Florida Fish and Wildlife Seeking comments on peregrine falcon delisting

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) had requested comments from the public regarding plans to delist the peregrine falcon, as well as any economic and social factors that should be considered in managing the falcons in Florida (WCTV).

The falcons are slated to be delisted from the state's imperiled species list. Comments can be submitted to Peregrine Falcon Management Plan Comments, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Northeast Region, 1239 SW 10th St., Ocala, FL 34471-0323 or e-mailed to peregrine@MyFWC.com. Comments must be received by 5 p.m., Aug. 12, 2008.

Hearing in Dog death underway

Florida Today has the latest news on court proceedings in the case involving a dog that was reportedly discovered dead in a cage.The defendant was charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty. At the hearing on Friday, defense counsel argued that the evidence should be thrown out because the police did not have a search warrant when they entered the defendant's home.

Spain grants rights to great apes

In what will undoubtedly be the first of many such stories over the coming years, the Christian Science Monitor reported that Spain is in the process of granting rights to gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, and orangutans, becoming the first country to explicitly acknowledge the legal rights of nonhumans.

The story is receiving a lot of press in major publications, many of which are calling it the start of a trend. Here's some excerpts from a few. The Times of London:

In what is thought to be the first time a national legislature has granted such rights to animals, the Spanish parliament’s environmental committee voted to approve resolutions committing the country to the Great Apes Project, designed by scientists and philosophers who say that humans’ closest biological relatives also deserve rights.

The resolution, adopted with crossparty support, calls on the Government to promote the Great Apes Project internationally and ensure the protection of apes from “abuse, torture and death”. “This is a historic moment in the struggle for animal rights,” Pedro Pozas, the Spanish director of the Great Apes Project, told The Times. “It will doubtless be remembered as a key moment in the defence of our evolutionary comrades.”

The Guardian U.K.:

Using apes in circuses, television commercials or filming will also be banned and while housing apes in Spanish zoos, of which there are currently 315, will remain legal, supporters of the bill have said the conditions in which most of them live will need to improve substantially.

In 1999, scientists and lawyers petitioned New Zealand's parliament to pass a bill conferring "rights" on chimpanzees and other primates. The government gave the great apes something less than human rights, but also something more practical: legal protection from animal experimentation.

The first country to take such a decision was Britain: Home Office guidelines now forbid experiments on chimpanzees, orangutans and gorillas

See also:

• The New York Times.
• Reuters.
• FOX News.
• The Telegraph.

Animal Cruelty case dismissed on confrontation clause grounds

The EvidenceProf Blog discusses the recent dismissal of charges against a Florida man who convicted of animal cruelty after allegedly throwing his son's black Labrador puppy, Nikita, off of a fifth-floor balcony, killing the 8-week old puppy on impact. The Fourth District Court of Appeal reversed the man's conviction because evidence against the man included statements by his son, who did not testify at trial. The prosecutors dismissed the case after it was remanded for a new trial, apparently recognizing that they would not be able to secure the son's testimony. More here from Pet-Abuse.com

SPCA Tampa - Animal Law Seminar with Jennifer Dietz - Saturday, June 28th 2pm-4pm

The SPCA Tampa Bay is putting on a seminar on animal law this Saturday that is definitely worth checking out:

SPCA's Animal Law Seminar

Saturday, June 28th 2-5pm

at SPCA Tampa Bay in Largo

$10 admission

www.SPCATampaBay.org

The presenter is Jennifer Dietz. The SPCA has this information regarding Jennifer:

Jennifer A. Dietz, founding member and Chair of the Animal Law Committee of The Florida Bar, has opened a practice focusing on Animal Law throughout Florida. Dietz, who is currently handling over 85 animal law cases throughout Florida, said starting her own practice combines her personal interest in animal law and welfare with her expertise in litigation. She recently successfully defended three high profile dog bite cases in Sarasota and St. Petersburg. She is an SPCA's Professional Advisors Committee (PAC of SPCA Tampa Bay).

Hunted, rammed, poisoned, whales may die from heartbreak too

There was an article in yesterday's news about the plight of whales and rapidly dwindling numbers of many different species. The causes described for the decline are entirely at the hands on humans and span from direct causes such as hunting to indirect causes such as harvesting krill to fee factory farmed fish. The article contains a number of statistics and a quote from a biologist from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, but the saddest part of the article deals with the blue whales. In the 19th century there were nearly a quarter of a million, but there are only estimated to be 2,200 remaining. The article ends with a passage from Yves Paccalet about an overlooked cause for the decline:

For Yves Paccalet, a French naturalist and philosopher who helped push through the 1986 moratorium, the intelligent and highly-social creatures may be so exhausted from their centuries-long combat with humankind that they have simply have given up the fight.

"The psychological consequences of our aggression have compromised their will to live," said Paccalet, who worked extensively with French marine explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau.

"To reproduce, whales need a large number of individuals to ensure that they meet, and then to frolic and excite each other. Otherwise, a species may give in to a kind of sexual melancholy and simply stops breeding," he told AFP.

The giant blue whales are so few, he added, that they rarely cross paths.

"The balance remains very fragile: if we leave whales alone, it is not impossible that they will prosper. If we don't, the decline could be rapid," he said.

Feeding Pelicans could lead to fine, jail time

Feeding brown pelicans can jeopardize their lives and lead to jail time, according to an article at NWF Daily News. A biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission noted that the birds can become so used to free daily meals that they fail to migrate south and end up becoming sick or die from exposure. Under a new rule passed by FFWC, feeding more than one pelican is considered a second degree misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500 and 60 days in jail. It is also illegal to discharge fish scraps that attract pelicans to the area. The bones of discarded and dismembered fish can become lodged in the pelicans throats.

More here from the Daytona Beach News Journal.

Iguanas running amok prompt Palm Beach County to push for crackdown

The Palm Beach Post has an interesting article about the move to have the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission increase the regulations governing iguanas that people purchase as pets. The article discusses a recent Palm Beach County meeting where two of the commissioners had first hand testimony about the problem associated with iguanas that have been released into the wild. The Animal Rights Foundation of Florida is requesting that the FFWC add green iguanas to their list of "reptiles of concern."

Florida Bar Meeting CLE: The Nuts and Bolts of Practicing Animal Law Profitably

This Friday at the Annual Florida Bar Meeting in Boca Raton, the Florida Bar's Animal Law Committee is putting on presentation entitled "The Nuts and Bolts of Practicing Animal Law Profitably." The schedule, times, and list of speakers is below. It's not too late to attend - just show up and register on site. I hope to see you there!

The Nuts and Bolts of Practicing
Animal Law Profitably

Presented by the Animal Law Committee

Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 12:05 p.m.

8:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. Recovering Attorney's Fees in Animal Law Cases (Panel Discussion) Thomas R. Julin, Miami, Fred M. Kray, Miami, Jonathan R. Lovvorn, Washington, D.C.

9:15 a.m. - 9:25 a.m. Break

9:25 - 10:15 a.m. Nuts and Bolts of Class Actions and Animal Law, Catherine J. MacIvor, Miami

10:15 a.m. - 10:25 a.m. Break

10:25 a.m. - 11:15 a.m. Animal Trusts and Estate Planning, C. Randolph Coleman, Jacksonville

11:15 a.m. - 12:05 p.m. Litigation in Practice - Survey of Cases Involving Non-Human Animals, Jonathan r. Lovvorn, Washington, D.C.


CREDITS - Course No. 1958 8

Max. CLER: 4.5 hours
General: 4.5 hours

Max. Certification: 2.5 hours
Civil Trial: 2.5 hours

Search on for individual who stomped chickens to death

Chew on this at the Herald Tribune has an entry on the search for an individual who reportedly stomped a mother hen and her baby chicks to death. The Florida Keys Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is hoping that surveillance footage from an ATM will help identify the suspect.

Crows and undersea life at TED.com

I hadn't heard about TED.com until recently, but they have a number of fascinating videos on a whole host of subjects. All the ones I've seen have been worth watching, but this video with David Gallo describing the variety and behaviors of different sea animals has to be seen to be believed.



I also highly recommend this video of Joshua Klein talking about the intelligence of crows. Some of the footage is pretty amazing. In one clip, a crow fashions a hook out of a small piece of wire and uses it to retrieve a bit of food.

News Roundup

• State wants more study of proposed wildlife park (The Ledger).
• Tipster report leads to seizure of pit bulls (Hernando Daily.
• Environmentalists threaten suits over water permits (Palm Beach Post).
• Miami-Dade to revisit manatee protection plan (St Pete Times).
• Volusia County wonders what to expect from pet sterilization law (Orlando Sentinel).
• FWC proposes rule to prevent the release of nonnative wildlife (TCPalm).
• Police: man throws fog off balcony (ABC News).
  

Welcome back Abstract Appeal

I was pleased to see that Matt Conigliaro is posting again over at Florida's best blog on appellate issues, i.e., Abstract Appeal, after an extended hiatus. Apparently while not blogging, Matt was running marathons. Sadly, I wasn't doing anything quite so healthy during my recent break.

Animal Owners Seek Class Action Status in Suit Over Pet Food Additives

Law.com has an article on a request for class certification in a lawsuit against pet food makers and retailers. The suit argues that the pet food companies are making false and deceptive claims about the ingredients that go into their pet foods:

Among the ingredients in most pet foods, the plaintiffs say, are "restaurant grease, road kill, hair, blood, pus, esophagi, chicken heads, feet and intestines, cow brains, excrement, fetal tissue, moldy grains, hulls, Styrofoam packaging from discarded supermarket meat, euthanized animals -- including dogs and cats -- and/or diseased dying, disabled and dead animals.

The article also quotes the lead plaintiff's attorney, i.e., Florida attorney Catherine MacIvor. See my previous post about the lawsuit here.

Shark fin soup causing shark numbers to plummet

The Sun-Sentinel has an interesting article on how the sale of shark fin soup is causing shark populations around the globe to drop precipitously. Shark finning is the cruel practice of cutting off the dorsal fin of sharks and throwing them back into the water where they die. Peter Knights, the executive director of WildAid, is quoted in the article as follows:

Sharks are the biggest mass slaughter of large wildlife happening on the planet today . . . Sharks have been around for 400 million years, and we're looking at basically wiping them out in one human generation.

The U.S. outlawed finning is 2000.

Miami man arrested for allegedly punching puppy

A man was arrested after allegedly punching a puppy repeatedly and then throwing the dog in the air, according to the Miami Herald. The man faces charges of animal cruelty, battery on an officer, and resisting arrest. The puppy was taken by Animal Control to the Coral Springs Animal Hospital.

Pro golfer's trial in hawl death delayed

The Orlando Sentinel's Animal Crazy blog reports that the trial of pro golfer Tripp Isenhour has been delayed until August. As posted previously the Sentinel reported in March that Isenhour allegedly became irritated with a red shouldered hawk during a video shoot and drove golf balls until one hit and killed the hawk.

Lawsuit Settlment requires new manatee assessments

The Naples Daily News reports that a settlement in a lawsuit by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Turtle Island Restoration Network will require the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to issue new stock assessments for marine species. The suit alleged that the USFWS and Department of Interior failed to meet deadlines for the assessments. According to the article the manattee assessment has not be updated since 1995.

Pet dog shooting investigation reopened

Local 6 reports that the Orange County Sheriff's office has reopened an investigation into the shooting of two pet Siberian huskies. According to the article, the collared dogs got away while they were being walked before the shooting and the sheriff's office did not press charges.

Defenders of Wildlife: 5 things you can do to save sea turtles

Defenders of Wildlife has five easy steps that Florida citizens can take to make a difference for sea turtles:

1. Turn Out Lights Visible From the Beach!
2. Reduce the Amount of Garbage You Produce and Clean Up Trash
   You See On the Beach.
3. Be Aware of Sea Turtle Nesting Areas and Avoid Nesting and
   Hatching Turtles.
4. Reduce the Amount of Chemicals You Use.
5. Volunteer!
   

The DOW tip sheet is available as a pdf here and provides additional information on each of the five steps.

120 horses, donkeys discovered in Marion County

Local 6 reports that a woman may face animal cruelty and neglect charges, after 120 emaciated horses and donkeys were discovered on her property. According to the article, animal service officers investigated the property after receiving tips from concerned callers.