Brooks Animal Law Digest

Washington House Bill 1615, the “Cruelty Free Cosmetics Act,” would make it unlawful for a manufacturer to sell or offer for sale any cosmetics that have been tested on animals. The bill also would establish a $5,000 civil penalty for each violation by manufacturers. If the bill passes, Washington could join California, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey and Virginia on the list of states that haves enacted bans on animal testing for cosmetics.

Senate Bill 3315, the text of which has not yet been made publicly available, would amend the federal Endangered Species Act to require use of information provided by state, local, and tribal governments and would require disclosure to states, tribal governments, and localities of the basis of any determinations made under the ESA. The bill was introduced by Senators John Barrasso, Mike Crapo, James Risch, and Cynthia Lummis, and has been referred to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

House Bill 6100 would amend the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA) to “increase enforcement” by the U.S. Department of Agriculture by requiring the agency to share all AWA violations and non-compliances with state and local animal control and humane law enforcement agencies within twenty-four hours of when the agency’s inspectors documented the non-compliances. Rep. Cynthia Axne is the lead sponsor of the bill, which has been referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.

New Hampshire House Bill 1433 would amend the state’s cruelty to animals code to specifically include poisoning animals—with the exception of pest control—among the enumerated offenses. “Negligently” poisoning an animal “by exposing, distributing, or administering an active poison or toxic substance causing harm or death to an animal” would be treated as a misdemeanor, and purposefully poisoning an animal would be classified as a felony. The bill has been referred to the New Hampshire House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee.

Florida House Bill 849 would require the licensure of pet stores and would limit the sources from which pet stores may acquire pets for retail sales. An identical bill, Florida Senate Bill 996, was introduced in November 2021.

Washington House Bill 1615, the “Cruelty Free Cosmetics Act,” would make it unlawful for a manufacturer to sell or offer for sale any cosmetics that have been tested on animals. The bill also would establish a $5,000 civil penalty for each violation by manufacturers. If the bill passes, Washington could join California, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey and Virginia on the list of states that haves enacted bans on animal testing for cosmetics.

Ohio House Bill 508 includes extensive changes to the state’s existing family law code, including prohibitions on those who have been accused of domestic violence from “remov[ing], damage[ing], hid[ing], harm[ing], or dispos[ing] of” companion animals owned by the victim.  

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania dismissed a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the surviving spouse of a former Original Philly Cheesesteak Co. meat packing plant worker who died three weeks after being exposed to COVID-19 on the job. Plaintiff argued that Tyson, the parent company, was liable for wrongful death because it did not require the use of PPE and maintained a work-while-sick policy that penalized those who took sick days. The court dismissed Plaintiff’s suit after ruling that workers compensation is the sole remedy for job-related injuries, and therefore, both Tyson and Philly Cheesesteak are immune from litigation relating to Plaintiff’s husband’s death. The suit was dismissed with prejudice, meaning that the plaintiff may not attempt to amend her complaint or sue Tyson for the same cause of action again.

Thirteen conservation groups filed a lawsuit challenging Idaho’s wolf-trapping rules. The lawsuit contends that continued and expanded wolf trapping and snaring will injure and kill non-target grizzly bears and Canada lynx, which are federally protected species. The groups also are seeking an injunction to halt all wolf trapping in grizzly bear habitat until the merits of the case can be decided. Earthjustice is representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit that include, the Center for Biological Diversity, Footloose Montana, Friends of the Clearwater, Gallatin Wildlife Association, Global Indigenous Council, the Humane Society of the United States, International Wildlife Coexistence Network, Nimiipuu Protecting the Environment, Sierra Club, Trap Free Montana, Western Watersheds Project, Wilderness Watch and Wolves of the Rockies.

The USDA’s Food Safety & Inspection Service announced the recall of 2,320,774 pounds of fully cooked pork and pepperoni products due to possible listeria contamination. The recalled products were produced by Alexander & Hornung, a St. Clair Shores, Michigan-based division of Purdue Premium Meat Company. The recall was announced after product samples tested positive for listeria.

The California Department of Food & Agriculture (CDFA) is accepting public comments through December 7, 2021, on proposed farm animal confinement standards. The CDFA had accepted comments earlier in the year, but has reopened the comment period through December 17, 2021. The regulations are being promulgated pursuant to Proposition 12, the “Prevention of Cruelty to Farm Animal Act,” a ballot initiative that passed with 63% of the vote during California’s 2018 election. The Act requires agricultural producers to provide more space for egg-laying hens, breeding pigs, and calves raised for veal and also prohibits California businesses from selling eggs, pork, or veal products sourced from animals who were not provided these minimum space requirements.

The USDA’s Food Safety & Inspection Service published a directive with specific protocols for inspection program personnel to follow at facilities where they inspect feral swine and pigs who have been exposed to radioactive material for possible brucellosis infection. Brucellosis is an infectious disease that is highly transmissible to humans and can cause a range of serious potentially long-term symptoms including fever, endocarditis, testicular swelling, chronic fatigue, depression, and neurological symptoms.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announced availability of a draft restoration plan and environmental assessment for federally managed lands, sea turtles, marine mammals, and birds who were impacted by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill off the coast of Mississippi. FWS is holding a public webinar on January 11, 2022, and is accepting public comments on the draft plan through January 21, 2022.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced a temporary rule to allow shrimp fishers to use limited tow times as an alternative to Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) in specified Louisiana waters because environmental conditions resulting from Hurricane Ida reportedly are preventing fishers from using TEDs effectively. The temporary rule is effective from December 7, 2021, through January 5, 2022.

The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (Montana DNRC) has applied to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for an amendment to their existing Incidental Take Permit (ITP), that would add 14,642 acres of critical wildlife habitat for several protected species to the DNRC’s Forest Management Habitat Conservation Plan. If granted, the ITP effectively would broaden the coverage of the existing take permit for grizzly bears, Canada lynx, and bull trout. The FWS is accepting public comments through January 7, 2022.

After making a finding of “negligible impact,” the National Marine Fisheries Service issued a permit under the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act authorizing the incidental, but not intentional, harm and harassment of protected aquatic species and marine mammals in the course of commercial fishing in the sablefish pot fishery off the coast of Washington, Oregon, and California. The permit is effective for a period of three years beginning December 8, 2021.

The National Marine Fisheries Service issued two Letters of Authorization (LOA) to Shell Offshore, Inc., granting the oil company permission to incidentally, but not intentionally, harm and harass eighteen cetacean species during the course of oil and gas exploration in two locations in the Gulf of Mexico. The LOAs are effective from January 1, 2022, through August 31, 2022.

The National Marine Fisheries Service has received an application from UK-based Echo Pictures for a permit to harass up to 1,120 humpback whales during commercial photography and videography using vessels, drones, and divers off the coast of Maui, Hawaii through April 30, 2022. NMFS has requested that public comments be submitted by January 7, 2022.

Jean-Michel Cousteau applied to the National Marine Fisheries Service to harass up to 105 humpback whales, 700 bottlenose dolphins, 700 spinner dolphins, and 700 pantropical spotted dolphins with vessels, divers, and drones during commercial photography and videography in Hawaii. NMFS is soliciting public comments, which are due by January 7, 2022.

The Center for Biological Diversity submitted a petition for rulemaking to the National Marine Fisheries Service to require crab, lobster, and other trap fisheries to convert to ropeless gear within the next five years because entanglement in fishing gear has become a leading threat to endangered whales and sea turtles on all U.S. coastlines. The petition urges the agency to prioritize the transition in national marine sanctuaries, citing that more than 100 large whales (including critically endangered North Atlantic right whales and Pacific humpback whales) were reported entangled in fishing gear in the United States in 2018 alone.

The U.S. Navy applied to the National Marine Fisheries Service for authorization to harass ringed seals, potentially causing temporary hearing impairment, during the course of submarine training and testing activities near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska between February 1, 2022, and April 30, 2022. NMFS is seeking input on the application and will be accepting public comments through January 10, 2022.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is seeking public input on multiple permit applications received by private bird breeders who wish to amend their cooperative breeding programs for blue-eyed cockatoos and hornbills, as well as the San Diego Zoo, which has requested permission to import samples from West Indian manatees over a five-year period. The public comment period is open through January 10, 2022.

Hartman, C., Furtwaengler, P., Siegrist, M., Consumers’ evaluation of the environmental friendliness, healthiness and naturalness of meat, meat substitutes, and other protein-rich foods, Food Quality & Preference, Vol. 97 (Apr. 2022).

Pakseresht A., Kaliji S.A. & Canavari M., Review of factors affecting consumer acceptance of cultured meat, Appetite (2022).

Baum, C., Verbeke, W., and De Steur, H., Turning your weakness into my strength: How counter-messaging on conventional meat influences acceptance of cultured meat, Food Quality & Preference, Vol. 97 (Apr. 2022).

According to several media sources, legislators in Iran who describe living with animals as a "destructive social problem," have reportedly introduced a bill entitled the “Protection of the Public's Rights Against Animals,” which seeks to prohibit "importing, raising, assisting in the breeding of, breeding, buying or selling, transporting, driving or walking, and keeping in the home” a variety of domesticated and exotic animal species including  "crocodiles, turtles, snakes, lizards, cats, mice, rabbits, dogs and other unclean animals as well as monkeys." According to media sources, violators would reportedly face a fine of approximately 10-30 times the minimum monthly working wage, confiscation of the animal, and a three-month loss of access to any vehicle they used to transport the animal.

Animal Justice, a Canadian animal advocacy organization, reported that the Alberta Court of Appeal just handed down a decision in a cruelty case that will impact how judges across Canada consider crimes against animals. While considering whether imprisonment or court supervised observation was an appropriate punishment for a defendant who violently beat a husky puppy, the judges ruled in favor of harsher sentencing for deliberate acts of cruelty to animals, reasoning that “[t]here can be no disputing that animals are sentient beings that are capable of experiencing pain and suffering and can be victims of violence. The animal cruelty provisions are aimed at protecting animals themselves from willful acts of violence and the willful infliction of pain and suffering.”