Legislation – State Bills
Strengthening Laws that Protect Animals and Striking Down Laws Hurting Animals
The Animal Legal Defense Fund works at the state and local levels to advance important legislation. We advocate for laws that promote or protect the lives and interests of animals, and we oppose legislation that would be detrimental to animals’ well-being.
We also work closely with the Animal Legal Defense Fund’s other programs to identify opportunities to create model legislation that address strategic legal issues in the areas of civil and criminal law, and monitor legislation that impacts animals at the state and local levels.
State Bills
Courtroom Animal Advocate Program (Michigan)
H.B. 6024
Courtroom Animal Advocate Program (CAAP) laws allow advocates — supervised law students or volunteer lawyers — to advocate for animal victims in criminal cruelty cases.
A Bill to Ban Wild Animals in Circuses (New York)
A.4005-A/S.4363-A
This New York bill would prohibit the use of certain wild animals in circuses or traveling animal acts throughout the state, including big cats, bears, nonhuman primates, kangaroos, and wallabies.
Humane Pet Store Bill (New Jersey)
S.2511/A.4051
This bill would prohibit the retail sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits in New Jersey pet shops.
The Mink Facility Disease Prevention Act (Illinois)
S.B. 3262
This bill would phase out mink farming in Illinois until it’s fully banned in January 2025.
Oppose: Ag-Gag Bill to Criminalize Undercover Animal Cruelty Investigations (Kansas)
H.B. 2816
This bill would prohibit anyone from entering or remaining on and knowingly making false statements on an employment application to gain access to animal facilities.
Oppose: An Act Relating to Taking of Bears (Florida)
H.B. 87
This bill would allow Florida residents to shoot black bears if they feel threatened or they feel their property is threatened by the bear.
Oppose: Ag-Gag Bill to Prohibit Photography (Kentucky)
S.B. 16
This bill would make it a crime to operate a drone or other photography equipment over a Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) — also known as a factory farm — or take any form of photography within a CAFO without the consent of the facility’s owner.
Oppose: Retail Pet Sale Ban Preemption (Indiana)
H.B. 1412
This bill seeks to prohibit municipalities from passing retail pet sale bans, which protect animals from the cruelty of commercial puppy and kitten mills.
Transparency in Animal Testing (Missouri)
S.B. 1319
This bill would allow the public to be informed on the types of animal research activities in Missouri’s publicly funded universities and encourage the universities to reduce the use of animals in research in favor of humane, effective alternatives
Oppose: Retail Pet Sale Ban Preemption Bill (Missouri)
H.B. 2265/S.B. 937
This bill would prevent cities and counties in Missouri from enacting retail pet sale bans.
Traveling Animal Act Ban (Maryland)
H.B. 379/S.B. 0547
This bill would prohibit the participation of a bear, cougar, elephant, jaguar, leopard (excluding clouded leopards), lion, nonhuman primate, tiger, or any hybrid of these animals in a traveling act in Maryland.
Ending the Intensive Confinement of Hens Used in the Egg Industry (Maryland)
S.B. 193/H.B. 357
This bill would require that eggs produced or sold in Maryland meet cage-free standards
Cat Declawing Ban (Michigan)
H.B. 4883 and H.B. 4674
Proposed legislation would prohibit cat declaw procedures in Michigan unless for therapeutic purposes.
An Act concerning the surgical declawing of cats and other animals (New Jersey)
S.1803/A.2578
This bill would prohibit the surgical declawing of cats and other animals in New Jersey, except in rare cases of medical necessity for the cat.
An Act Prohibiting Inhumane Feline Declawing (Massachusetts)
S.2552
This bill would prohibit cat declawing except as a medical necessity to protect the cat’s health.
Mass Animal Fund (Massachusetts)
H. 3900 Amendment #139/S. 3 Amendments ENV #4 & #8
This amendment in the state budget bill for fiscal year 2024, H.3900/S.3, will allocate $100,000 to critical companion animal health services.
Prohibiting harmful practices and devices at rodeos (Los Angeles, CA)
Council File: 20-1575
Proposed Los Angeles ordinance would prohibit the use of harmful practices, techniques, and devices at rodeos or rodeo-related events
Ryder’s Law
Intro 573
Proposed New York City legislation will phase out and ban horse-drawn carriages in the city and replace them with horseless, electric carriages.
An Act Concerning the Feeding of Black Bear (New Jersey)
A.1967/S.1891
This important “Bear Smart” bill aims to protect black bears in New Jersey by preventing unintentional feeding, a root cause of human-bear interactions.
Oppose: SJR 3 Puts Ohio Wildlife in Danger (Ohio)
Ohio Senate Joint Resolution 3 would allow for hunting and fishing using inhumane “traditional” hunting and trapping methods and mandate hunting and fishing as a “preferred means of managing and controlling wildlife.”
Protect Domestic Animals from Cruel Conditions with Civil Citations (Massachusetts)
S.1059/H.2102
Allows Massachusetts law enforcement officers to remediate situations involving animals kept in cruel conditions by issuing civil citations.
Courtroom Animal Advocate Program (New York)
S.1659/A.111
Courtroom Animal Advocate Program (CAAP) laws allow advocates — supervised law students or volunteer lawyers — to advocate for animal victims in criminal cruelty cases.
Courtroom Animal Advocate Program (New Jersey)
A.1965/S.2211
Courtroom Animal Advocate Program (CAAP) laws allow advocates — supervised law students or volunteer lawyers — to advocate for animal victims in criminal cruelty cases
Banning Killing Contests (New Jersey)
A.1142/S.2754
Proposed legislation would prohibit harassing or killing certain wildlife at competitive events.
