Animal Law


Bill Would Make KFC the “Official Picnic Food of Kentucky”

On January 18, Kentucky State Rep. Charles Siler introduced a bill that would designate Kentucky Fried Chicken (specifically, Original Recipe) as the state’s "official picnic food."  The provision itself is just one sentence, but the preamble offers some interesting details:…


UPDATE: Monkey Denied Person Status

As I reported last October, an Austrian court refused to grant Matthew H. Pan legal standing on the grounds that he is a chimpanzee, and it appears that the Supreme Court of Austria has now affirmed that decision. An animal-rights…


Jury Finds Pool Store Not Liable For Goose Attack

Earlier this month, a jury in Maryland found against a woman who sued a shopping mall and pool store in Rockville after being attacked by a goose while on the mall’s property in 2004. Suzanne Webster said the goose’s ferocious…


Ostrich Murderer Sentenced to Five Months in Jail

Timothy McKevitt, one of the two killers who murdered Gaylord the ostrich last October, has been sentenced to five months in jail. His accomplice, Jonathon Porter, was released earlier this year after also serving five months for the crime. As…


Michael Vick Attends PETA Seminar on Empathy for Animals

PETA announced today that on September 18, Michael Vick successfully completed its seminar on "Developing Empathy for Animals," an eight-hour course that concludes with a written exam that PETA described as "rigorous." Vick was immediately pardoned and given PETA’s "Animal…


Chimp Will Appeal Denial of Personhood to Austrian Supreme Court

Matthew Pan’s legal team says they will appeal an intermediate court’s decision to dismiss Pan’s case, which would place the matter before the Supreme Court of Austria.  The provincial court affirmed a lower court’s decision on the grounds that Pan…


Mysterious Cat-Napping Terrorizes New Zealand Community

A desperate search continues in New Zealand for Max the Cat, who was abducted recently by a person or persons unknown.  Lisa Morice, Max’s companion, posted flyers after Max failed to turn up last week at his home on William…


Legal Battle Rages Over Future of Hemingway’s Mutant Cats

Reuters News reported this week that the federal government and the local authorities in charge of the Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum in Key West, Florida, are battling over the future status of dozens of cats that roam the grounds…


UPDATE: Rooster Killer Gets Probation

As I reported last year, Humberto Rodriguez was arrested in Manhattan and charged with animal cruelty for biting the head off his pet rooster, even though Rodriguez explained that he was only retaliating for the rooster’s unprovoked attack on his…