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Montreal SPCA to Challenge Housing Pet Bans in Court

The Montreal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) filed a writ of intervention with the housing tribunal in support of two tenants who are challenging a clause in their rental leases prohibiting them from owning animals. The SPCA contends that these clauses contradict the recognition of animals as “sentient beings” in the Civil Code of Quebec since they treat animals as mere property and disregard the emotional attachment and obligations humans have towards them. They also argue that article five of the Quebec Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantee of every person’s right to respect of their private life protects the right to choose to live with a companion animal, as well as an argument about such clauses being abusive and unreasonable, especially during a housing crisis. On May 25th, Andrés Fontecilla, MNA for Laurier-Dorion and Québec Solidaire's housing critic, introduced a bill that would amend the Civil Code to render ineffective “no-pet” clauses in rental housing leases.

UK Court Rules Against Legal Challenge Against Use of Fast-Growing Chickens

The High Court in the United Kingdom has dismissed a legal challenge by The Humane League against the Government's allowance of fast-growing broiler chickens in farming. The charity argued that this practice violated existing animal welfare laws which state that animals can only be kept for farming purposes if they can be kept “without any detrimental effect on their health or welfare.” However, the judge ruled that the Secretary of State had not acted against her legal duties. The court acknowledged the evidence that fast-growing breeds are more likely to experience potential welfare issues when compared to slower growing breeds but deemed it reasonable for the Secretary of State to conclude that they could be kept without detriment to their welfare under suitable environmental conditions.

American Supreme Court Declines to Hear Appeal Challenging California’s Foie Gras Ban

The United States Supreme Court has decided it will not involve itself in a dispute over California’s longstanding ban on foie gras. Canadian duck and goose farmers were seeking review of a 2022 decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upholding the ban. The petitioners argued that they followed strict laws in their jurisdictions to protect animal welfare, but California lawyers defended the ban, citing cruel production methods involving enlarging birds’ livers. The case comes on the heels of the United States Supreme Court decision to uphold California’s Proposition Twelve, mandating that pork sold in the state respect space requirements for factory farmed pigs.

Colorado Judge Rules the State Failed to Protect Waterways from Factory Farm Pollution

A Colorado court has ruled that the state's Department of Public Health & Environment violated state and federal laws by not adequately protecting waterways in a general water-pollution permit for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. This decision has significant implications as almost all factory farms in Colorado operate under the permit in question. The ruling, prompted by a legal battle led by the Center for Biological Diversity and Food & Water Watch, aims to address the state's failure to enforce permits and ensure compliance with water-pollution restrictions through proper monitoring. Hannah Connor, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said: “The court’s decision, which flatly rejects the state’s ‘catch-me-if-you-can’ permitting style, is a big step toward cleaning up Colorado’s waterways by holding this industry accountable for its pollution.”

UK Government Bans Issuance of Licences for Animal Testing of Cosmetic Ingredients

The UK government has banned the issuance of licenses for animal testing of cosmetics ingredients. This comes after a recent court ruling which found that ministers changed a longstanding policy against animal testing to align with new European Union (EU) chemical rules that required companies to test some ingredients used in cosmetics on animals to ensure they were safe for workers manufacturing the ingredients. In a statement to the UK Parliament, Home Secretary Suella Braverman announced that no new licenses will be granted for animal testing of chemicals exclusively used in cosmetics. The government is engaging with companies to find a way forward on existing licenses.

US Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to California’s Law Mandating More Space for Pigs

The United States (US) Supreme Court has upheld a California law requiring more space for breeding pigs, ruling that a challenge to the law by pork producers was properly dismissed by lower courts. The law, Proposition 12, was passed in 2018 and requires pork sold in the state to come from pigs whose mothers were raised with at least twenty-four square feet of space, with the ability to lie down and turn around. Pork producers argued that the law would force the industry to change its practices and raise the cost of bacon and other pork products nationwide.

Animal Welfare Group Loses Legal Challenge Over UK Government's Alleged Secret Reversal of Animal Testing Ban

Animal welfare organization, Cruelty Free International (CFI), has lost a High Court challenge against the United Kingdom (UK) government over allegations that it had abandoned a ban on testing cosmetic product ingredients on animals. Justice Linden ruled that ministers were acting lawfully when they changed a policy on animal testing to align with new European Union (EU) chemical rules that required companies to test some ingredients used in cosmetics on animals to ensure they were safe for workers manufacturing the ingredients. The judge said it was “regrettable” the Government did not publicly announce the policy change but there were no breaches of legal duties by the Home Office and neither CFI nor the public had a “legitimate expectation” to be informed about a change in policy position. UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak has confirmed that the country’s ban on animal testing for cosmetic products for the consumer will not be weakened.

British Columbia Animal Advocates Appeal Convictions

Animal rights activists, Amy Soranno and Nick Schafer, are appealing their convictions and sentences in the continuing fall-out from their April 2019 occupation of a Fraser Valley hog farm in Abbotsford, British Columbia (BC). They were sentenced in October 2022, after being convicted at trial of break-and-enter and mischief. Lawyers for Soranno and Schafer filed an appeal with the BC Court of Appeal, arguing Justice Verhoeven erred in law by preventing them from showing the jury video evidence of what they describe as animal cruelty at the farm, and they claim that the Abbotsford police lost and destroyed crucial evidence central to their case.

British Columbia Animal Advocates Appeal Convictions

Animal rights activists, Amy Soranno and Nick Schafer, are appealing their convictions and sentences in the continuing fall-out from their April 2019 occupation of a Fraser Valley hog farm in Abbotsford, British Columbia (BC). They were sentenced in October 2022, after being convicted at trial of break-and-enter and mischief. Lawyers for Soranno and Schafer filed an appeal with the BC Court of Appeal, arguing Justice Verhoeven erred in law by preventing them from showing the jury video evidence of what they describe as animal cruelty at the farm, and they claim that the Abbotsford police lost and destroyed crucial evidence central to their case.

Brazilian Court Bans Live Cattle Exports Citing Animal Welfare Concerns

A Brazilian court has issued a ban on live cattle exports from all of the country’s ports following a lawsuit filed by animal rights group, the National Forum for the Protection and Defense of Animals. The ruling is a national suspension of all cattle from Brazil until export markets can guarantee adequate treatment of livestock. The group praised federal judge Djalma Gomes’ ruling for its recognition that “Animals are not things. They are sentient living beings, that is, individuals who feel hunger, thirst, pain, cold, anguish, fear.” Brazil primarily exports live cattle to developing countries, including those in the Middle East, Iraq, Jordan, and Turkey.