansas Senate Bill 269 would prohibit the possession or breeding of “dangerous regulated animals” except by persons who possess a valid United States Department of Agriculture license and are in compliance with the Animal Welfare Act. The bill would also expand the definition of “dangerous regulated animals” to include wolves and non-human primates (in addition to lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, cheetahs, mountain lions, bears, and non-native venomous snakes). The bill includes an exemption for those who lawfully possessed a nonhuman primate or wolf prior to July 1, 2021.

Oregon House Bill 3204 would direct the state to prepare a report analyzing the state’s current framework for addressing zoonotic diseases, establish a list of wildlife that may not be possessed in the state due to potential transmission of zoonotic diseases, and prohibit the live sale of non-native wildlife for the purpose of human consumption. “Livestock” and “shellfish” would be exempted from the non-native sale prohibition.

New Jersey Assembly Bill 5397 would require pet shops to post information regarding the availability of insurance for companion animals, including on its website.

Connecticut Senate Bill 925 would prohibit the import, possession, and transport of “any specimen . . . including any part, product, or offspring thereof, or the dead body or parts thereof” of an African elephant, African lion, African Leopard, black rhinoceros, white rhinoceros, or African giraffe.

Connecticut House Bill 6503 would require animal feeding operations to maintain a “comprehensive nutrient management plan” for the use of an anaerobic digester.

Georgia House Bill 609 would prohibit the sale, exchange, trade, barter, lease, or “display for a commercial purpose any dog, cat, or domestic rabbit on or in any roadside, public right-of-way, parkway, median, park, other recreation area, flea market or other outdoor market, or commercial or retail parking lot, regardless of whether access to such location is authorized.” The bill would not apply to display of animals for adoption by an animal shelter or animal rescue organization or the display of animals “as part of a state or county fair or exhibition, 4-H program, or similar exhibition or educational program.”

Texas House Bill 2213 would exempt the slaughter “of exotic animals exclusively for donation by a hunter to a nonprofit food bank” from inspection of slaughter and “preparation.”

Rhode Island House Bill 5771 would prohibit the operation of live animal markets, defined as “a market or sales site in which a vendor slaughters live animals or poultry upon customer purchase,” that is “not already in existence.”

Rhode Island House Bill 5731 would prohibit engaging in or hiring another to engage in the force-feeding of an animal “to create a force-fed poultry product” and ban the sale of or import into the state of “any force-fed poultry product.” A violation could result in a $500 civil penalty (per offense, per day) and prosecution by the board of health.

Rhode Island House Bill 5736 would prohibit the tethering of a dog “outside and unattended in temperatures of thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit . . . or below, or ninety degrees Fahrenheit . . . or above” for thirty minutes or more.

Rhode Island House Bill 5761, entitled the “Family Farm Protection Act,” would prohibit the commencement or expansion of operations by “large concentrated animal feeding operations” on or after the date of the bill’s passage and require the cessation of operations by any large CAFO after January 1, 2040. “Large concentrated animal feeding operation” is defined by the number of animals present, depending on species. A violation of the prohibition could result in civil penalties up to “$10,000 per violation, per day.”

Texas House Bill 2217 would declare a food misbranded “if it is an imitation of another food, including any food that approximates the texture, flavor, appearance, or other aesthetic qualities of or the chemical characteristics of any specific type of poultry or poultry product, meat or meat food product, egg or egg product, or fish” unless the food is labeled with “the word ‘imitation’ immediately followed by the name of the food imitated” and, as applicable, the words “this product does not contain animal protein,” or the words “meatless,” “meat free,” or “egg free.”

New York Assembly Bill 5746 would prohibit any person from organizing, sponsoring, conducting, promoting, or participating in “any contest, competition, tournament, or derby with the objective of taking or hunting wildlife for prizes or other inducement, or for entertainment.” The ban would not apply to contests with the objective of hunting white-tailed deer, turkeys, or bears.

New York Assembly Bill 5780 would require any person charged with enforcing laws prohibiting animal cruelty to make a report when they have reasonable cause to believe that abuse of a child has also occurred, and vice versa.

Rhode Island House Bill 5903 would require providers of “pet insurance” to disclose exclusions and other terms of the policies and to provide coverage for routine and preventative care. The bill would require the issuance of regulations to implement the legislation.

New York Assembly Bill 5776 would prohibit any person from “taking” any “animal that such person knows or has reason to know is presently or was formerly a part of a zoo, petting zoo, carnival, or circus; prohibit animal exhibitors from distributing animals “wherein such animal may be intentionally taken”; and prohibit facilities that allow the taking of animals from accepting or receiving “any animal such person knows or has reason to know is presently or was formerly a part of a zoo, petting zoo, carnival, or circus.”

New York Assembly Bill 5775 and Senate Bill 4248 would provide that courts consider “the best interest” of the companion animal when “awarding the possession of a companion animal” in a divorce or separation proceeding.

New York Assembly Bill 5779 would establish a tort cause of action against a person “who with no justifiable purpose intentionally, recklessly, or negligently, by act or omission causes the death or physical injury to a companion animal. The bill provides for punitive damages; restraining orders and other injunctive relief; “damages for the expenses of veterinary and other special medical care required”; “damages for the fair monetary value of the deceased companion animal to his or her owner”; “damages for the loss of the reasonably expected society, companionship, comfort, protection and services” of the deceased or injured companion animal to his or her owner; “court costs and reasonable attorney's fees; and other reasonable damages resulting from the intentional, reckless or negligent act or omission.” The bill sets a three-year statute of limitations on commencement of such actions and orders that damages for injuries sustained by a companion animal shall be payable into a trust for the care of the companion animal, enforceable for the life of the companion animal by a person appointed by the court, and any remaining funds existing at the death of the companion animal shall be distributed to a non-profit organization dedicated to the protection of companion animals.

New York Assembly Bill 5734 would establish a horse registration fee and require such funds be expended to “support responsible retirement” of former racehorses.

Pennsylvania House Bill 670 would prohibit any method of hunting “that involves the beating of any game or wildlife” and allow for the revocation of hunting or fishing license from any person who has been convicted or plead guilty or no contest to aggravated cruelty to animals.

Texas House Bill 2277 would declare a food misbranded if it is labeled with “a term that has a [federal] standard of identity, if the product does not meet the [federal] standard of identity”; “a claim that the food product is nutritionally similar or superior to a food product with a [federal] standard of identity unless the food product’s label contains a factual comparison of the food products’ nutritional values”; or “an image, depiction, or graphic of a livestock animal, if the food product does not contain a product derived from a livestock animal,” unless the food is labeled with “the word ‘imitation’ immediately followed by the name of the product imitated” and, as applicable, the words “this product does not contain animal protein,” “meatless,” “meat free,” or “egg free.”

Alabama House Bill 458 and Senate Bill 264 would provide an exemption to the prohibition on hunting during nighttime for “an individual hunting feral swine or coyotes during nighttime hours on privately owned or leased lands” if licensed.

West Virginia Senate Bill 450 would prohibit the hunting of albino deer.

Pennsylvania House Bill 674 would provide a tax credit of $100 for each animal adopted from an animal shelter for up to three animals per taxpayer per year.

North Carolina House Bill 182 would establish a grant program to increase meat and seafood production and processing capacity in the state.

Minnesota House Bill 1548 would mandate an open season for hunting wolves unless the wolf is listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. The bill would also require a review of available data on “wolf depredation on livestock and pets and other incidents of human conflict.”

Rhode Island Senate Bill 402 would prohibit the import or release of any species of animal into the state for the purpose of canned hunting and the restriction of the movement of any “native or domestic species” through the use of “fences, manmade structures and/or naturally occurring barriers” for the purpose of canned hunting. The bill would provide an exemption for “the release of domestic game birds on public property, or on private property licensed by the department of environmental management as a shooting preserve, for the purpose of hunting.”

Rhode Island Senate Bill 364 would require cities and towns in the state to exempt from taxation “any real property situated in the city or town classified and utilized as dairy farmland.”

New York Senate Bill 5156 would require the establishment and maintenance of a database of state convictions for “animal cruelty, fighting, neglect, abandonment, and mistreatment” that shall be made available to “all law enforcement entities, district attorneys, duly incorporated humane societies, societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals, dog or cat protective associations and animal control officers.”

New York Assembly Bill 5823 would require veterinarians to report suspected animal cruelty to an appropriate government agency.

Illinois Senate Bill 1669 would prohibit insurance companies from canceling, charging an increased rate, or refusing to issue or renew a policy based on the breed of the dog in the home, but would allow insurance companies to do the same “based in whole or in part upon the harboring of a dog found to be vicious.” Illinois Senate Bill 1672 contains the same provisions, as well as an authorization for such company to inquire about the number of dogs on the property, whether the dogs have been spayed or neutered, whether the dogs have a history of biting a human, and whether the dogs have been deemed vicious before issuing such a policy.

Colorado Senate Bill 135 would prohibit the use in a traveling animal act of any “Cetartiodactyla other than bison, cattle, deer, elk, goats, reindeer, swine, and sheep; Felidae other than domestic cats; wild Canidae other than domestic dogs; Marsupialia; nonhuman primates; Perissodactyla other than horses, donkeys and mules; Pinnipedian; Proboscidea; Ratites; Spheniscidae; and Ursidae,” including hybrids, whether wild-borne or captive-bred.

Illinois Senate Bill 2266 would raise a conviction for aggravated cruelty to a companion animal that causes the death of the animal to a Class 3 felony from a Class 4 felony, a second or subsequent conviction of aggravated cruelty to a companion animal that causes “serious injury” to a Class 3 felony from a Class 4 felony, and a second or subsequent conviction of aggravated cruelty to a companion animal that causes the death of the animal to a Class 2 felony from a Class 3 felony.

Utah House Bill 426 would require local education agencies to adopt a policy governing proper handling of therapy animals on school grounds if a school within that local agency “provides animal-assisted interventions through therapy animals.”

Pilgrim’s Pride has pled guilty to conspiring to fix the price of chicken products sold for food and has been fined $107,923,572.

A coalition of groups have filed suit against the Bureau of Land Management challenging former Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt’s decision to grant a new grazing permit to Hammond Ranches in Oregon.

A new lawsuit alleges fifteen directors breached their fiduciary duty with regard to the company’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The complaint cites insufficient provision of PPE to workers, failure to warn employees of possible exposure to positive cases of the coronavirus, efforts to have the industry deemed “essential,” wrongful death lawsuits, and false and misleading statements regarding the company’s handling of the pandemic.

A panel of California state judges has upheld a lower court’s dismissal of a proposed class action alleging Foster Farms misleads customers with its American Humane Association certification labels. The panel held that the claims were preempted under the Poultry Products Inspection Act because the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection System approved the labels.

The Animal Welfare Institute has filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission over Boar’s Head Provisions’ use of the term “humanely raised” on its turkey and chicken sausage products.

National Marine Fisheries Service has announced the initiation of a five-year review of the Cook Inlet Beluga Whale distinct population segment. The agency is seeking information for its review until April 26, 2021.

National Marine Fisheries Service has proposed a new rule that would remove the regulatory restriction that limits the processing of squids and sculpins to fishmeal only.

An article by Brian Gallini published in the Washington Law Review, “Suspects, Cars & Police Dogs: A Complicated Relationship,” examines the use of dogs in policing to justify automobile searches.