The Litigation Program files high-impact lawsuits against individuals and industries that exploit animals, including factory farms, puppy mills, research laboratories, and roadside zoos. We litigate cases in state and federal courts with the goal of stopping abusive practices and setting ground-breaking precedent that will establish justice for animals in the legal system. In addition to suing animal abusers, we often sue state and federal governments and agencies to invalidate laws and regulations that harm animals; and we intervene in litigation to defend animal protection laws when they are under siege from industries that abuse animals.
Animal Legal Defense Fund v. Food and Drug Administration
The Animal Legal Defense Fund sued the Food and Drug Administration to challenge the agency’s approval of Experior, an animal drug that claims to reduce ammonia emissions from cows on feedlots.
In 2018, the Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a groundbreaking lawsuit on behalf of an 8-year-old horse named Justice. If successful, this lawsuit will be the first to establish that animals have a legal right to sue their abusers in court.
For the second time, the Animal Legal Defense Fund has intervened to help California defend its landmark farmed animal protection law, Proposition 12. The case will next be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Krasno v. Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin
The Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit on behalf of a former employee of one of UW-Madison’s primate research labs, who has been prevented from posting truthful comments on the school’s otherwise public Instagram and Facebook posts because they are critical of the university’s storied history of animal testing.
Animal Legal Defense Fund v Hormel Foods Corporation
The Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit against Hormel Foods Corporation alleging the company is misleading consumers through the advertising of its Natural Choice® brand of lunch meats and bacon.
The Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit against the Kenney family seeking to end their deceptive marketing and sale of puppies, and to recover damages for those who were victimized by the puppy traffickers’ unscrupulous conduct.
The Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a federal lawsuit challenging an Arkansas law that prohibits plant-based and cultivated-meat producers from, among other things, using “meat” terminology because their products do not come from a slaughtered animal.
The Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit challenging the USDA decision to deny a petition for rulemaking that urged the agency’s APHIS to revise its limited animal confiscation regulations and establish procedures for relocating animals from facilities that do not comply with the AWA.
