It began with one of the cruelest animal abuse cases imaginable. Three young men took Max, a brown tabby cat, from his home in Spokane, Washington, doused him with gasoline, and set him on fire in a field.

After taking the case against Mendes Calf Ranch all the way to the highest court in the land, ALDF got news on May 15, 2008 that the California Supreme Court was dismissing ALDF v. Mendes

The Animal Legal Defense Fund has produced a first-of-its-kind report – a ranking of all fifty states and the District of Columbia for the general comprehensiveness and relative strength of their respective animal protection laws.