2021 Summer Newsletter

New Laws

• Estonia – Fur animals (racoons and minks): The Estonian Parliament adopted a bill amending the Animal Protection Act and the Nature Conservation Act to prohibit “the keeping, breeding and reproduction of animals solely or principally for the purpose of fur production.” The law results in a ban on the farming of racoons and minks, making Estonia the first Baltic country to prohibit fur farming.
• Italy – Private ownership of exotic animals: Following the entry into force of the Animal Health Law, the Italian senate adopted a law banning the import and private ownership of wild and exotic animals on April 20, 2021. The ban will enter into force by May 8, 2022.
• Germany – Farm animals (egg-laying hens): Germany amended the Animal Protection Act to ban the grinding of male chicks. The amendment will enter into force in 2022. This decision follows a 2019 decision by the Federal Supreme Administrative Court (Bundesverwaltungsgericht), which ruled that the killing of male chicks was contrary to the constitutional objective of animal protection (Article 20a of the German Basic Law) where alternative to such killing, such as in ovo sexing, existed.
• The Netherlands – Companion and farm animals:  The Dutch Senate approved an amendment to the Animal Act requiring that companion animals and farmed animals must be provided “living conditions that resemble their natural environment” by granting animals more space by 2023. The amendment further states that “keeping animals in a certain farming system” may no longer be a “reasonable purpose” for harming them. The Dutch Ministry of Agriculture is currently conducting an impact assessment in preparation for the drafting of the decree.

Rulings

• The Netherlands – Wildlife: The Council of State, the highest administrative Court in the Netherlands, ruled against the province of South Holland, who appealed a decision denying a permit to shoot thousands of wigeons, on the basis of the Birds Directive.
• France – Wildlife: The French Council of State, the highest administrative court, ruled that the use of glue trap for the purpose of capturing birds in certain regions of France was illegal, on the basis of the Birds Directive. This ruling follows a preliminary ruling handed down by the European Court of Justice earlier this year.

Legislative Proposals

• Spain – Companion animals (dogs): Spain is on the brink of amending its breed-specific legislation. The amendment would regulate ownership based on individual canine behavior and no longer discriminate against entire breeds. The new law would also include new rules on training breeders.
• Norway – Farmed animals: Norway considers excluding cruel industries from the nationally-owned Norwegian investment portfolio. The Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs of the Norwegian Parliament reviewed the The Norwegian Oil Fund’s ethical commitments and recognized violations of animal welfare as potential “serious violations of fundamental ethical norms.” The Norwegian Parliament is thus considering excluding companies that do not comply with EU animal welfare legislation, the OIE, and ISO standards from the Norwegian Oil Fund. The Norwegian Oil Fund fund is said to be one of the world’s largest shareholders in factory farming.
• Italy – Constitutional Reform recognizing animal protection as a constitutional objective: The Italian Senate approved a draft constitutional bill that would make the protection of animals and of the environment a constitutional objective. The drafting of the bill draws from Article 13 of the EU Constitutional Treaty (Treaty on the Functioning of the EU). The adoption by the Senate is the first step towards the adoption of the text, which will have to be adopted, a year from now, by the lower legislative chamber.

Constitutional Review

• France – Whistleblower Protection: The French Constitutional Council struck an amendment to the “Global Security Law,” which increased the sentencing for trespassing offenses on farms, including those committed with the purpose of providing information to the public.

• Canada restricts animal testing: On April 14, the federal government proposed an amendment to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. The amendment includes the recognition of the necessity to reduce reliance on animal testing and encourages the promotion of alternatives to animal testing.
• Israel bans the sale of fur for fashion purposes, becoming the first country to do so. The Israeli government signed an amendment to the Animal Act (הצעת חוק צער בעלי חיים (הגנה על בעלי חיים) on June 9, 2021 prohibiting the sale of fur for fashion purposes. The ban will come into force in November 2021. The use of fur will remain permitted for research, teaching, and for religious purposes – such as for the use of fur to make Schtreimel hats. Israel had already banned fur farming in 1976.
• New Zealand bans the export of live animals: On April 14, the Ministry of Agriculture announced a ban on the export of live animals by sea to enter into force in 2023. The announcement followed a review of the practice of transporting live animals.
• The United Kingdom government introduced a bill (« Animal Sentience Bill« ) that recognizes vertebrate animals as sentient beings in domestic law and establishes an Animal Sentience Committee (ASC) composed of experts whose mission is to ensure that the government policy considers animal sentience. More information on the bill here.
• The United States of America (USA)
  • Maine and Hawaii ban animal testing for cosmetics.
  • Nevada bans cages for egg-laying hens and the sale of eggs coming from hens in cages
  • New York State Court agrees to hear the Habeas Corpus case of an animal

• The European Commission (DG Sante) published an evaluation of the 2015 – 2020 Animal Welfare Strategy, which concludes that the Strategy did not meet its objectives.
• The European Parliament Research Services published a report on EU farm animal welfare legislation and animal source food labeling. This report will inform the “animal welfare on the farm” report by the European Parliament’s AGRI Committee. The report concludes that EU FAWL has had little effect on improving farmed animal welfare, and further underlines the general consensus in the public institutions and the industry for the implementation of a voluntary EU animal welfare label.
• The European Court of Auditors published a special report on greening on the “Common Agricultural Policy and Climate.” The report concludes that even though animal agriculture is responsible for “around half of emissions from agriculture,” “the CAP does not seek to limit livestock numbers; nor does it provide incentives to reduce them. The CAP market measures include promotion of animal products, the consumption of which has not decreased since 2014.”
• The International Association of Lawyers (UIA) published a special issue of its magazine, Juriste International, on animal law. The issue includes articles in English, Spanish, and French.

• March 2021 Special Issue of Scandinavian Studies in Law: “Animal Law and Animal Rights”
• Eva Bernet Kempers, Neither Persons nor Things: The Changing Status of Animals in Private Law, the European Review of Private Law
• Debbie Legge and Annaig Nicol, “Ecocide and Animals: extracting a framework for discussion from the work of Polly Higgins, Damien Short and Nigel South” Policy Brief No. 19, May 2021, Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance.
• Charlotte Blattner, Global Migration Crises, Nonhuman Animals, and the Role of Law in Like an Animal: Critical Animal Studies Approaches to Borders, Displacement, and Othering, Natalie Khazaal and Núria Almiron (eds.) (2021).

• The Global Journal of Animal Law is accepting abstracts until August 1 for its special Issue: “International Law and Animal Health and Protection: Persistent Themes, News Prospects for Change
•  The Coloquios de Derecho Animal is accepting applications (in Spanish) from researchers, professionals, and students until July 3, 2021