Center for Animal Law Studies director comments on animal rights

tspeel — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:58:12 +0000

In an Associated Press (AP) story that has made its way into publications around the world, Pamela Frasch, law professor and executive director of the Center for Animal Law Studies, comments on the growing field of animal law.

For the past 16 years, Lewis & Clark has been at the forefront of this emerging legal field. The school was the first to publish an animal law journal, the first to establish an international conference on animal law and the first to develop an animal law clinic, with full-time faculty.

In the AP article, Frasch points out that animal law is where environmental law was 20 years ago—demand is growing rapidly but much about this legal practice area is still to be tested and developed. In 2000, Lewis and Clark was one of nine law schools to offer animal law studies. Today about 100 do.

Frasch notes that because state laws vary to such a wide extent, there continues to be a mix of inconsistent laws regarding animal rights. “A mouse as a pet has protection. A mouse as a pest can be killed at will. Research mice have no protection. It is the same animal but it is a matter of context.”

San Fransisco Chronicle (San Fransisco, Calif.) More laws being passed to protect animals

MSNBC Animal cruelty laws among fastest-growing

Chicago Daily Herald (Chicago, Ill.) Animal law one of the fastest-growing niches in the industry

Detroit Free Press Animal law makes steady gains in states, experts say

The Salt Lake Tribune (Salt Lake City, Utah) Animal rights? Some things shouldn’t happen to a dog

Santa Rosa Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, Calif.) Animal rights become hot field of legal study

York Daily Record (Pennsylvania) In some states, they shoot dogs, don’t they?

Center for Animal Law Studies addresses need for clear public policy

Jodi Heintz — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 17:26:13 +0000

Pamela Frasch, executive director of the Center for Animal Law Studies, responds to the recent birth of a calf to an elephant named Rose-Tu at the Oregon Zoo. After a flurry of media attention about Rose-Tu’s initial rejection of her calf, many question whether her unusual behavior has anything to do with the abuse she suffered as a calf in 2000, brought on by an Oregon Zoo handler. Although the handler was fired from the zoo, the district attorney initially refused to prosecute him because of an anti-cruelty statute requiring proof of the animal’s pain from the animal. Though the Legislature eventually passed a law (written by Lewis & Clark graduate and ALDF executive director, Stephan Otto) erasing the subjective pain measure to determine animal cruelty, Frasch urges the public to remember Rose-Tu’s complex history at the zoo: “As we continue to evolve in our willingness to consider the interests of animals when making policy or passing laws, let’s remember Rose-Tu and her calf,” Frasch writes.

Expertise & Excellence » Center for Animal Law Studies