Animal Law

The third edition of the premier book on animal law covers a rapidly developing field that is exponentially increasing its presence in both the public eye and on the list of desired classes for law students. In the past ten years, the number of animal law classes in American law schools has gone from less than ten to more than sixty, and this casebook has been used as a model for courses internationally.

Animal law is, in its simplest (and broadest) sense, a combination of statutory and decisional law in which the nature -- legal, social, or biological -- of non-human animals is an important factor. This new edition contains significant reorganization and updating while continuing to present a cohesive format that touches on many areas in which animals affect legal doctrines, caselaw, and legislative direction. Because animal law is not a traditional legal field, the book is largely framed according to traditional legal headings such as tort, contract, criminal, and constitutional law. Each chapter sets out cases and commentary where animal law has begun to develop its own doctrine. In this third edition, the text has been updated and several chapters reorganized and revised to provide even greater clarity and organization than in earlier editions. An important new chapter, collecting cases and commentary on the commercial use of animals, covers diverse areas including agriculture, biomedical research, and entertainment.

As in the first two editions, animal law as presented in this book is not synonymous with “animal rights” or with any particular political, moral, or ethical agenda. Rather, it is an objective and logical specialization of a challenging area -- one with a growing number of cases and statutes, increasing public and practical interest, and significantly different historical, legal, and philosophical foundations than most other areas of law.

"An essential reference book, not only because of its breadth and depth of coverage, but also because it includes many stimulating questions and observations." Dr. Paul Waldau, Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine

"I already use Animal Law in the course I teach at Harvard Law School, for it presents relevant topics in an intelligent order, asks thoughtful questions, and provides interesting commentary." Steven Wise, Harvard Law School

"Animal Law is a thoroughly researched, thoughtfully organized and well-written textbook on this newly recognized but not-so-new area of the law. Valerie J. Stanley, Georgetown Law Center