New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu has signed into law House Bill 529 which will make any person who “purposely beats, cruelly whips, tortures or mutilates . . . any wild animal, fish or wild bird,” or who causes such acts, guilty of a class B felony. Any person who “negligently” takes such action shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. The law includes an affirmative defense for “any manner of taking, open season time limits, permitted scientific investigations or wildlife management practices lawful under title XVIII or administrative rules.”
Issue 97: August 2, 2021
This Week's Spotlights
Legislative Updates - Passed State Actions
New Hampshire Criminalizes Stealing, Tampering with Dogs
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu has signed into law House Bill 338 which will make stealing dogs a misdemeanor, a second offense a class B felony, and a subsequent offense a class A felony. The law also classifies poisoning dogs as a class B felony and makes the offender “liable to the dog's owner for [their] value.” The law additionally makes it a crime for any individual other than the owner or an authorized agent to remove a or destroy a dog’s collar, tracking device, or microchip––unless the person is acting on behalf of law enforcement, animal control, or an animal shelter and the dog is in imminent danger or has been held for seven consecutive days.
Case Law Updates - Federal Case Law Updates
Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Challenge to California’s Prop 12
The Ninth Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of a challenge brought by the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Pork Producers Council to California Proposition 12, a law prohibiting certain confinement methods used in animal agriculture. The court held that the complaint did not plausibly plead that Proposition 12 violates the dormant Commerce Clause by compelling out-of-state producers to change their operations to meet California standards, nor that it imposes excessive burdens on interstate commerce without advancing any legitimate local interest.
Legislative Updates
Pending Federal Actions
Congress Considers Additional Funding to Protect Wildlife
Senate Bill 2372, Recovering America’s Wildlife Act of 2021, would amend the Pitman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act to allocate $1.3 billion of annual funding for the management of fish and wildlife species of greatest conservation need––defined as flora or fauna that “may include terrestrial, aquatic, marine, and invertebrate species that are of low population, declining, rare, or facing threats and in need of conservation attention.”
Passed State Actions
New Hampshire Criminalizes Cruelty to Wild Animals
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu has signed into law House Bill 529 which will make any person who “purposely beats, cruelly whips, tortures or mutilates . . . any wild animal, fish or wild bird,” or who causes such acts, guilty of a class B felony. Any person who “negligently” takes such action shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. The law includes an affirmative defense for “any manner of taking, open season time limits, permitted scientific investigations or wildlife management practices lawful under title XVIII or administrative rules.”
New Hampshire Criminalizes Stealing, Tampering with Dogs
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu has signed into law House Bill 338 which will make stealing dogs a misdemeanor, a second offense a class B felony, and a subsequent offense a class A felony. The law also classifies poisoning dogs as a class B felony and makes the offender “liable to the dog's owner for [their] value.” The law additionally makes it a crime for any individual other than the owner or an authorized agent to remove a or destroy a dog’s collar, tracking device, or microchip––unless the person is acting on behalf of law enforcement, animal control, or an animal shelter and the dog is in imminent danger or has been held for seven consecutive days.
Case Law Updates
Federal Case Law Updates
Ninth Circuit Affirms USDA Win Over Challenge to Checkoff Program
The Ninth Circuit has affirmed a lower court’s grant of summary judgment to the United States Department of Agriculture and several intervening state beef councils in a lawsuit brought by a cattle producers’ association challenging the agency’s administration of the national beef checkoff program under the Beef Promotion and Research Act of 1985. At issue was whether noncontractual transfers of checkoff funds to third parties to produce promotional materials that are not pre-approved by USDA comprised an unconstitutional compelled subsidy of private speech. The court held that such speech made by third parties under these arrangements is effectively government speech.
Ninth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Challenge to California’s Prop 12
The Ninth Circuit has affirmed the dismissal of a challenge brought by the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Pork Producers Council to California Proposition 12, a law prohibiting certain confinement methods used in animal agriculture. The court held that the complaint did not plausibly plead that Proposition 12 violates the dormant Commerce Clause by compelling out-of-state producers to change their operations to meet California standards, nor that it imposes excessive burdens on interstate commerce without advancing any legitimate local interest.
Agency Updates
FWS Initiates Status Review of Alexander Archipelago Wolf and Western Ridged Mussel
The Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that it has found that two petitions present substantial scientific or commercial information that listing the Alexander Archipelago wolf and western ridged mussel under the Endangered Species Act may be warranted. The agency thus is initiating a status review for the species and requesting additional scientific and commercial data and other information regarding the species and factors that may affect their status to assist in its reviews.
FWS Initiates Status Review of Eskimo Curlew
The Fish and Wildlife Service has announced its initiation of a 5-year status review of the Eskimo curlew under the Endangered Species Act. The agency is accepting information to assist in its review until September 27, 2021.
FSIS Proposes to End Pet Food Certification Program
The Food Safety and Inspection Service has proposed to end its fee-for-service program that certifies pet food is “produced under sanitary conditions and meet compositional and labeling requirements.” The agency states that the “regulations are outdated, and no firms are currently paying for FSIS certification services for pet food.” The agency also notes “the fact that both USDA and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspect pet food has led to industry and consumer confusion, and both agencies agree that stakeholders will benefit from the simplification of Federal jurisdiction over pet food.” The agency is accepting comments on the proposal until September 27, 2021.
Academic Updates
Articles
“Estimating the Effect of Moving Meat-Free Products to the Meat Aisle on Sales of Meat and Meat-Free Products: A Non-Randomised Controlled Intervention Study in a Large UK Supermarket Chain”
A new research article by Carmen Piernas, Brian Cook, Richard Stevens, Cristina Stewart, Jennifer Hollowell, Peter Scarborough, and Susan A. Jebb published in PLOS Medicine, “Estimating the Effect of Moving Meat-Free Products to the Meat Aisle on Sales of Meat and Meat-Free Products: A Non-Randomised Controlled Intervention Study in a Large UK Supermarket Chain,” evaluates whether changing the positioning of meat-free products in stores may be an effective method to reduce meat consumption. The study found that prominent positioning of meat-free products in the meat aisle of supermarkets “did not result in decreased sales of equivalent meat products,” but did lead “to a significant increase in sales of meat-free products, which was sustained over time” (by an average of 25%).
The US Edition of the Animal Law Digest is published weekly with the support of the Brooks McCormick Jr. Animal Law & Policy Program at Harvard Law School.