Milwaukee County, Wisconsin
Hearing date: December 13

ALDF files suit against BP to prevent the burning alive of endangered sea turtles.

My trip to Australia has reminded me that the exploitation of other animals by human beings is not limited to one culture or one country. And, our duty is to speak up for the animals, even those outside our continental borders, as they will never have a voice unless and until we give them one.

On a recent trip to Chicago, I took time to take a walk through the city's Millennium Park downtown. Passing through one section of the park I saw a man carrying a net, usually used for scooping fish out of water, and peering through the cracks in the boardwalk we were on. Curious, and admittedly a bit skeptical, I asked him what he was looking for. The answer? Ducklings.

I'm tired; I'm soggy, but I've had a truly wonderful day. When I awoke this morning, I saw that it was raining hard, a cold and blustery winter's day here in Adelaide. I thought that my one chance to see kangaroos had slipped away, due to the inclement weather. But, the Hon. Ian Hunter M.L.C. a Labor Member of Parliament, took pity on this poor American woman and drove me to a place where kangaroos reside.

I want to introduce you to some very special beings. One is Marilyn Mills, who runs a sanctuary for kangaroos. The other special beings are the kangaroos she works so hard to protect.

October 15-17, 2010
Portland, Oregon

As I travel through Australia, I am meeting many fascinating and knowledgeable people. Marilyn Mills, of Wildlife Advocate, Inc., runs a sanctuary for kangaroos and described several of the kangaroos who have become treasured members of her extended family.

Have you ever felt so passionate about a social issue... yet when you explain your position to others, rather than igniting a similar passion their eyes just glaze over? Since I started learning about the plight of the three elephants at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo a year ago, I've experienced this frustration over and over again.

Sadly, the wild horse roundup in Nevada resumed yesterday despite the death of 21 horses and several others being treated for painful colic and brain swelling due to dehydration and exhaustion.

Why we must continue our fight for the animals affected by the Gulf oil spill.

How do the latest developments in the Gulf affect the animals living there?

Help stop this massacre of America's wild horses!

Help stop this massacre of America's wild horses!

Animal Legal Defense Fund Announces Temporary Reprieve for Wildlife Being Illegally Killed in Gulf Clean-Up Efforts

Today, the Animal Legal Defense Fund, along with several other groups, filed suit in federal court against BP for burning critically endangered sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico, in violation of the Endangered Species Act and other federal laws.

Immediate Protection Sought for Wildlife Being Illegally Killed in Gulf Clean-Up Efforts

Urge the City of Seattle to stop funding the Woodland Park Zoo's cruel elephant exhibit.

Help win justice for Chai, Bamboo, Watoto and Sri by making a special donation and signing the petition today. Shamefully, the Woodland Park Zoo continues to use taxpayer money to exploit its elephants for profit while failing to provide them with adequate care. Together, we can stop this abuse.

Plaintiffs Protest Cruelty at the Zoo and the Use of City Funds to Support Facilities, Practices that Violate Animal Protection Laws

Japan, Norway, and Iceland allowed to continue hunts.

"Compromise plan" facing a vote this week.

An eyewitness account of the Gulf Coast.

Whether they are kept as pets, hunted for food, photographed by divers, farmed in hatcheries, experimented on in research, or admired in koi ponds, there is law to address the endeavor. The following are just a few examples of fish and their place in the law.

For a community to effectively address interpersonal violence, it must have tools which allow it to focus on the conduct of the abusers and not be distracted by the social status of the victims.

Animal Welfare Institute
Washington, D.C.

Pennsylvania is the last state to openly practice live pigeon shoots -- an archaic competition where live pigeons are used as shooting targets. Please help put an end to this cruel and barbaric event by contacting your Pennsylvania state legislators and asking them to support House Bill 1411 and Senate Bill 843.

Disturbing cases like Tony's are made worse by the fact that what laws and regulations apply to the keeping of “exotic animals” are inconsistent and often under-enforced.

Are we able to deal with the tragic consequence of massive spills?

Obama backs plan to lift ban on commercial whaling.

Last year, Americans spent roughly $18 billion dollars on coffee—and virtually nothing to protect animals from some of the worst abuses imaginable. Is this who we are?

Thanks to a huge public outcry, the California Fish and Game Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to not move forward with its radical changes to bear hunting regulations that would have allowed even more bear killing in the state.

China Considers First Comprehensive Animal Protection Law

ALDF's Stephen Wells' first-hand account of whales in the wild.

Take action before March 13 to protect California's bears!

Death of veteran orca trainer prompts discussion about captivity.

Change.org has launched their Ideas for Change in America 2010‏ competition, and your vote is needed to win better rights for animals!

An amicus curiae brief permits a non-party to offer its view of a case, typically premised on either its interest in the outcome or its expertise in the field. The Animal Legal Defense Fund submits amicus briefs in a wide variety of cases, working to advance the interests of animals by urging courts to recognize their own interests and their special value to humans.

Sutter County, California
Pre-trial hearing: September 13

Why are certain states in the dog house when it comes to getting tough on animal abuse?

ALDF releases annual report ranking animal cruelty laws across the nation.

This report - the only one of its kind in the nation - ranks the animal protection laws of every state based on their relative strength and general comprehensiveness.

Podcasts are now available of Animal Law: The Links, The Animal Law Conference at Lewis & Clark, hosted by the Center for Animal Law Studies and the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund at Lewis & Clark Law School.

In Center for Biological Diversity v. United States Dept. of the Interior, 581 F.3d 1063 (9th Cir. 2009), a divided three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit determined that the United States Department of the Interior ("DOI") and the Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") had failed to properly evaluate the environmental impacts, including the impact on wildlife, of a proposed land exchange.

One of the driving issues behind the field of animal law is the disconnect between the law's description of animals as "property" with the understanding so many of us have that animals are much more than that - most of the tens of millions of Americans who share their homes with dogs, cats, and other animal companions would agree that they are, most definitely, members of the family.

Sometimes, it's the subtle details that hit you right between the eyes. I've just returned from the annual animal law conference held at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon and throughout this excellent conference, I felt the presence of something else... something that is new and wonderful and growing.

In March of 1981, the U.S. Navy secretly shot and killed 648 feral burros at the Naval Weapons Center in China Lake, California. In the organization's first big case, ALDF, representing the Animal Protection Institute and the Fund for Animals, argued that the Navy had violated the National Environmental Policy Act.

Happy Birthday, Animal Legal Defense Fund! I'm proud of what we have accomplished and thrilled to still be a part of you. The best is yet to come...

Join us as we celebrate our 30th anniversary!

Volume 2 of the Stanford Journal of Animal Law and Policy (SJALP) is now online.

When she got her law degree, Joyce Tischler knew exactly what she loved, she just didn’t expect to make a living doing it.

Collier County, Florida
Act now!

Tragic results for everyone when wild animals are kept as "pets"

Joyce Tischler, ALDF founder and general counsel, recently talked with Scott Drake of Speaking of Justice about a lawsuit filed by the Humane Society of the United States against six of the nation's largest retailers and fashion designers for engaging in false advertising and mislabeling of fur garments. The complaint, filed in December, 2008 in D.C. Superior Court, names Andrew Marc, Dillard's, Lord & Taylor, Macy's, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue and claims that these retailers and designers misrepresent fur products by labeling and marketing them as faux fur when they are real fur. The suit also claims that those mentioned advertise and label products as common raccoon, fox or rabbit when actually made from raccoon dog, a canine species from Asia.

Animal Legal Defense Fund Releases Annual Report Ranking Animal Cruelty Laws Across the Nation

This report - the only one of its kind in the nation - ranks the animal protection laws of every state based on their relative strength and general comprehensiveness.