As a learned colleague said, no bad bill goes away [forever]. Moose’s Law S861, one of the worst of the worst bills, has resurfaced and will be heard by the Senate Environment and Energy Committee on Monday, November 18, 2019 – 10:00 AM, at Committee Room 6, 1st Floor, State House Annex, Trenton, NJ. For any animal facility except academic research facilities and livestock operations̶—that would be exempt if the law is adopted—private research…

Kim Kavin, author of “The Dog Merchants” has started to uncover some of the truths in the world of dog rescues.  Not that all rescues are bad, of course, but fact that rescues (and to some extent shelters) have largely replaced pet stores as a source of dogs and puppies for the eight (8) million households in the US seeking to purchase/adopt a new dog.  Rescue organizations, typically with not for profit status despite charging…

A newly introduced bill in New Jersey, S4156 and sister bill A5404 would establish civil action for damages for injury or death of certain animals in certain circumstances. Those circumstances would include any unlawful and intentional or negligent act of a person that results in the injury or death of a pet dog or pet cat normally maintained in or near the household of the owner, or the injury or death of any service animal…

Including animal care standards in advertising, on websites and in labeling is a growing trend among food-related businesses that can have unintended – and costly – consequences. Animal rights organizations pressure animal agriculture businesses to include such statements, ostensibly to avoid negative publicity campaigns and protests. Targets include producers of beef, dairy products, eggs,poultry and pork, as well as goat and sheep farmers. Similarly, food manufacturers, distributors and restaurant chains are pressed to advertise that their…

An increasing tactic of animal rights organizations (AR) is to mine public records in the hopes of finding ammunition to use against universities, pharmaceutical companies, contract research organizations and associated vendors. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has used data from public records to launch a database of universities, grading them “bad” to “worse,” even if they do not currently house animals involved in research. Although the filing of many public documents is mandatory,…

In “Dogs Are Not Here for Our Convenience,” an op-ed by Alexandra Horowitz published by the NYT on September 4, 2019, Dr. Horowitz questions the “widespread policies of desexing dogs, [because] we are not just removing their gonads.  We are changing their bodies, their health and their behavior-not always for the better.” As previously discussed in “Pet Stores Under Attack-Mandatory Sterilization Preempted by State Law,”  a New York City Law that mandates sterilization…

Two articles were published about dogs (and cats) in the New York Times on September 4, 2019, that describe, in part, varying positions of a complicated issue-spay and neuter of pets in the United States—“Spaying, Neutering and Rescuing Lead to Drop in Pet Euthanasia” by author Alicia Parlapiano and “Dogs Are Not Here for Our Convenience” by Alexandra Horowitz.  Ms. Parlapiano describes the decreased euthanasia rates across the country attributable—at least in part—to voluntary spay…