Welcome to the 21st episode of the Animal Law Podcast! Today, Mariann is joined by Delcianna J. Winders, currently an Academic Fellow of the Harvard Animal Law & Policy Program and a co-plaintiff in a lawsuit against the USDA. This Freedom of Information Law suit seeks to compel the USDA to replace the records, recently purged from their website, that detail violations of the Animal …
Mariann Sullivan
Animal Law Podcast #20: James Whitlock and Douglas Ruley and the Cherokee Bear Zoo Case
Welcome to the 20th episode of the Animal Law Podcast! Today, Mariann is joined by Jamie Whitlock and Doug Ruley, who focus on environmental law at Davis & Whitlock, P.C., in Asheville, North Carolina. Jamie has litigated numerous environmental and land use cases in federal district courts nationwide, the state courts of North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, and Arkansas, and in local and administrative …
Welcome to the 19th episode of the Animal Law Podcast! Today, Mariann is joined by attorney Bryan Pease. Bryan’s law practice focuses on government transparency and freedom of speech and assembly, as well as the protection of animals, the environment, and consumers. He’s been involved in numerous cases on behalf of activists with the Animal Protection and Rescue League, which he co-founded in …
Welcome to the 18th episode of the Animal Law Podcast! Today, we are joined by Ryan Shapiro and Jeffrey Light. Ryan is a Ph.D. candidate at MIT, as well as a Research Affiliate at Harvard University, and a leading expert on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Jeffrey, who is Ryan’s lawyer, is a D.C.-based FOIA specialist attorney, who also specializes in activist defense …
Animal Law Podcast #17: Matthew Liebman on the Case Against the “Walmart of Antibodies”
Welcome to the 17th episode of the Animal Law Podcast! Today, I am joined by Matthew Liebman, Chief Legal Counsel in the litigation program at the Animal Legal Defense Fund. Matthew has litigated cases including ALDF v. Otter, the first lawsuit to successfully invalidate an Ag-Gag law; and Bennett v. McDaniel, which rescued a captive bear from a small concrete cage where she …
Welcome to the 16th episode of the Animal Law Podcast! Today, I am joined by Michael Jasny, Director of the Marine Mammal Protection Project at the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). Michael is a leading expert in the law and policy of ocean noise pollution. For more than a decade, he has directed high-profile litigation, lobbying efforts, science-based policy development, and public …
Animal Law Podcast #15: Enforcing the Animal Welfare Act with Delcianna Winders
Welcome to the 15th episode of the Animal Law Podcast! Today I am joined by Delcianna J. Winders, who is currently an Academic Fellow of the Harvard Animal Law & Policy Program and who formerly headed up the PETA Foundation‘s Captive Animal Law Enforcement Division. I could not be more excited about this episode, not only because I have known Delci …
Animal Law Podcast #14: Supreme Court Holds Bestiality isn’t Really All That Illegal in Canada
We’re headed to Canada for Episode 14 of the Animal Law Podcast for a discussion of, yes, bestiality, and a rather surprising decision by the Canadian Supreme Court. I am joined by two superb Canadian animal law attorneys, Camille Labchuk, the executive director of Animal Justice, and Peter Sankoff, a law professor with the University of Alberta Faculty of Law. They will discuss the …
Animal Law Podcast #13 — Should U.S. Chimps Go to Sanctuary, or an English Zoo?
When I first heard that these chimps, who had been trapped in research facilities in the US for their whole lives, were not going to sanctuary, I was very disappointed. The sanctuary movement for chimpanzees has grown by leaps and bounds to accommodate all of these extraordinary individuals who are, at long last, emerging from hell. Then, when I heard that …
Animal Law Podcast #12: Why Grizzlies, Cougars and Bobcats Need a Good Lawyer, with Nick Arrivo
I am so excited about Episode #12 of the Animal Law Podcast! This episode features the the Humane Society of the United States’ Nick Arrivo, and he will be talking about his efforts to protect some iconic American predators, including Grizzly Bears, cougars, and bobcats, from the ravages of hunting and trapping. It’s a pretty complicated business, involving state and federal administrative …
Animal Law Podcast #11: Is That Puppy from A Puppy Mill? with Lindsay Larris
Episode #11 of the Animal Law Podcast has hit the airwaves! This episode features the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s Lindsay Larris, who will tell us about the lawsuit, brought by a bunch of people who say they got bamboozled by Barkworks, a California pet store chain that is telling people they don’t get their puppies from puppy mills. ALDF asserts that’s not entirely …
Animal Law Podcast #10 — Getting Animals Out of Roadside Zoos With Jessica Blome and Jeff Pierce
Episode #10 of the Animal Law Podcast is up, and it’s an important one! This episode features the Animal Legal Defense Fund‘s Jessica Blome, Senior Staff Attorney, and Jeff Pierce, Litigation Fellow, and they will be telling us about their recent victory in their fight to get animals out of the Cricket Hollow Zoo, a roadside outfit in Iowa. Aside from the enormity of this …
ANIMAL LAW PODCAST #9 — Is Big Wind Bad for Birds? With Eric Glitzenstein
Great news! For Episode 9 of the Animal Law Podcast, I will be joined by the brilliant Eric Glitzenstein of Meyer, Glitzenstein and Eubanks in Washington, DC. Eric is a highly experienced environmental and animal attorney and what he has to say about the wind industry (yup) and animals may surprise you. He’ll be discussing some recent successful litigation brought to …
Animal Law Podcast #8 — What’s Up with Birds and the Animal Welfare Act? With Bruce Wagman
I am delighted to be joined for Episode 8 of the Animal Law Podcast by long time animal rights lawyer and partner at Schiff Hardin, Bruce Wagman. Bruce will explain the completely crazy situation that has been created by the USDA’s refusal to write regulations covering birds under the Animal Welfare Act, even though they have admitted FOR YEARS that such regulations …
Jasmin and I were just in France, and, though we had a wonderful time and piles of delicious vegan food, sadly, the foie gras was everywhere. It is, after all, Christmas, and apparently that’s considered the perfect season to eat the swollen, diseased liver of a duck or goose who has repeatedly had food forced down his throat. Foie gras is …
Animal Law Podcast #6 — Getting Chimps from Labs to Sanctuaries With Anna Frostic
I’m so excited about Episode #6 of the Animal Law Podcast! This episode features Anna Frostic, the Senior Attorney for Wildlife and Animal Research for the Humane Society of the United States’ Animal Protection Litigation department, and she has an important story to tell about the long-term battle to get chimpanzees out of research facilities in the United States. This effort has had …
Here it is – Episode #5 of the Animal Law Podcast! This brand new episode features Jared Goodman, Director of Litigation for the PETA Foundation, whom I love chatting with, and not only because he is my former student (!). An even better reason is that he has been keeping himself busy causing well-deserved legal trouble for all sorts of animal …
It’s time for Episode 4 of the Animal Law Podcast, hosted by me — Mariann Sullivan! This brand new episode features Matt Penzer, who has been heading up the “check-off” litigation for HSUS. Matt will rip the lid off the machinations of the pork industry to funnel millions of dollars collected by the USDA into financing its lobbying efforts. And what …
We’re so excited about Episode 3 of the Animal Law Podcast! This brand new episode features Professor Justin Marceau, one of the lead counsel on the recent Ag Gag victory in Idaho. He’ll be filling us in on the details of that decision, in which Idaho’s hideous law was held unconstitutional in Federal district court on 1st Amendment and Equal Protection grounds. …
As you are probably aware, a decision just came down in one of the Nonhuman Rights Project‘s groundbreaking lawsuits regarding chimpanzees being held captive in New York State. Since the Animal Law Podcast had interviewed Steven Wise for Episode 1 regarding these cases, we wanted to make sure you got this latest update. Fortunately, he graciously agreed to come back on and …
UPDATE — 7/31/15: As you are probably aware, a decision just came down in one of the Nonhuman Rights Project’s groundbreaking lawsuits regarding chimpanzees being held captive in New York State. Since the Animal Law Podcast had interviewed Steven Wise for Episode 1 (BELOW), regarding these cases, we wanted to make sure you got this latest update. Fortunately, he graciously agreed to …
Video: A Vegan Taste of Toronto
Our Hen House has certainly made its way around the world in its 5 years of operation, from Basel, Switzerland to Portland, Oregon and beyond. In this video — which we’re bringing back for #ThrowbackThursday — the Hens take on the great (and delicious) city of Toronto! This article originally appeared on Our Hen House on December 2, 2011. If you’d like …
It’s Mariann’s Birthday and She’ll Ask You to Keep Vegan Indie Media Alive if She Wants to
Hi everybody. Mariann here. My birthday is April 6 and, you guessed it, I’m hoping to raise some funds for Our Hen House. We have so many thrilling projects that we’re working on, and upcoming ones too. We have put out a new podcast episode every week for 5 1/2 years… that’s every single week since January 2010! We also produce …
The Church of Veganism
Over the years we’ve featured a number of articles on the connections between various religions and veganism, most recently Lauren Ng’s two articles on veganism and Christianity. Due to the overwhelmingly positive response to Lauren’s two pieces, we thought we’d bring you more on the subject for this #ThrowbackThursday! This article originally appeared on Our Hen House on February 7, 2013. If …
Who to Tattoo? Thoughts on Body Art, Challenging Misperceptions, and Flying Away
“To appreciate pigeons, to celebrate their lives, is to see the world in a particular way.” Wise words from our very own Mariann Sullivan, who since the publication of this #ThrowbackThursday article has lived in the company of a pigeon tattoo on her left shoulderblade. Read on to see why. This article originally appeared on Our Hen House on December 9, …
Dear Flock, Very soon the new semester begins, and I will once again be teaching animal law – this year at Columbia Law School and Cardozo Law School. Every year I am astounded at the mix of students. While there are always a few students who are motivated to take the course because they know what’s happening to animals and they …
Freedom’s just another word…
I love “Me and Bobby McGee.” In fact, it’s one of my few karaoke songs. (Apologies to Janis. I truly am sorry.) And I’ve always been intrigued by the iconic line, “Freedom’s just another word for nothin’ left to lose.” “Freedom” is such a precious word for Americans, especially on the Fourth, but that line is a reminder that it gets …
The thing that’s so nice about writing to you, dear Flock, is that I can let my hair down, so to speak. I don’t have to message things as carefully as I do when addressing meat eaters and I’m hoping to sway them. I can relax. It can be so tiring some times having to worry all the time about your messaging. …
Flock Only: Why We Should Never Say “Not In My Lifetime…” (Plus a Bonus Giveaway: “Comfortably Yum” by Allison Rivers Samson)
Dear Flock, “Not in my lifetime…” How many times have you heard people say this when it comes to changing the world for animals? Animal activists say it all the time. I’ve done it myself. I’ve uttered those words countless times while patting myself on the back for working on this issue even though I’ll never see the fruits of my …
At the moment, there are two kinds of people in the United States who really know what’s going on behind closed doors in animal agriculture. There’s us – the animal rights activists. We avidly read the articles about the latest undercover investigation, earnestly discuss corporate campaigns to phase out gestation crates for breeding sows, and swap stories about which website has …
I can honestly say that I never know where I’ll end up when I set out to write about something interesting that someone is doing on behalf of animals. But, in fact, it’s the Our Hen House commitment to go wherever anyone is doing anything to change the world for animals, so I do my best to be intrepid. In light …
If you know anything about me and Jasmin, you know that we love to find things that others have thrown away, and make them into something wonderful (well, we think they’re wonderful). Whether it’s just shopping at the thrift store, or making scarves out of old t-shirts, or creating wallets out of soy-milk containers — we’re suckers for saving things from the …
The veggie burger — what’s not to love? They have all the advantages of the burger — compactness, ease of consumption, an open invitation to imaginative toppings — with none of the problems (cruelty, death, despair). And, while the simple veggie burger used to be somewhat standard fare, they have diversified in startling ways. High end veggie burgers have caught the …
One of the hardest things to take when you are vegan for the animals is when people who love — truly love — dogs and cats eat other animals. We all know it happens all the time. We all know that some of these dog- and cat-lovers literally devote their lives to saving animals. So how can they not get it? …
Recently, Moby held a contest to produce the official video for a song from his latest album, “Innocents.” The song, “Almost Home,” with vocals by Damien Jurado, is beautiful. And the lyrics are open to a variety of interpretations. For anyone who cares about animals, though, just the words alone — “Almost Home” — can’t help but bring up thoughts of …
Crowdfunding is the fundraising innovation of the decade. Kickstarter, Indiegogo, etc., etc., have enabled all sorts of people to get the money to do some very cool things. Crowdfunding works, it gets people involved, and — given the right project — it can change the world. And the exciting news is that, now, there is a site specifically dedicated to crowdfunding for …
This is a grant that becomes available each year and it is truly such an amazing opportunity that we try to let you know about it each time. Basically, it can provide you with money to let you pursue your education and do cutting edge work for animals at the same time. Offered by the Animal Welfare Trust, the Student Internship …
The world of online entertainment is a nut just waiting to be cracked by imaginative, animal-friendly gamesters and animators. It’s so perfect. You can create your own world (isn’t that what all of us animal activists want to do?). You can populate it with animals who are winning the fight against the abusers (of course). And you can engage kids (and …
One of the best things that can happen to a law student who wants to use his or her law career to help animals is to participate in (even better, win!) one of the National Animal Law Competitions. Presented by the Center for Animal Law Studies in collaboration with the Animal Legal Defense Fund, the competitions will take place this year …
If Vegan Diwali Sweets Aren’t Part of Your Holiday Season, It’s Time to Rethink
Another holiday? We’re in! In our household, we mark the beginning of the holiday season by Jasmin’s birthday on October 30 (there’s still time, barely, to check out her birthday fundraiser if you feel so inclined). That is always immediately followed by Halloween, of course, which is a holiday that is near and dear to our hearts. (It involves dressing up …
The most brilliant ideas are the ones that when you hear about them, you immediately think, “Why didn’t I think of that?!?” That’s exactly what I felt when I heard about Planteaters, a new free iPhone app from David and Tracy Hersh. The idea behind Planteaters is that, when people go out to eat, they are planning on eating a meal, …
What do Woody Harrelson, Owen Wilson, Puppy Mills, and Mebane, NC Have in Common?
The short answer? They’re all in movies that could change the world for animals. Huge cultural shifts are needed if we’re going to stop exploiting and abusing animals. We all know that. And one of the best tools for shifting attitudes, changing social consciousness, and getting past people’s defenses, are the movies. So it’s exciting to see that there are some …
I’ve been a bit down in the dumps lately, so I thought I would try to think of something I’ve heard about recently that gives me hope. Once I started, I realized that it was pretty easy to come up with a whole bunch of reasons to hope, and I immediately started to feel better. If you’ve been bluish (or even …
October 2. Does it mean anything to you? Even for people who care about animals a whole lot, sometimes World Day for Farmed Animals takes them by surprise. Maybe in the past, you yourself found out about it right before the day. Or, even worse, perhaps you found out about it on the day itself and figured it was too late to do anything. But …
Two appearances on the evening news, talking about factory farming, cruelty, food sustainability, (the myth of) “humane” meat?!? Who could have guessed we would have such an amazing opportunity? During our recent trip to Virginia to speak at Vegan Night Out (an inspiring and wonderful event, I might add, which we will talk about on an upcoming podcast episode), we were …
Listen Up, Lawyers: The National Lawyers Guild has an Animal Rights Committee
When lawyers ask me how to get started in animal rights, one of things I tell them is to consider joining their local or state bar association and either joining, or founding, an animal law committee. Or, they can join the American Bar Association’s TIPS Animal Law Committee, which I used to chair. My local bar association, the New York City …
Should the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act Be Repealed? Some Folks at the American Bar Association Think So
Almost everyone who cares about animals is confused, intimidated, and pissed off by the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. People are uncertain about what it really means (and that includes lawyers), and what it means about what animal activists can and can’t do to stay within the law. And that’s exactly the problem. It has long been recognized that laws that “chill” …
Maybe you saw the news story: “Animal activists take over Tel Aviv’s Rothschild Boulevard,” declared the Jerusalem Post. Needless to say, it’s inspiring to learn that these activists had a wildly successful animal rights demo in Israel. We’ve heard that animal rights and veganism have really taken off there (and we’re looking forward to talking about that with Israeli activist Yossi Wolfson …
Anyone who cares about animals ends up seeing a lot of them on facebook. It just never stops — the unending stream of animals with no homes to go to, desperately needing to catch someone’s eye. While these posts on facebook are, undoubtedly, enormously beneficial to animals, there’s no question that for many people, compassion fatigue can set in. And sometimes it …
I am pretty pleased with myself. The new issue of the Animal Law Review, which is published at Lewis & Clark Law School (where I taught Animal Law and Animals in Agriculture last year), is out, and it has an introduction, and I wrote it! The issue grew in part out of last year’s Animal Law Review Symposium, which was all about …
There are, of course, many wildly successful vegan food blogs that don’t depend on specific gimmicks to draw an audience; they simply (or not so simply) present great recipes accompanied by fresh insights and a warm personal touch. A few that come to mind are Oh She Glows, Plant-Powered Kitchen, and one of our personal favorites from Our Hen House board …
This is very exciting! The very prestigious Equal Justice Works Fellowships Program is offering one of its amazing sponsored fellowship opportunities to someone who wants to work in animal law, which means that one very fortunate lawyer will get paid for two years to do cutting edge legal work to help animals. The program provides financial and other forms of support to …
The possibilities for those who want to write about animal issues seem to be expanding everyday. Academic, as well as not-so-academic, publications are hungry for content. So, if writing is your thing, consider dusting off your pencil and facing that blank piece of paper. The animals need your voice. And even if these ideas aren’t of interest to you, please remember …
Many of us who care about animals haven’t actually studied animal science in school and don’t necessarily have a lot of expertise on the current state of research about animals. We just know enough to recognize cruelty and injustice when we see it — it doesn’t take a PhD to know that putting a pig in a gestation crate causes horrific …
You know how there are all those famous chefs out there whom you’ve never really heard of because, after all, who wants to watch some dope slice and dice a formerly living creature? Well, prepare to spend some time catching up on your culinary celebrities. All you have to do is dial into the YouTube channel known as (Accidentally) Vegan TV. …
The attitude of most mainstream religions to animals has always perplexed me. Many give lip service to the idea that we should not be cruel to animals, but then not only fail to object to specific instances of cruelty, but participate in it, and even sometimes promote it. While this may make many people feel that animal advocates should just throw …
Animal rights activists, like everyone else, like to talk to people they agree with, and read the writings of AR heroes, thinkers and pundits. We all like to sharpen our knowledge, confirm our beliefs, and pick up some messaging tools from the pros. But sometimes, it’s really useful to hear from people that you don’t agree with. And that’s not always …