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Posted 17 April 2006
View legislative update (PDF)
As several state legislatures are wrapping up their sessions, developments are coming in daily. This month:
- West Virginia legislation requiring law enforcement officers responding to domestic violence complaints to report suspected animal abuse was signed into law.
- Alabama and Virginia joined the list of states enabling the creation of pet trusts for the care of animals.
- A Pennsylvania bill creating the crime of "ecoterrorism" passed both houses. The definition includes offenses against property intending to intimidate or coerce an individual lawfully participating in an activity involving animals.
- A provision removing ECFVG as a requirement for applicants who have not graduated from accredited colleges was deleted from the final version of legislation enacted in Indiana. However, similar language was adopted in Kansas.
- A joint resolution was introduced proposing the revision of the Florida State Constitution to delete obsolete provisions, including the section on confinement of pigs during pregnancy, which was adopted in 2002.
- Provisions dealing with equine dentistry in Arizona and artificial insemination in Tennessee have not been finalized but are being negotiated at press time.
- A potential precedent-setting bill in Hawaii, limiting the ban on recovery for negligent infliction of serious emotional distress or disturbance to damage only to real property or inanimate material objects, has been held back in committee.
Linking domestic and animal abuse, Maine has become the first state to enact a law allowing judges the authority to include pets in protection orders in domestic abuse cases. The law was adopted in recognition that many victims that seek safety from domestic violence report that their abusers either harmed or threatened their pets as a tool to control and intimidate them. Judges around the country increasingly are including animals in protective orders.
In another noteworthy court decision, a jury rejected a $1.8 million lawsuit accusing Feld Entertainment, which owns the Ringling Bros. Circus, of a spy campaign against animal-rights groups. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) had brought the civil lawsuit accusing company executives of stealing sensitive documents and wiretapping PETA's activities. A PETA lawyer said that the group will appeal.
This month's update chart is attached in landscape format. Please continue to share your thoughts and suggestions with us regarding state legislative and regulatory affairs. Thank you for your support.
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