Since 2015, we’ve presented our annual list.  Part I lists the notable stories that affected animals during 2019. In Part II, we look at the 2010s with the most important stories year-by-year, an analysis of developments and trends. A remarkable number of these 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. 

The 2010-2013 list can be found here.

2014

  1. ALDF files lawsuit against Cricket Hollow Zoo, an Iowa roadside zoo. This will result in a precedent-setting decision in 2016 extending Endangered Species Act protections to captive animals.
  2. Idaho’s Ag-Gag law goes into effect, passed in response to undercover video depicting abuses in the dairy industry, and is challenged in lawsuit
  3. Sandra, an orangutan held in an Argentinian zoo, is declared a “non human person” deprived of her rights. Advocates who brought the writ of habeas corpus will seek sanctuary for her. In late 2019, Sandra finally was transferred to the Center for Great Apes in Florida.
Cricket Hollow   files lawsuit   
Idaho law    lawsuit
Sandra    declared    transferred

2015

  1. Idaho’s Ag Gag law is declared unconstitutional; the decision is upheld by a federal circuit court in 2018, the first federal court to strike down an ag gag law
  2. SeaWorld announces it will phase out orca shows at its San Diego park only, in response to California’s ban on captive breeding of orcas, and public pressure
  3. Numerous food giants (McDonald’s, Starbucks, Taco Bell, Panera Bread, and Aramark, to name a few) pledge to eliminate the use of battery cages from their supply chain by switching to 100% cage-free eggs  
  4. NIH announces it will release all research chimpanzees to sanctuaries, months after the USFWS announces that all captive chimpanzees, including those in medical research, will receive ESA protections.
  5. Ringling Bros. announces it will stop using elephants in its shows by 2018; California passes bans on use of bullhooks and commercial ivory trade
  6. Cecil a beloved lion is killed by American trophy hunter in Zimbabwe to world-wide outrage and a focus on trophy hunting. His death reverberates with a 2018 book and the CECIL Act, introduced in the US House in 2019 to regulate trophy hunting imports documentary. In 2017, Cecil’s son Xanda was also killed by a trophy hunter.
Ag Gag
SeaWorld
Food giants   cage-free
Chimpanzees   NIH/USFWS
Ringling   CA
Cecil  book  CECIL Act   Xanda
AFA's complete 2015 list

2016

  1. The Endangered Species Act is applied to captive animals, in the ongoing case against Cricket Hollow, an Iowa roadside zoo, which is ordered to transfer three lemurs and four tigers to another facility, based on the finding that the poor condition of the animals and lack of veterinary care are violations of the ESA. This ruling is upheld on appeal in 2018. After lions are declared endangered in 2015, another suit is filed asking for them to be transferred to sanctuary. In late 2019, the remaining animals are finally removed from the zoo, although the owners’ appeal of the license revocation is still pending.
  2. SeaWorld announces phase-out of captive breeding program
  3. Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly approve (78% to 22%) a ballot measure prohibiting breeding pigs, calves raised for veal, and egg-laying hens from being held in confined spaces  
  4. China announces a ban on ivory trade by end of 2017
  5. Michigan’s war on wolves continues unabated, as Michigan legislature rushes through a law during post-election end of session that allows wolves to be hunted; the new law also delegates authority to unelected Natural Resources Commission to add other animals to the list of species to be hunted
  6. Harambe is shot to death at Cincinnati zoo when a child got into the 17 year old endangered gorilla’s exhibit; an investigation later clears the zoo of wrongdoing although it says Harambe’s enclosure was substandard
  7. Police shootings of dogs is on the radar; in Michigan:
    • Detroit police: “pattern and practice of shooting dogs just for barking“
    • City of Detroit paying $100,000 to settle case involving the death of Babycakes
    • 6th Circuit holds that shooting a dog who moves or barks when police enter the house is justified, causes outrage
    • 3 dogs shot by Detroit police; trial court holds no property interest as dogs unlicensed and thus “contraband”, but 6th Circuit reverses
    • Some positive developments with emphasis on training for law enforcement on dog encounters
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  8. Downer calves, excluded from the 2009 regulation that banned the killing of downed adult cattle, now cannot be slaughtered for human consumption

The court’s decision affirms that endangered animals enjoy the same protections whether in captivity or the wild … The Eighth Circuit’s ruling puts roadside zoos, circuses and private owners on notice that they can no longer ignore endangered animals’ unique biological and psychological needs.

STEPHEN WELLS, ALDF ED
ESA/Captive Animals    violations   upheld   lions   late 2019
SeaWorld
Massachusetts voters   ballot measure
Ivory
Michigan war on wolves
Harambe
Police shootings  Babycakes    6th Cir    3 dogs   barking  training
Calves
AFA's complete 2016 list

2017

  1. USDA without warning removed from its database inspection reports about the treatment of animals at thousands of laboratories, zoos, dog breeding operations and other facilities it regulates under the Animal Welfare and Horse Protection Acts, announcing that these records would only be available through Freedom of Information Act requests. These records had been used by attorneys, animal advocates and the general public; it created an uproar and several lawsuits. At the end of 2019, several lawsuits were pending and Congress directed the restoration and maintenance of the records in the 2020 FY budget.
  2. Non human Rights Project files petition for habeas corpus on behalf of elephants Beulah, Karen, Minnie, confined at a Connecticut zoo. The cases were dismissed. At the end of 2019, NhRP is awaiting a decision on its appeal and, sadly, has received word that both Beulah and Karen have died.
  3. Ringling Brothers circus foldes its tent and goes out of business after 146 years
  4. Migratory Bird Treaty Act, first passed in 1918, under attack: USFWS issued a legal opinion reversing long practice, holding that the law “applies only to direct and affirmative purposeful actions that reduce migratory birds, their eggs, or their nests, by killing or capturing, to human control,”  a decision hailed by industry but denounced by environmentalists; the December action prompted an Audubon official to say the government “gave an early Christmas to bird killers”; by the end of 2019, the potentially devastating effects on birds were evident
  5. Protections for egg-laying hens challenged in cases pitting state vs state; US Supreme Court declined to hear challenges to California law; 13 states file suit against Massachusetts which the high court refused to hear in 2019
  6. California becomes the first state to ban the retail sale of companion animals unless they come from a shelter or rescue; 2019 update: “puppy laundering” schemes with fake rescues supplying puppy mill puppies to pet stores
  7. USDA proposes significant changes to the Animal Welfare Act licensing regulations, including allowing third-party inspections, certifications; animal advocates oppose; over 35,000 comments are received and in 2018, the agency drops plans
  8. Trophy hunting policy in state of transition and confusion: US Department of Interior announced that “killing of African elephant trophy animals in Zimbabwe … will enhance the survival of the African elephant” but no clear policy on importation of elephant and lion “trophies” in light of a year-end appellate court decision prohibiting the import of elephant and lion trophies; in 2019, the issue continues to make news amid allegations that the president’s son illegally shot an endangered sheep in Mongolia

killing of African elephant trophy animals in Zimbabwe … will enhance the survival of the African elephant

US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE “NOTICE” 11/17/17
USDA blackout  removed from its database   lawsuits   2020 FY budget
Beulah, Karen, Minnie
Ringling
Migratory Bird Treaty Act   legal opinion    end of 2019
Egg laying hens   CA   13 states   MA
Retail sale ban    Puppy laundering

Animal Welfare Act  drops plans
Trophy hunting  killing   appellate court decision     endangered sheep
AFA complete lists here and here