Animal Law Podcast #59: The Case of the Downed and Desperate Pigs

04/30/20 • 48 min

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak with regular Animal Law Podcast guest Delcianna Winders along with two of her students in the Lewis and Clark Law School Animal Law Litigation Clinic, Hira Jaleel and Irene Au-Young, on a case they filed on behalf of several animal welfare organizations including Farm Sanctuary, Animal Legal Defense Fund, Animal Outlook, Animal Welfare Institute, Compassion in World Farming, Farm Forward, and Mercy For Animals. This case was brought against the US Department of Agriculture and the Food Safety and Inspection Service over what the plaintiffs claim is these agencies’ “unlawful failure to protect the more that half million pigs who arrive annually at slaughterhouses in the United States unable to rise or walk,” otherwise known as “downed pigs.”

We discuss at length how the charges brought in this lawsuit violate the Human Methods of Slaughter Act and the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the causes of action presented in this case, and the significant decreases in agency regulation that have exacerbated the already horrific conditions for these animals, as well as for people.

Delcianna J. Winders is a clinical professor of law and the director of the Animal Law Litigation Clinic at Lewis & Clark Law School, the world’s only law school clinic dedicated to farmed animal advocacy. Her scholarship has appeared in numerous law reviews, and she has also published extensively in the popular media. Prior to joining the Lewis & Clark faculty, Professor Winders was vice president and deputy general counsel for the PETA Foundation, the first academic fellow of the Harvard Animal Law & Policy Program, and a visiting scholar at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University. She has also taught animal law at Tulane University School of Law and Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. She frequently gives talks on animal law subjects, has been interviewed by major national and international news outlets, and was featured in O, The Oprah Magazine as one of “Six Women Who Dare.” Winders received her BA in Legal Studies with highest honors from the University California at Santa Cruz, and her JD from NYU School of Law. Following law school, she clerked for the Hon. Martha Craig Daughtrey on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Hailing from Pakistan, Hira Jaleel is currently pursuing her LL.M in Animal Law from Lewis & Clark Law School. Hira is a recipient of a Fulbright scholarship as well as Lewis & Clark’s Animal Law LL.M Leadership Award. She received her B.A-LL.B (Hons.) from the Lahore University of Management Sciences and is licensed to practice as an attorney in Pakistan. After graduation, Hira practiced in one of Pakistan’s top law firms for two years. There, she worked on litigation against the practice of dog fighting in Pakistan as well as litigation pertaining to the implementation of CITES in the country in a case related to wild felids being imported to be exhibited in political rallies. She has previously advised clients on Pakistan’s whistle-blowing laws vis-a-vis reporting of animal abuse in live animal export, and on the legal rights of clients threatened with eviction and seizure of their companion animals by housing authorities. Hira is working on litigating for farmed animals as part of the Animal Law Litigation Clinic at Lewis & Clark and is also currently interning with Animal Law Reform South Africa.

Irene Au-Young is a third-year law student at Lewis & Clark Law School. Irene’s passion for animal law was realized when her family adopted two pit bull terriers. Irene hopes to use her legal education to combat the social and legal elements that play into breed specific legislation. She also hopes to combat issues around animal agriculture and how they interrelate to both food security and climate change. In addition to animal law, Irene is interested in immigrants’ rights, specifically challenging policies that attempt to disqualify immigrants from receiving access to the courts.

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Previous Episode

Animal Law Podcast #58: The Case of the “Right to Rescue”

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I’m bringing you something a little bit different. I speak with Wayne Hsiung of Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), who is a lawyer but is also one of the defendants in the cases we’ll be speaking about today. The felony charges being brought against him and other DxE activists, in multiple states, are a result of open rescues of sick and dying animals from factory farms, which have been followed by prosecutions in which activists, including Wayne, are being charged with a wide range of offenses–including “theft of fruits and vegetables.” We talk about the challenges of mounting a defense against these charges and how the lobbying influence of the agriculture industry directly targets animal activists.

Wayne Hsiung is a lawyer, former law professor, and co-founder of the global animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere (DxE). His work as an open rescue activist has been reported on in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and ABC’s Nightline. Prior to co-founding DxE, Wayne published research (with Cass Sunstein) on climate change’s impact on wildlife, practiced law at two national firms, and had an active pro bono practice defending victims of domestic violence.

DxE’s mission is to build a grassroots movement for animals. According to DxE, “We believe in a world where animals are treated like living creatures, not things, and where every slaughterhouse has been transformed into a sanctuary. We aim to pass an animal bill of rights that gives every animal the right to live free from violence and exploitation — in one generation.”

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Next Episode

Animal Law Podcast #60: The Case of the Slaughterhouse Water

On this episode of the Animal Law Podcast, I speak with Alexis Andiman and Sylvia Lam about Cape Fear River Watch v. United States Environmental Protection Agency, a case currently pending in the Fourth Circuit, in which their clients challenge the EPA’s guidelines for the amount of pollution that slaughterhouses are permitted to emit into waterways. With slaughterhouses in the news for other reasons, here is one more way in which they are causing enormous harm with which we should all be familiar. Fortunately, the Clean Water Act sets standards and guidelines, but, unfortunately, they are not being followed. This lawsuit seeks to set that right.

Alexis Andiman is staff attorney with the Sustainable Food & Farming Program at Earthjustice, where she works to improve our nation’s food system, from crop selection and farming practices to food processing and accessibility. Prior to joining Earthjustice, Alexis completed fellowships with the Conservation Law Center and Clinic at Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law and the Center for Biological Diversity. She received her J.D. with honors and a Certificate in Environmental and Natural Resources Law from Lewis & Clark Law School. While in school, Alexis worked as a legal writing teaching assistant and interned with a variety of environmental and conservation organizations, including Columbia Riverkeeper, Advocates for the West, and the Earthrise Law Center.

Sylvia Lam works as a staff attorney at the Environmental Integrity Project. She joined EIP in 2015 and works primarily on litigation relating to Clean Water Act rulemaking and enforcement matters as well as the Freedom of Information Act. She holds a J.D. from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. During law school, Sylvia interned for EIP, the Environmental Law Institute, U.S. EPA Region III’s Office of Regional Counsel, and the Land Law Section of the California Office of the Attorney General. Prior to law school, she worked for an environmental consulting firm, where she analyzed the implications of climate change on U.S. water security.

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