3 animal groups sue trustees of Helmsley estate

The Humane Society of the United States, the ASPCA, and Maddie's Fund have sued the to intervene in the $5 billion estate of Leona Helmsley. According to the press release from HSUS, the suit asserts that the trustees have been misdirecting funds from the estate that Helmsley intended to go to help dogs and that the trustees have ignored her estate planning instructions. It is also described "as the most significant financial litigation in animal welfare history."

The President of Maddie's Fund, Rich Avanzino, points out that "even a small fraction of this money makes it possible to virtually empty all animal shelters in America of dogs without homes."

CNN reports on string of horse killings

CNN has a report on the killing of horses that is occurring in South Florida. The article references the butchering of 19 horses, including a sad case of a horse named Geronimo. The article also notes that this number may be undereported because some victims may not want to involve law enforcement. According to the article, there is a black market for horse meat in South Florida. An officer with the SPCA notes that there are several factors driving the market, the most bizarre being that "people may be interested in horse meat because of a false belief that it will cure medical ailments such as AIDS or ease the side effects of chemotherapy."

Man accused of having sex with his dog

The Orlando Sentinel reports on the arrest of a man who is accused of having sex with a Whippet-mix named Silvy. According to the article, the dog's injuries were so severe she had to be euthanized. The article also notes that the man is being charged with animal abuse, presumably because of the severity of the dog's injuries, but stories like these point out the need for Florida to finally pass a law prohibiting bestiality. A bill has been brought up during the past two legislative sessions, but lawmakers have failed to pass it. (See post here from the 2008 session).

Articles on United States v. Stevens

The How Appealing Blog links to two articles on the United States v. Stevens case, which is pending in the U.S. Supreme Court. (See previous posts on the case here). The first article in available at the First Amendment Center's website and is entitled "History of animal cruelty law at issue in Stevens poses incongruity." The second article by Professor Sherry Colb is posted at FindLaw and deals with the genesis of the law on depictions of animal cruelty and the implication for other animal suffering. It's definitely worth checking out.

The serious side of Mr. Clucky

The Miami Herald reports on the ongoing saga of Mr. Clucky, the rooster from Miami Beach, and his fight against city hall. Mr. Clucky and a guinea hen named Wallflower are being kept by Mark Buckley, a vegetarian of 39 years, in his first floor condo. The Miami code enforcement office is arguing that Buckley is illegally keeping "poultry" under the Miami Beach Code. Specifically, section 10-15 of the code reads:

It shall be prohibited for any person to keep, stable, harbor or maintain any horse, poultry, livestock or farm animals in any district, provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall be construed so as to prohibit the keeping, stabling, harboring or maintaining of any horse, poultry, livestock or farm animals in such districts for public events such as circuses, shows and similar events, or in any special cases, for temporary periods of time, as approved by the city manager or his/her designee, in writing, in advance of such events.

From the language used in the code, it seems relatively straightforward that the code was designed to prevent people from keeping animals used as food. The code does not define the term "poultry", but a definition can be found in Chapter 583, Florida Statutes, which deals with the classification and sale of eggs and poultry for food. In particular, section 583.01(19), Florida Statutes, defines "poultry" as "all kinds of poultry and includes chickens, turkeys, ducks, guineas, geese, pigeons raised as domesticated food birds, quail, and other domesticated food birds." Moreover, where the term is used in the Chapter it is always used to refer to meat or birds that will be used as meat. Similarly, most dictionary definitions for poultry also qualify the birds described to those used for food or eggs. Check out excerpts from the hearing at this link:



Buckley's assertion at the hearing relied on definitions of poultry in asserting that both Mr. Clucky and Wallflower are not being raised for food (he is a vegetarian after all) and that they are both domesticated pets. If you check out Mr. Clucky's website here and the pictures of him riding around town on Buckley's handlebars, it's hard to disagree.

Despite this relatively compelling argument, the special master ruled against Buckley in the latest hearing and determined that both birds were poultry in violation of the code. The master urged Buckley to ask the City Commission to grant an exception to the current code.

The legal argument is an interesting one. The code drafters were concerned with people raising livestock inside the city. More importantly, Mr. Clucky's story lays bare the artificial nature that the law draws between food and companion animals. When it comes to companionship, Mr. Clucky looks no different than a parrot, dog, or cat.

GPSOLO Issue on Animal Law

The American Bar Association's General Practice,Solo, and Small Firm Division's July/August magazine focuses exclusively on animal law. There are a number of articles on a wide variety of issues including estate planning issues, pit-bull bans, animal cruelty, and agricultural animals.