Animal Law

On this episode I will be discussing Krasno v Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin, a crazy case involving comments made on the Facebook and Instagram accounts of the University involving the dreadful research conducted on primates at the University and, in particular, at the infamous Harlow Center for Biological Psychology. Joining me will be both the plaintiff in this case, Madeline Krasno, a former employee at the Center, and her lawyer, Caitlin Foley, of the Animal Legal Defense Fund. They will be telling us about the extraordinary lengths the University has gone to eliminate Maddie’s comments about their animal research programs from their social media pages and why and how that implicates the First Amendment.

*We are thrilled to expand the accessibility of our podcast by offering written transcripts of the interviews! Click here to read Mariann’s interview with Caitlin Foley & Maddie Krasno.

Maddie Krasno is a former primate lab worker turned activist. She has worked for numerous animal sanctuaries, a wildlife rehabilitation center, and advocacy groups. Maddie holds a master’s degree in Humane Education through the Institute for Humane Education and Valparaiso University and bachelor’s degrees in Zoology and Child Development from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Maddie was a student animal caretaker at UW-Madison’s Harlow Primate Research Laboratory from 2011-2013 during her undergraduate education. Maddie is currently a plaintiff in two free speech lawsuits related to animal testing against 1) The University of Wisconsin-Madison and 2) the National Institutes of Health (NIH) where she is represented by the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

Caitlin Foley is a staff attorney with Animal Legal Defense Fund. As a staff attorney, Caitlin focuses on a range of civil actions including challenges to unlawful agency actions that impact wild and farmed animals, and suits that seek to hold private actors accountable for their neglect of captive animals used for entertainment. Caitlin graduated in 2010 from the University of Pennsylvania, and in 2016 from the University of Chicago Law School. While earning a law degree, Caitlin also clerked for the Animal Legal Defense Fund. Prior to attending law school, Caitlin performed disaster relief work and garden-based education as an AmeriCorps volunteer for two years in New York City. Following this, Caitlin spent one year as a college counselor at a Brooklyn public school. Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Caitlin enjoys reading books, running, and spending time with her daughter, husband and pit pull rescued companion Candy.

Resources:

• • OHH episode 657 w/ Christopher Soul Eubanks
  • OHH episode 656 w/ Dr Andrew Knight
  • OHH episode 655 w/ Mike Bronner & Gloria Pancrazi
  • North American Animal Law Conference
  • The Animal Law Conference

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This episode of The Animal Law Podcast is brought to you in part by The Animal Law Conference. Co-hosted by the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis and Clark Law School — this year’s conference marks the thirtieth anniversary of this premier animal law event. Save the date for November 4-6, 2022!

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The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focus...

On this week’s podcast I will be talking to Will Lowrey of Animal Outlook about a case that really has everyone in the animal law community talking. Several years ago Animal Outlook conducted an undercover investigation of Martin Farms, in Pennsylvania, a dairy farm that proved to be the locus of much hideous cruelty to animals. Some of that cruelty was what we often call “gratuitous,” i.e., not in the interests of the farm, just plain old ugliness. But a good deal of it consisted of the way Martin Farms conducted its business, such as the horrendous suffering inflicted upon calves in the “dehorning” process. After years of legal effort by Animal Outlook the case ended up in an appellate court in Pennsylvania which said, “yeah, this is bad”. Well, they said a lot more than that and much of it implicates one of the most nefarious legal tricks of the trade that the industry has used to avoid consequences for their illegal treatment of animals, the “customary” or “normal” farming practices exemption.

Will Lowrey is Legal Counsel for Animal Outlook. On behalf of Animal Outlook, Will is engaged in numerous lawsuits against the government and animal agriculture using a wide range of legal strategies including administrative challenges, false advertising, and animal cruelty laws. Will also supports Animal Outlook’s investigations work. Prior to joining Animal Outlook, Will clerked in the Superior Court of New Jersey and interned with the Virginia Attorney General’s Animal Law Unit and the Animal Legal Defense Fund. Before law school, Will worked a lengthy corporate career and, in his free time, helped run several non-profits focused on a variety of animal issues.

Resources:

• Animal Law Conference
• Our Hen House episode 587: Going Undercover for Animals ft. Erin Wing

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This episode of The Animal Law Podcast is brought to you in part by The Animal Law Conference. Co-hosted by the Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Center for Animal Law Studies at Lewis and Clark Law School — this year’s conference marks the thirtieth anniversary of this premier animal law event. Save the date for November 4-6, 2022!

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The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

As the Animal Law Podcast 2021 Exclusive Sponsor, the The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy is excited to share a new FREE resource: The Brooks Animal Law Digest – CANADA EDITION! This premier online publication offers in-depth and up-to-date coverage on Canada’s most important animal law and policy issues. It is published twice monthly as a collaborative effort with the University of Toronto Faculty of Law’s research support.

Like the Brooks Animal Law Digest – US Edition, the Canadian Digest serves as a resource for anyone interested in learning more about the field of animal law – either as a high-level overview of developments, or as a jumping off point for digging into a specific current issue in the field. All content will be accessible on the Brooks Institute website and spotlights via email twice monthly.

Click here to subscribe to the free Brooks Animal Law Digest – CANADA EDITION.

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You can listen to the Animal Law Podcast directly on our website (at the top of this page) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what...

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak, once again, with Steven Wise, founder and president of the Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP). He joins me to talk about a truly extraordinary, potentially groundbreaking, case now pending in the highest court in New York State. As in the other cases Steve has joined us to discuss in the past, the issue here is a matter of whether a particular nonhuman animal, one who can be shown to demonstrate a high level of cognition and autonomy, is entitled to fundamental rights under the common law. More specifically, can an imprisoned elephant named Happy be entitled to a writ of habeas corpus?

Steven M. Wise has practiced animal protection law for 30 years throughout the US and is the author of four books: Rattling the Cage – Toward Legal Rights for Animals; Drawing the Line – Science and the Case for Animal Rights; Though the Heavens May Fall – The Landmark Trial That Led to the End of Human Slavery; and An American Trilogy – Death, Slavery, and Dominion Along the Banks of the Cape Fear River. Watch Steve’s TED Talk on nonhuman animal rights here.

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The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

As the Animal Law Podcast 2021 Exclusive Sponsor, the The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

The Brooks Institute is excited to share a new FREE resource, Animal Law Fundamentals! Animal Law Fundamentals is a documentary-style series of video presentations and scholarly papers on the fundamentals of animal law by some of North America’s notable animal law scholars. The goal of this series is to make the fundamentals of animal law accessible to the public from premier subject matter experts. It is an orientation for anyone interested in gaining a substantive overview on an animal law subject matter quickly and effectively by listening to an academic or practicing scholar, as well as, having a companion paper into which there can be a ‘deep dive’. View the trailer, full presentation and accompanying paper here.

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You can listen to the Animal Law Podcast directly on our website (at the top of this page) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning, weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eleventh glorious year!

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak with Tyler Lobdell about Food and Water Watch v Environmental Protection Agency, in which the 9th Circuit recently held that the EPA, in setting forth permitting requirements under the Clean Water Act for the way Idaho factory farms dispose of the staggering amount of manure that they are producing, was not, in very significant ways, requiring them to monitor themselves. Since there is no monitoring other than self-monitoring, this failure obviously defeats the purpose of having the requirements in the first place and undoubtedly accounts for the dreadful condition of many Idaho waterways. Tyler also discusses the overall lax enforcement of environmental regulations as they apply to factory farms, and the important implications for this case nationwide.

Tyler Lobdell is a staff attorney with Food & Water Watch where he focuses on combating factory farms through legal advocacy. Prior to joining Food & Water Watch, Tyler spent two years as the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Food Law Fellow. He is particularly interested in the intersections between animal law and environmental law. Tyler graduated from Lewis & Clark Law School, where he served as Co-Editor in Chief of the Animal Law Review. A long-time environmentalist, Tyler spent almost 10 years leading conservation programs across the U.S. before attending law school. Aside from legal work, he currently spends his time raising two sons, caring for a flock of rescue chickens, and enjoying the outdoors.

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The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

As the Animal Law Podcast 2021 Exclusive Sponsor, the The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy is excited to share a new FREE resource: The Brooks Animal Law Digest – CANADA EDITION! This premier online publication offers in-depth and up-to-date coverage on Canada’s most important animal law and policy issues. It is published twice monthly as a collaborative effort with the University of Toronto Faculty of Law’s research support.

Like the Brooks Animal Law Digest – US Edition, the Canadian Digest serves as a resource for anyone interested in learning more about the field of animal law – either as a high-level overview of developments, or as a jumping off point for digging into a specific current issue in the field. All content will be accessible on the Brooks Institute website and spotlights via email twice monthly.

Click here to subscribe to the free Brooks Animal Law Digest – CANADA EDITION.

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You can listen to the Animal Law Podcast directly on our website (at the top of this page) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation, or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning, weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its eleventh glorious year!

Laura Fox of the Farmed Animal Advocacy Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School and Stijn van Osch of the Humane Society of the United States join us to talk about cows, chickens, pigs, securities law, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Amazon rainforest and some very, very high stakes for animals and for the planet. We’ll be chatting with them about a complaint that was recently filed with the SEC about the efforts of agribusiness mega-giant JBS to go public in the US and how it is attempting to comply with the very inconvenient requirements of the SEC that it has to tell the truth to investors. There is a lot to unpack here, and even for those of us with little expertise in securities law, this conversation is not only understandable but incredibly compelling.

ABOUT OUR GUESTS

Laura Fox is a Visiting Professor and the inaugural director of the Farmed Animal Advocacy Clinic at Vermont Law and Graduate School. Before joining the law school, Prof. Fox was a Senior Staff Attorney at the Humane Society of the United States, focusing on farmed animal protection in HSUS’s Animal Protection Law department.

Stijn van Osch is a Michigan attorney who currently works at the Humane Society of the United States as part of its Animal Protection Law team. At HSUS, he focuses on farm animal welfare issues, such as sow housing, cage-free eggs, and organic farm welfare standards. Prior to joining HSUS in 2022, he was Counsel in Latham & Watkins’ DC office, where he specialized in environmental and chemical regulatory law.

RESOURCES

• • • World Moot on International Law and Animal Rights website
    • Humane Society of the United States website
    • Farmed Animal Advocacy Clinic at Vermont Law & Graduate School

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT

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You can listen to the Animal Law Podcast directly on our website (at the top of this page) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated, and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning, weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its fourteenth glorious year!