In a prior blog I discussed proposed amendments to Oregon’s animal cruelty statute that would provide for statutory standing to any plaintiff who files a complaint against any animal owner for alleged violations of the...more
An untitled proposal to amend Oregon’s Animal Cruelty statute was posted by the Oregon Secretary of State on November 14, 2018 and is available on its website.
The proposed amendment does not appear to have been formally...more
Clinical trials are commonly used during the development of drugs studied for approval by FDA for the use in animals. Similar use in veterinary medicine has been increasing, but there are a number of interesting issues not...more
The AVMA is proposing an updated “Model Veterinary Practice Act” to its House of Delegates in the near future. Included in the draft, which is not legally binding by any state unless specifically incorporated into the state...more
The Food Animal Residue Avoidance Databank (FARAD) recently provided guidance to small ruminant producers and their veterinarians in an article titled “Extralabel drug use (ELDU) in small ruminants” in JAVMA, Vol 253, No. 8,...more
In a bulletin published on September 25, 2018, USDA announced “four overarching goals for advancing animal disease traceability to protect the long-term health, marketability and economic viability of the U.S. livestock...more
State Departments of Emergency Management prepare and respond to natural disasters by implementing the orchestrated emergency response plans, which state, federal and non-profit partners help develop over the years. These...more
Typically, animal diseases have a seasonal presence. For example, avian influenza, like other influenza viruses prefer cold damp conditions. On the other hand, viruses transmitted by mosquitoes (arboviruses), including...more
Shamong Township introduced Ordinance 2018-11, governing dog ownership, on October 2, 2018, which passed by the Township Committee on a first reading of the ordinance. A public hearing is scheduled on November 7, 2018....more
Stuart Goldman, the former chief humane law enforcement officer for the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to animals, filed a qui tam complaint against Critter Control of New Jersey, Kewin, Inc. d/b/a...more
The Division of Animal Health has proposed amendments to the regulation governing laboratory services provided by the State Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory, available on its website as published in the New Jersey Register...more
The New Jersey Senate Environment and Energy Committee unanimously voted to release the Homes for Animal Heroes Act (S2826) from committee. The bill would requires institutions of higher education to offer cats and dogs for...more
I have previously described concerns about the lack of validation of genetic tests to refute the pedigree registration status of purebred dogs. As several courts have held, genetic testing is currently not dispositive of...more
On July 1, 2018, bill S2820 was introduced in the New Jersey Senate that would direct the NJ Department of Health to “adopt dog breeding standards; prohibit . . . dog breeding without {a] USDA license; and [require]...more
Assemblyman Daniel R. Benson introduced a bill (A4298) that would amend “animal cruelty offenses and penalties concerning animal abandonment and failure to report injuring certain animals with a motor vehicle; increases civil...more
Recent amendments governing the transportation of agricultural commodities, including livestock, aquaculture and insects, have elicited concerns from cattle, hog, sheep, horse, bee and aquaculture producers, since the time...more
Sister bills S2689 and A4225 have been introduced and reported out of the Senate Committee with amendments and the Assembly Committee, respectively. The bills would change the effective dates of some of the provisions of the...more
The impact of USDA’s newly adopted final rule to certain exhibitors of farm animals remains unclear.
A positive result of the rule is the definition of “domesticated farm-type animals.” Farm-type animals are defined as...more
On June 4, the regulation titled “Thresholds for De Minimis Activity and Exemptions From Licensing Under the Animal Welfare Act” which purportedly implement[s] amendments to the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), was published by...more
On May 17, 2018 a plethora bills were reported out of the New Jersey Assembly Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, some with amendments that will benefit animals and their owners if they become law, and others with...more
Equine herpes virus-1, a sometimes deadly virus that can cause myeloencephalopathy in some infected horses (Equine Herpesvirus Myeloencephalopathy or EHM), has surfaced at one horse farm in Union County, NJ, as reported by...more
An interesting study about ordinances governing backyard poultry ownership in Colorado was recently published, titled “A Method for Guarding Animal Welfare and Public Health: Tracking the Rise of Backyard Poultry Ordinances”...more
New Jersey proposed bills S2037 and A1050 would revise the State’s “equine animal activities law in accordance with recommendations of New Jersey Law Revision Commission to clarify responsibility and liability issues.”...more
S1093 and A1923, the latest versions of Nosey’s law, a bill that originally would have prohibited the use of elephants in traveling animal acts, has now expanded its reach to “prohibit the use of [all] wild or exotic animal...more
A set of bills introduced in the New Jersey legislature would dilute funds from the decades-long spay neuter program overseen by the Department of Health, to the detriment of pets and their owners.
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