Animal Law News
What Humpback Whales Teach About Compassion
Humpbacks act to improve the welfare of others; the classic definition of altruism.
Humpbacks, it turns out, deliberately interfere with attacking killer whales to help others in distress. They don’t just defend their own babies or close relatives. ...more >>
FREE WEBINARS! (6 and 13 September 2017): The Sentient Animal: What Changes?
Join us for two exciting FREE webinars, that will discuss what changes now that the law has recognised animals as "sentient”? – presented by leading experts in the field!
Wednesday, September 6 Topic: “How do you want the law to define sentience so that it benefits people and animals?” with Dr lan A. Robertson, Barrister and Animal Law Specialist, Guardianz Lawyers and Consultants
Wednesday, September 13 Topic: “What changes now that the law has recognised animals as "sentient?" with Dr Kate...more >>
Research shows that consciousness isn’t what makes humans special
In a time where there is increasing recognition of animals as "sentient" in the law of countries around the world, the question is "where do we draw the line"? If an animal is not defined...more >>
Discouraging Trophy Fishing For Threatened Species
Researchers from North America came together to investigate whether trophy fishing, as promoted by the International Game Fish Association (IGFA), inherently compromises conservation of endangered species. It is well known that overfishing is one of the greatest threats to marine biodiversity. Selective fishing on a mass scale lead to declines in marine fish population size and body size.
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The Techno-Ethics Of Welfare Quality Meat
In the past 100 years, agricultural practices - and the explicit and implicit ethics around them - have changed dramatically, to be almost unrecognizable from their former selves. The shift in animal farming has be especially dramatic, so much so that it has also resulted in widespread public concern, leading to both public pressure campaign and industry-led initiatives to try to address the issues. Of course "ethical food" markets are almost as varied as there are different ethical positions: they develop in specific forms...more >>
Cow Behavior At The Slaughterhouse
Understanding non-human animal behavior is essential to understanding animal welfare. And one of the key ways that we interpret farmed animal welfare is by how much a given situation allows them to express their natural behaviors. One of the most unnatural places for animals is the slaughterhouse. And slaughterhouse welfare is a divisive topic at the best of times. While divisive, it's not a complete unknown. Many studies have looked at the behavioral and physiological reactions of animals at various stages of slaughter, as well as during transport before slaughter.
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Raising Babies With Companion Dogs May Help Their Respiratory Health
There is a large body of literature evaluating the relationship between early childhood exposure to animals and the risk of asthma, allergies, and respiratory illness. This study, conducted in Finland, focuses specifically on the effect of dog and cat contacts on respiratory tract infections during a child’s first year of life. The authors found a benefit to increased contact with dogs and cats.
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From Beef To Beans: Mitigating Climate Change
To curb rising temperatures, most countries have focused on reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) as a way of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) are also significant GHG contributors to climate change. Livestock farming is the primary producer of both of these GHGs, and is responsible for about 15% of all GHG emissions related to human activity. CH4’s short atmospheric lifespan and the mean global warming potential of both CH4 and N2O over the next century make reducing these GHGs...more >>
Cold snap makes lizards evolve in just a few months
Have you ever considered what we learn from animals? It's one of those arguments supporting the ideology of animal protection that is often tabled by conservation advocates.
We may complain about freezing temperatures, but most cold snaps leave us little worse for the wear. That’s not the case for a common lizard living on the Texas-Mexico border, which, in just the span of a few months, underwent a dramatic genetic transformation in response to cold weather. In fact—in one of the most detailed examples of rapid evolution to date—a new study shows that just one...more >>
Sentience: “The third evolution of animal law” (FREE webinar, 6 and 7 September 2017)
Now that the law has recognised animals as "sentient" (defined as “the capacity to have negative and positive experiences”), how will that make a difference for the animals, and for people?
Come and hear what leaders from industry (Lindsay Burton), non-government organisations (Philip Lymbery), government regulators (Kate Littin) and other...more >>