Since 2015, we’ve presented our annual list. Here is the 2019 version. We present our annual list in two parts. Part I lists the notable stories that affected animals during 2019. In Part II, we look at the 2010s with the most important stories, an analysis of developments and trends, and a look at how some of the stories and issues have spanned the decade.

Don’t see a story you think deserves attention? Want to comment — or challenge — our choices? We welcome feedback: contact us at info@attorneysforanimals.org; or message us on FaceBook. 

Links at the end of the article provide additional information.  

International

  1. United Nations study released in May, first since 2005: one million species face extinction
  2. Botswana ends 5 year ban on trophy hunting licenses
  3. Continuing uncertainty of animal welfare as UK prepares to leave EU

United States

  1. January government shutdown impacts animals in USDA licensed facilities; endangered whales in need of assistance; and Isle Royale annual wolf moose survey
  2. PACT Act signed into law in November after receiving huge bipartisan support, making egregious animal cruelty a federal crime; closes loophole in law preventing the production and distribution of “crush videos” to criminalize underlying behavior; called the “first federal anti-cruelty act” but how broadly it will be applied remains to be seen
  3. Department of Interior
    • Ex oil lobbyist confirmed as Interior Secretary
    • Proposal to de-list Great Lakes gray wolves from Endangered Species Act protections attracts opposition among scientists, politicians, organizations (including AFA) and general public during 4-month comment period; proposal now under review
    • Proposed rule would weaken Endangered Species Act, making it harder to list a species and allowing consideration of economic factors; animal and environmental groups, and 17 state Attorneys General (including Michigan’s) follow with lawsuits to challenge proposal
    • Birds
      • sharp decline in last 50 years, but change to interpretation of Migratory Bird Treaty Act “all but ends punishment” for bird deaths, favors developers, industry
      • some victories
    • Oil drilling still a threat to Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and off-shore, but has faced legal and bureaucratic hurdles this year
    • Animal trophy imports continue to be easier; the president’s son and Michigan man made news for endangered sheep and black rhino hunt, while a powerful pro-hunting group is said to have influence on key wildlife policy makers around the world
    • Hunting and fishing expanded in 77 National Wildlife Refuges in 37 states
    • Giraffes may receive protection under Endangered Species Act as USFWS begins review based on pressure and a lawsuit from environmental groups
  4. USDA
    • Fallout from 2017 scrub of on-line Animal Welfare Act inspection and enforcement continues, as lawsuit proceed; and the 2020 federal budget directs the agency to restore and maintain records
    • New rule eliminates production line speed limits at pig slaughterhouses and allows self-regulation by companies instead of USDA inspectors, prompting lawsuits from animal advocates and food workers union
    • Decrease continues in Animal Welfare Act enforcement; one official attributes it to government shut-down and fewer inspectors; leads to more animal suffering
    • Proposed rule to counter the automatic renewal of AWA licenses
    • Some positives:
      • licenses revoked for Nosey the elephant’s owner (Nosey now in sanctuary); Cricket Hollow Zoo (10 years after initial enforcement action and 2 years after lawsuit filed; revocation on appeal); and “notorious” animal exhibitor and trainer, after he violated a suspension order (he exhibited tigers at a zoo without a permit)
      • the agency will no longer use kittens to study toxoplasmosis and the 14 remaining felines will be adopted, ending a 37 year secret study in which 3,000 cats were used — after an animal advocacy group exposed the tests
  5. EPA: a mixed bag as the agency announces plans to decrease the number of animals used in research and encourage development of alternatives; but reauthorized the use of “cyanide bombs” used mainly by the agency’s Wildlife Services in predator control but which have killed or injured other animals and pose a risk to humans
  6. Border Wall continues to generate concern about effects on wildlife, and lawsuits; this year, a suit filed to stop building a wall along the AZ border was unsuccessful
  7. Animal-friendly bills included in the 2020 budget bill on issues such as wildlife trafficking, pet food safety, horse soring, horse slaughter, trophy imports, disaster planning, marine mammals, humane slaughter of farmed animals, use of primates in research…and more
  8. Presidential candidates and animals: we’ve seen two candidates with a comprehensive plan for various animal issues and given the importance to so many people, there should be more attention paid, argues a human-animal studies scholar
Michael Nichols, National Geographic Creative
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Michigan

  1. Michigan becomes the first mid-western state (and the largest egg producing state — 6th in the nation) to institute cage-free standards and enrichment, joining California, Washington, Oregon and Rhode Island; this came after a months’ long effort to oppose a bill that would have gutted even existing farmed animal protections, and resulted in a strong coalition of both Michigan and national groups; it will improve the lives of some 15 million hens annually when it goes into effect at the end of 2024 by requiring all eggs produced and sold in Michigan to come from hens raised in cage-free conditions
  2. SB 416, a bill to regulate rescues (currently only “brick and mortar” shelters are regulated by the state) was introduced and remains in limbo, with concerns about the definition of “rescue” and the parameters of state oversight of foster homes
  3. Dow beagles: HSUS broke the story of a west Michigan laboratory doing studies for Dow AgroSciences in which beagles were force-fed fungicides for a year and then killed; the story transfixed many of us for about a month, as the company negotiated to release the beagles to Michigan Humane Society for adoption, which finally happened; and eventually to end the tests; and HB 4496 was introduced and is awaiting a hearing in the House Agriculture Committee (AFA supports the bill), which would require research labs to offer certain animals for adoption before euthanizing them
  4. Efforts to terminate the Wayne State dog tests continued with a bill introduced to regulate (HB 5090) to end painful experiments at public institutions and awaits a hearing in the Agriculture Committee; and a philanthropist has offered to fund a $1M scholarship if the university ends the testing
  5. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has used her office to advocate for animals by:
    • filing suit against a puppy mill operator in December alleging that he sold sick puppies and falsified records, after opening an investigation in October
    • submitting a comment in opposition to the proposed federal rule that would de-list gray wolves
    • joining 16 other attorneys general in filing suit challenging the administration’s plans to weaken the Endangered Species Act
  6. Wolves remain a contentious issue, with the federal proposed de-listing targeting Michigan and two other states in particular
    • AFA submitted a comment opposing the proposal based on concern about the ability of the state to manage wolves in a fair and even-handed manner
    • Two stories detailed potential wrong-doing by the DNR in managing wolf-livestock conflicts, leading to the Attorney General to open a review into agency handling of records
    • Both houses of the legislature again introduced resolutions calling on the federal government to de-list wolves; the House resolution was adopted, the Senate is pending
    • Isle Royale wolf re-introduction is mixed: there is evidence a pack is forming, but one of the older island-born males was killed by other wolves
  7. Michigan jumps on the bandwagon with a bill to regulate Emotional Support Animals; AFA opposes as being draconian and leading to human and animal homelessness
  8. Puppy Leasing bill introduced, with strong bi-partisan support, in both houses of the legislature, and awaits a hearing in the Agriculture Committee.
  9. Laws and Sentencing Guidelines: Michigan has strong animal crimes laws (and they were recently amended); however, our Sentencing Guidelines system results in probation or minimal jail or prison time even in the most egregious cases, and should be tweaked; a puppy mill case where the defendant got a 6 month sentence and the prosecutor explained that it was due to the Guidelines; and the sentencing of Sterling’s killer (a dog who was beaten and left dead in a Macomb County park this past winter, and whose death provoked much outrage) demonstrate that unless a judge is willing to go out on a limb and deviate from the guidelines, often the sentence is disproportionate to the crime; and finally, a Michigan State Police report showed that animal crimes increased from 93 to 297 between 2016 and 2018
  10. Hoarding cases made the news and demonstrated the strain these cases place on local (and sometimes state-wide) shelters and law enforcement; cases included dogs in Grand Rapids, cats in Oakland Co., birds in St. Clair Co. and rabbits in Muskegon
  11. Petting zoos, exotic animals and fairs were in the news with advocates concerned about animal displays at local events, an arrest for hundreds of exotic animals warehoused in a Romulus store and warnings of zoonotic diseases during fair season; many of these businesses tout that they are licensed by the USDA but with those records unavailable (see Federal list, USDA # 4 above) and the standards for licensure so low, the claim rings hollow
  12. Michigan a “no-kill” state according to Michigan Pet Fund Alliance, by achieving a 90% live release rate for dogs and cats from state’s shelters in 2018
  13. The Ann Arbor deer cull continued in 2019 (and will in 2020) with city officials saying it was “safely completed” with 112 killed (150 were targeted for killing)
  14. Animal Legal Defense Fund’s annual state ranking placed Michigan at #12 for animal protection laws; for many years, Michigan had placed in the top 5; let’s make a New Year’s resolution to improve our standing
  • Sterling, Michigan Humane Society
  • Dow beagle, HSUS

Other States

  1. Bans/Regulations: the year saw New York City ban foie gras; pet leasing banned in NY, CA, IN, NJ, NV, CT, WA; NM and MA ban coyote killing, joining VT and CA; NYC regulates horse carriages; NY State regulates pet dealers; IL bans sale of cosmetics tested on animals, following CA (2018) and NV (2019) and also requires cat and dog kennels to have safety standards for fire prevention; and CA enacts a bill strengthening protections for migratory birds in the wake of federal rollbacks
  2. Ag Gag laws are still in litigation; this year, an Iowa law was struck down, the legislature passed another law and that law was challenged in court, from January to April; this year also saw Ag Gag laws passed or introduced in Australia and Canada
  3. Fur bans in CA include sales and trapping bans, and bans on sales of animals’ skins; several department stores and designers are going fur free (as is Queen Elizabeth)
  4. Meat Labeling laws in several states under guise of consumer protection; a court allowed the MO law to go into effect despite a lawsuit by Tofurky; but a judge halted enforcement of an Arkansas law; we are likely to see more laws…and more lawsuits
  5. Roadside zoos
    • Cricket Hollow closed after years of litigation and 3 separate lawsuits with over 400 animals finally rescued and finding new homes late this year
    • Olympic Game Farm in Washington state was an “institution” and has evaded oversight for years; ALDF has brought suit
  6. Horse Racing: advocates watched in horror (and some staged protests) as the death toll at the Santa Anita racetrack in CA climbed during the year; it’s now at 38, with the most recent death on December 26; the county prosecutor found no evidence of animal cruelty; a regulatory agency will release a report in January 2020; the Horseracing Integrity Act is pending in Congress to better regulate the industry
  7. Barn fires: AWI released a report that 450,000+ farmed animals were killed in 2019 in barn fires, with MI having the highest number (250,000 hens perished in an April fire at a large producer); AFA signed onto a letter earlier in the year calling on tougher standards; and a barn fire on Thanksgiving at an Ohio safari park killed 10 animals
  8. War on Carnivores: we’ve talked about a “War on Wildlife” for several years, but this year we’re refining it; there’s a war on carnivores by ranchers, and the former are losing; last four of WA pack of wolves killed by state officials; wildlife killing contests often target predators (although there are campaigns to ban them); Michiganders were spun up about coyote sightings, numbering 40 (although it may not be 40 different animals); and a Carnivore Coexistence Lab has been opened at the University of MN

Leaving 2019 on a positive note, both Yale Law School and Harvard Law School introduced animal law programs, and the Center for Animal Law at Lewis & Clark began a new Animal Law and Litigation Clinic.

End Notes
UN Study
Botswana
UK leaving EU, positive and negative; thorough review 
Government shutdown: USDA facilities   Whales  Isle Royale
Interior Secretary
Endangered Species Act Proposal and lawsuits here here and here
Wolf de-list: scientists politicians AFA comment
Birds: decline  ends punishment some victories
Oil drilling
Trophy hunting: here and here; influential  
Wildlife Refuges 
Giraffes
PACT Act:  House   Senate
USDA data scrub here and here 
Pig Slaughterhouse; lawsuits here and here
AWA Enforcement here here and here
Revocations: Nosey   Cricket Hollow    Notorious
Kittens
EPA: animal test   cyanide bombs
The Wall
Budget
Candidates
Egg-laying hens and here
Regulate rescues here   SB 419 
Beagles here here and here   HB 4496
WSU: HB 5090 and here   scholarship
AG: puppy mill here and here    wolf   ESA suit
Wolves:  AFA comment   articles here and here  AG review   SR 38 and HR 87   Isle Royale
Emotional Support Animals: 4910 and 4911 
Puppy Leasing: HB 5273
Laws: Puppy Mill sentencing   Sterling   MSP 
Hoarding: dogs  cats  birds   rabbits
Petting Zoos and here    Exotics     Fairs here and here
No Kill
Deer
ALDF 
Bans   foie gras coyote horse  NY State  cosmetics  kennels  birds 
Ag Gag
Fur  CA bans  stores and designers  Queen
Meat   Arkansas
Petting zoos  Cricket Hollow here and here   Olympic Farms
Horse Racing: 38th  prosecutor  HIA
Barn fires  letter  Ohio 
Predators    last 4   coexistence  cougar
Law Schools  Yale   Harvard   CALS