Boca woman wins $30,000 in lawsuit over Rottweiler's death

A jury awarded a Boca Raton woman $30,000, including $20,000 for intrinsic value, in a case involving the death of a Rottweiler named Newton at a kennel. According to an article in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the woman sued for negligence because the kennel didn't take Newton to a veterinarian or call to tell her the animal was sick when she boarded him and another dog named Einstein. Both dogs became sick. Einstein eventually recovered, but Newton died.

The case was handled by South Florida animal law attorney Marcy LaHart. It's good to see that courts and juries are starting to award damages based on the intrinsic value of a companion animal. Far too often in the past the damages in these types of cases have been based on the "property" classification of animals and people were only able to collect an animal's replacement value.

Supreme Court to hear case on whether First Amendment protects depictions of animal cruelty

Some may remember my prior post on U.S v. Stevens when the 3rd Circuit originally ruled that the law banning animal cruelty depictions was unconstitutional, and then this later post after the Solicitor General weighed in asking the Supreme Court to hear the case. On Friday, there was some initial good news - the Supreme Court voted in conference to accept certiorari and will decide whether depictions of animal cruelty warrant First Amendment protection. I'll post more about why the Court should hold that animal cruelty don't deserve free speech protections, particularly when the law that was deemed unconstitutional contained a number of exceptions for legitimate uses. In the interim, How Appealing has a post rounding up a number of articles that announced the Supreme Court's decision to accept jurisdiction.

Florida parrot custody battle featured on Good Morning America

A Palm Beach circuit judge recently ruled that an African Grey Parrot named Tequila should be returned to his original owner. Check it out the article and video here.

Advancing animal welfare laws seen as politically advantageous

2theAdvocate.com ran an interesting article on how politicians are coming to realize that legislation supporting animals may help support their reelection campaigns as well. The article focuses on Senators Vitter and Landrieu in Louisiana and their support for federal legislation that ends the transport of chimpanzees over state lines and the re-introduction of a bill that would end slaughtering horses for food.

FWC inviting comments on Peregrine falcon management plan

The peregrine falcon is pending delisting from the imperiled species list. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission agreed that removing the falcon from the list is warranted, however delisting will not occur until a management plan for the species is approved. A draft of the management plan and information on commenting are available here.

FWC: Don't give ducklings as Easter presents

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission issued a press release urging parents to consider buying a stuffed animal rather than a live duckling for Easter. In the release, the FWC waterfowl management coordinator Joe Benedict stated:

Although these ducklings might make nice pets while they're young, they can live 10 years and quickly outgrow the cute-and-fuzzy stage, leaving full-size droppings on your patio and outdoor furniture. When this happens, parents and children often grow tired of caring for them and decide to turn them loose into the wild.

By law, no one may possess, buy or sell mallards in Florida without a special permit from the FWC Releasing mallard ducks into the wild is illegal and damages the Florida mottled duck, a unique subspecies found only in peninsular Florida. Read the press release here. For more information on protecting Florida's mottled duck, check out the FWC's information page here.

Miami-Dade Anti-tethering ordinance now in effect

An ordinance that prevents leaving companion animals chained outside goes into effect today, according to CBS 4. As noted in previous posts, in addition to cruelty and neglect concerns, chaining can lead to aggressive behavior and dogs that are more prone to bite both people and other animals. Here's hoping more communities across Florida pass similar laws.