Brooks Animal Law Digest

H.R.5217, the “Refuge from Cruel Trapping Act,” would amend the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act to prohibit the possession or use of body-gripping traps in the National Wildlife Refuge System. The bill was introduced by Representatives Jerrold Nadler along with 21 other original cosponsors and has been referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources. Bill text is not yet publicly available.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts entered an order granting a joint stipulation and motion to extend stay for six months in a case brought by the National Pork Producers Council and multiple restaurant and hospitality associations challenging Massachusetts Question 3, which prohibits the in-state sale of pork not compliant with the state’s animal confinement standards. According to the joint stipulation, the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources will propose regulations to address “transshipped whole pork meat,” which is out-of-state pork “that enters and exits Massachusetts without additional processing or repackaging, exclusively for the purposes of transshipment or export outside of Massachusetts.” The parties to the joint stipulation requested a stay of those regulations for at least 60 days after their publication but for no longer than a year. The parties agreed that all other pork sales rules should go into effect on August 24, 2023, but that whole pork meat in the supply chain (post-slaughter) as of August 23, 2023, should not be subject to the pork sales rules.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Southern Division, granted a motion for summary judgement in favor of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (“Smithfield”) and Murphy-Brown LLC, a Smithfield subsidiary, against nuisance claims related to hog waste brought by 18 North Carolina residents. The residents claimed in their lawsuit that Vestal Farms, a hog farm supplying Smithfield, trespassed upon their properties and acted negligently by emitting hog waste as a “juice,” “spray,” and “mist.” In granting summary judgment to Smithfield and the other defendant, the court found that the “plaintiffs have failed to present any non-speculative or non-conclusory evidence establishing what substances are allegedly injuring them and who or what caused them to be on plaintiffs’ property.”

Montana District Court Judge Kathy Seely entered a 103-page order finding that a group of sixteen young people in the state have a “fundamental constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment, which includes climate as part of the environmental life-support system” and that laws barring the consideration of greenhouse gas emissions in the state’s permitting processes are unconstitutional. The ruling marks the conclusion of the first bench trial in a youth-led climate change lawsuit in the United States.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced a proposal to amend the Horse Protection Act regulations to require APHIS screening, training, and authorization of qualified inspectors at horse shows, horse exhibitions, horse sales, and horse auctions. The proposed rule is intended to protect horses from soring and end unfair competition practices. APHIS will accept public comments on the proposed regulatory amendments through October 20, 2023.

Pakistan’s Parliament passed the Islamabad Nature Conservation and Wildlife Management Act, 2023 to strengthen wildlife protections in the Islamabad Capital Territory, including prohibitions related to hunting, killing, injuring, and private party ownership and breeding of wild animals. One critique asserts that the Act “offers vaguely worded provisions that seem unlikely to change the status quo.” It also points out that the private ownership ban must be enforced to be effective and that the new law entirely ignores the welfare of captive wild animals in licensed facilities.

The orca Tokitae, also known as Lolita, passed away in one of the smallest orca tanks in the world at the Miami Seaquarium after more than fifty years in captivity. She was captured on August 8, 1970, off the coast of Washington State and sold to Miami Seaquarium for $20,000. In 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida dismissed an Endangered Species Act lawsuit accusing the Miami Seaquarium of an illegal take. On March 30, 2023, the Miami Sequarium announced that Friends of Lolita, with funding from NFL Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, had engaged in an agreement to bring Lolita back to a sea sanctuary in Washington in the next 18–24 months. Lolita’s mother is approximately eighty years old and still lives in the wild. 

H.R.5217, the “Refuge from Cruel Trapping Act,” would amend the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act to prohibit the possession or use of body-gripping traps in the National Wildlife Refuge System. The bill was introduced by Representatives Jerrold Nadler along with 21 other original cosponsors and has been referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources. Bill text is not yet publicly available.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts entered an order granting a joint stipulation and motion to extend stay for six months in a case brought by the National Pork Producers Council and multiple restaurant and hospitality associations challenging Massachusetts Question 3, which prohibits the in-state sale of pork not compliant with the state’s animal confinement standards. According to the joint stipulation, the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources will propose regulations to address “transshipped whole pork meat,” which is out-of-state pork “that enters and exits Massachusetts without additional processing or repackaging, exclusively for the purposes of transshipment or export outside of Massachusetts.” The parties to the joint stipulation requested a stay of those regulations for at least 60 days after their publication but for no longer than a year. The parties agreed that all other pork sales rules should go into effect on August 24, 2023, but that whole pork meat in the supply chain (post-slaughter) as of August 23, 2023, should not be subject to the pork sales rules.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Southern Division, granted a motion for summary judgement in favor of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (“Smithfield”) and Murphy-Brown LLC, a Smithfield subsidiary, against nuisance claims related to hog waste brought by 18 North Carolina residents. The residents claimed in their lawsuit that Vestal Farms, a hog farm supplying Smithfield, trespassed upon their properties and acted negligently by emitting hog waste as a “juice,” “spray,” and “mist.” In granting summary judgment to Smithfield and the other defendant, the court found that the “plaintiffs have failed to present any non-speculative or non-conclusory evidence establishing what substances are allegedly injuring them and who or what caused them to be on plaintiffs’ property.”

Following Real Kosher Ice Cream Inc.’s (“Real Kosher”) recall of certain soft-serve desserts because of their “potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes,” a proposed class action filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York alleges Real Kosher “improperly, deceptively, and misleadingly labeled and marketed its Products to reasonable consumers . . . by omitting and not disclosing to consumers on its packaging that consumption of the Products may increase the risk of contracting invasive infections.” As of August 9, 2023, there have been two reports of such illnesses, one in Pennsylvania and one in New York.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reached a settlement with Mark Ford and related defendants regarding alleged Clean Water Act violations at their equine center in New York, which trains harness racing horses. The violations alleged include filling wetlands, discharging pollutants from a medium Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO), and violating permit conditions. Under the terms of the consent decree, the defendants must pay a $200,000 civil penalty and take certain actions, including halting unauthorized discharges from the CAFO and developing a wetlands mitigation plan. The consent decree is subject to public comment and court approval.

Montana District Court Judge Kathy Seely entered a 103-page order finding that a group of sixteen young people in the state have a “fundamental constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment, which includes climate as part of the environmental life-support system” and that laws barring the consideration of greenhouse gas emissions in the state’s permitting processes are unconstitutional. The ruling marks the conclusion of the first bench trial in a youth-led climate change lawsuit in the United States.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced that Minnesota-based Bellboy Import Corporation is recalling approximately 551 pounds of frozen, raw pork products that were not presented for import reinspection after import from Brazil. The products were shipped to retail and restaurant locations in Minnesota.

The Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry adopted a final rule allowing for the seizure and impoundment of an animal kept by a commercial breeder “if there is reason to believe that the health, safety, or welfare of the animal is endangered or the animal is believed to be in imminent danger.”

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) announced that it is initiating 5-year status reviews under the Endangered Species Act for 47 species in California, Nevada, and Oregon. FWS is requesting public submission of new information relating to these reviews through October 16, 2023.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) announced its proposal to list the Texas kangaroo rat as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act and designate critical habitat for the rodent found in north-central Texas. FWS will accept public comments on the proposed listing through October 16, 2023.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced endangered species status and designation of critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for the magnificent ramshorn freshwater snail species. The snail is from southeastern North Carolina. The final rule on the new ESA listing status is effective September 18, 2023.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced a proposal to amend the Horse Protection Act regulations to require APHIS screening, training, and authorization of qualified inspectors at horse shows, horse exhibitions, horse sales, and horse auctions. The proposed rule is intended to protect horses from soring and end unfair competition practices. APHIS will accept public comments on the proposed regulatory amendments through October 20, 2023.

Pakistan’s Parliament passed the Islamabad Nature Conservation and Wildlife Management Act, 2023 to strengthen wildlife protections in the Islamabad Capital Territory, including prohibitions related to hunting, killing, injuring, and private party ownership and breeding of wild animals. One critique asserts that the Act “offers vaguely worded provisions that seem unlikely to change the status quo.” It also points out that the private ownership ban must be enforced to be effective and that the new law entirely ignores the welfare of captive wild animals in licensed facilities.

The Center for Biological Diversity petitioned Mexico’s Secretaría del Medio Ambiente y Rescursos Naturales (SEMARNAT) to add bobcats to the country’s list of at-risk species, which would grant them certain protections. If SEMARNAT lists bobcats, then any actions that threaten the species would require population monitoring and management plans.

An article in Frontiers in Sustainable Tourism explores where zoos and aquaria sit on the spectrum of “dark tourism” activities, defined as “experiences associated with death, suffering and the macabre.” The author argues for “deep justice” in tourism and exposure to animals in the wild rather than in captivity to “challenge anthropocentric exceptionalism and the entitlement to entertainment.”

Food service distributor Sysco and Certified Angus Beef announced the “Sysco and Certified Angus Beef Cattle Care Partnership,” a “strategic partnership aimed at promoting animal welfare and beef sustainability.” The collaboration will focus on offering Beef Quality Assurance training and certification, which focuses on best practices for “animal husbandry, animal handling, and the responsible use of antibiotics,” to 1,000 farmers and ranchers between August 2023 and June 2024.

The orca Tokitae, also known as Lolita, passed away in one of the smallest orca tanks in the world at the Miami Seaquarium after more than fifty years in captivity. She was captured on August 8, 1970, off the coast of Washington State and sold to Miami Seaquarium for $20,000. In 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida dismissed an Endangered Species Act lawsuit accusing the Miami Seaquarium of an illegal take. On March 30, 2023, the Miami Sequarium announced that Friends of Lolita, with funding from NFL Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, had engaged in an agreement to bring Lolita back to a sea sanctuary in Washington in the next 18–24 months. Lolita’s mother is approximately eighty years old and still lives in the wild.