Category: Law

Rhino horn trafficking bust nets pro rodeo champion Wade Steffen

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  April 2012:

 

LONG BEACH,  Calif.–-Rhino horn trafficking and rodeo intersected in February 2012 with the arrest of 2010 All-American ProRodeo Finals steer wrestling co-champion Wade Steffen,  32,  in Hico,  Texas,  along with alleged California co-conspirators Jimmy Kha, 49,  Mai Nguyen, 41,  Kha’s son Felix,  26,  and Jin Zhao Feng, a Chinese citizen who allegedly arranged the transport of the horns to China.
Steffen,  the Khas,  and Nguyen were charged with rhino horn trafficking in violation of the Endangered Species Act and the Lacey Act.  The Lacey Act prohibits interstate traffic in protected species. Read more

Judge limits Bonneville sea lion cull toll to 30

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  April 2012:

    WASHINGTON D.C.–U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg on March 22,  2012 denied an injunction sought by the Humane Society of the U.S. against a National Marine Fisheries Service decision to allow California sea lions to be  culled at the Bonne-ville Dam on the Columbia River to protect endangered spring salmon runs–but Boasberg restricted the proposed killing to 30 sea lions per year, rather than the 92 proposed by NMFS,  and ordered that the sea lions may not be shot.
California sea lions eat under 4% of the Columbia River salmon runs,  according to federal studies.  But Oregon and Washington have for more than 15 years blamed sea lions for declining catches.  HSUS and other organizations have repeatedly blocked or restricted proposed sea lion culls by filing lawsuits invoking the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Minister boasts of tough law while "Lizard King" walks

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  April 2012:

    PUTRAJAYA,  Malaysia— Wildlife trafficking prosecutions have dropped by more than 80% since the Malaysian Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 came into force,  boasted Natural Resources & Environment minister Seri Douglas Uggah Embas to Joseph Sipalan of the Malaysia Star on March 15,  2012.
“I’m very happy to note that the Act has had an effect. We’ve learned from the previous Act that one main ingredient is deterrent penalties,”  Embas said,  noting that only 464 wildlife trafficking cases were recorded in 2011, down from an average of 3,500 cases a year in 2007-2010.
But Anson Wong,  54,  the first prominent trafficker convicted under the 2010 law, walked free on February 22,  2012 after the Malay Court of Appeal cut his jail sentence from five years to 17 months and 15 days.  Wong was identified by Bryan Christy in his 2008 exposé book The Lizard King as “the most important person in the international reptile business.” Read more

Another Chicken Activist’s Perspective on Federal Legal Protection for Hens

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  April 2012:

Another Chicken Activist’s Perspective on Federal Legal Protection for Hens
by Paul Shapiro, Senior director of farm animal protection, Humane Society of the U.S.

In 1999, United Poultry Concerns rightly lauded the passage of the European Union’s law requiring a phase-in of better treatment of egg-laying hens by 2012, including a switch from barren battery cages to enriched colony cages.
“Europe Bans Battery Hen Cages” was the UPC newsletter’s headline,  with the article continuing that caging systems will be improved by reducing stocking density,  but that cage-free would have been better.  “Historic Day for Hens,”  continued another UPC headline about the EU announcement.  The article asserted,  “It is time for the United States and Canada to climb aboard,”   adding “The vote is a victory for the birds and for our struggle on their behalf in a country that,  to date,  accords to birds and to farmed animals no federal protection at all.” Read more

Iowa & Utah are first states to pass ag-gag laws

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  April 2012:

    DES MOINES,  SALT LAKE CITY –-Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and Utah Governor Gary Herbert on March 2,  2012 and March 20,  2012 signed into law the first two U.S. state “ag-gag” bills,  written to suppress undercover video exposés of animal handling.
Following a template introduced into at least eight state legislatures since 2010,  the Utah law creates a criminal offense called “agricultural operation interference,”  committed if a person,  “without consent from the owner of the operation,  or the owner’s agent,  knowingly or intentionally records an image of,  or sound from,  the operation, while the person is on the property where the agricultural operation is located,  or by leaving a recording device on the property where the agricultural operation is located.” Read more

Public may vote on Miami pit bull ordinance

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  March 2012:

Public may vote on Miami pit bull ordinance

MIAMI,  Florida–The Miami-Dade County public safety and health care administration committee on February 14,  2012 recommended to the county commission that voters should be asked on the August 2012 county ballot whether a 23-year-old ban on possession of pit bulls should be repealed.  This would apparently be the first time anywhere for a pit bull ban to be put before voters. Read more

Another Chicken Activist’s Perspective on Federal Legal Protection for Hens

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ISSUES

by Paul Shapiro
Senior director of farm animal protection, Humane Society of the U.S.

In 1999, United Poultry Concerns rightly lauded the passage of the European Union’s law requiring a phase-in of better treatment of egg-laying hens by 2012, including a switch from barren battery cages to enriched colony cages.

“Europe Bans Battery Hen Cages” was the UPC newsletter’s headline,  with the article continuing that caging systems will be improved by reducing stocking density,  but that cage-free would have been better.  “Historic Day for Hens,”  continued another UPC headline about the EU announcement.  The article asserted,  “It is time for the United States and Canada to climb aboard,”   adding “The vote is a victory for the birds and for our struggle on their behalf in a country that,  to date,  accords to birds and to farmed animals no federal protection at all.” Read more

Lawsuits & prosecutions rattle Northeast horse rescuers

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  March 2012:

Lawsuits & prosecutions rattle Northeast horse rescuers

SARATOGA SPRINGS,  RIVERHEAD, HARRISBURG,  BINGHAMTON–Four New York and Pennsylvania horse rescue operations,  ranging from one believed to be the largest in the U.S. to some of the smallest,  entered the 2012 spring mud season mired in controversy,  with the possibility of more muck flying as result of lawsuits filed in attempts to restore reputations. Read more

U.S. Supreme Court overturns California law requiring downers to be euthanized

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From ANIMAL PEOPLE,  March 2012:

U.S. Supreme Court overturns California law requiring downers to be euthanized

WASHINGTON D.C.— The U.S. Supreme Court on January 23,  2012 unanimously overturned a 2008 California law requiring slaughterhouses to immediately euthanize non-ambulatory livestock.

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Focused on the issue of federal primacy over state legislation,  the legal reasoning behind the 9-0 verdict signaled that the Supreme Court is likely to favor uniform national standards for livestock handling in any situation where state and federal law are perceived to be in conflict.  This could mean any situation in which states have adopted supplementary humane standards meant to address gaps in federal laws which were last updated by Congress several decades ago. Read more

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