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.
Dakota Rural Action v. United States Department of Agriculture
A coalition of organizations, including the Animal Legal Defense Fund, filed a lawsuit challenging a 2016 regulation issued by the Farm Service Agency that exempts medium-sized CAFOs from environmental review under NEPA.
Animal Legal Defense Fund v. Peco Foods, Inc. and Prayer Creek Farm
The Animal Legal Defense Fund, with a coalition of public interest groups, filed a lawsuit in Arkansas challenging the constitutionality of the state’s Ag-Gag law.
The Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a class-action lawsuit against a network of individuals and businesses who conspired with California pet stores to sell puppy mill dogs mislabeled as “rescues.”
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement v. Council on Environmental Quality
The Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit against the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) for new regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that will shield CAFOs and slaughterhouses from environmental review.
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.
The Animal Legal Defense Fund joined a coalition in suing the U.S Department of Agriculture for issuing a final rule allowing pig slaughterhouses nationwide to police themselves and kill pigs at very high line speeds.
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.
The Animal Legal Defense Fund sued Foster Farms, operator of a large slaughterhouse and chicken processing plant in Livingston, California, for its illegal use of vast quantities of water in violation of the California Constitution.