Animal Law Coalition – Page 2 – Animal Law Coalition

Trump to Allow Import of Elephant and Lion Trophies

The Trump Administration has quietly authorized the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to issue permits for imports of trophies taken from elephants. This after Trump called the practice of hunting elephants for their trophies a “horror show”. President Barack Obama’s administration had banned import of trophies taken from elephants Zimbabwe and Zambia in particular. The new FWS Memo effectively withdraws the Obama era ban.

African elephants are designated under the Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. §1531, et seq. (ESA). An “enhance[ment]” finding is necessary under ESA to allow any hunting of a designated species. This is a finding that hunting a designated species will “enhance the propagation or survival of the affected species” or is for scientific purposes consistent with the conservation purpose of the ESA”. 16 U.S.C. §§1538(a), 1539(a)(1)(A). The new memo effectively withdraws the Obama era findings that hunting African elephants in the wild will not enhance their survival. FWS will now issue permits on an undefined “case-by-case” basis to hunters and others who want to import parts or trophies from elephants hunted down in the wild.

That is not all….The Trump Administration has also lifted the ban on importing hunted lions. Effective January 22, 2016 FWS under President Obama reacted to the dramatic decline of lions in the wild by designating two subspecies under ESA. The new rules effectively protected all remaining lions from trophy hunting. In its new memo FWS has withdrawn all previous findings that hunting lions does not “enhance” their survival in the wild. Permits to import lion trophies are now available from FWS.

New Jersey’s New Law to Protect Pets

New Jersey’s new care requirements for dogs and other pets and service animals has already proven an effective tool for animal control and law enforcement trying to save animals from exposure to bad weather and inhumane tethering. The new law signed August 7, 2017 amends Title 4, Chapter 19 of New Jersey statutes and provides:

Weather

a. No dog, domestic companion animal, or service animal may be exposed to “adverse environmental conditions” for more than 30 minutes unless the animal has continuous access to shelter which means an enclosed, insulated structure with a solid roof, walls and floor with an opening no larger than to allow the animal to enter and exit comfortably, provide shade, and keep the animal at a normal body temperature.

(“Adverse environmental conditions” means (1) when the ambient temperature is 32 degrees F or below, or there are other conditions, such as wind, rain, snow, ice, sleet, or hail, such that a person should reasonably know would pose an adverse risk to the health or safety of the animal, based on the animal’s size, age, physical condition, or thickness of the animal’s hair or fur; or (2) when the temperature is 90 degrees F or above, or the animal is exposed to direct sunlight or hot pavement, such that a person should reasonably know would pose an adverse risk to the health or safety of the animal, based on the animal’s size, age, physical condition, or thickness of thickness of the animal’s fur.)

b. In the event of an evacuation order, it is now illegal not to make every effort to take pets to a safe location. They may not be left indoors unattended or tied up outside.

Proper Shelter

c. All dogs and other pets and service animals must have access to proper shelter regardless of the weather. If the animal is not in the house, he or she must have access to a structure that (1) has ventilation, (2) allows the animal to remain dry and maintain a normal body temperature, (3) allows access to clean, nonfrozen water, (4) provides exposure to natural or artificial light according to a regular cycle of day and night, (5) has sufficient space so that the animal can easily turn around in a full circle and lie down on the animal’s side with limbs outstretched, and (6) has at least three inches of empty space above the head of the animal when the animal is in a normal sitting or standing position in the shelter;

The shelter must be maintained in a manner to minimize the accumulation of any waste, other debris, precipitation, or other moisture inside, surrounding, and underneath the shelter, and to provide reasonable protection from flooding. The shelter must remain upright at all times and be soundly constructed to prevent the sagging or collapse and with no sharp points or edges.

Crawl spaces, areas under a vehicle, structures made with pressure treated wood, cardboard, or other materials easily degraded by the elements won’t comply. And no wire or chain link flooring or really any flooring with openings that allow a paw or hoof to fall through.

These shelter requirements do not apply to breeders, kennels, pet shops, shelters or pounds.

Tethering Restrictions

Those laws that have time limits on tethering dogs have in some cases proven difficult if not impossible to enforce. California’s 3 hour limit on tethering is an example. In this New Jersey law, persons are prohibited from tethering dogs from 11 p.m. until 5 a.m. outside and must allow the dog to move 15 feet in any one direction. There are exceptions if the person is outside with the dog or can see the dog at all times. The new law also prohibits tethering outside in adverse weather conditions for more than 30 minutes. Any dog tethered more than 30 minutes must have access to clean non frozen water.

There is also a ban on tethering nursing females and puppies less than four months old.

There are restrictions on the types of collar and tethers that can be used, a ban on tethering with other dogs or on vacant lots or in abandoned buildings.

The new law does not apply to breeders and there are other exceptions.

What You Can Do

The new law requires municipalities or cities to educate the public about the new law. Your help is invaluable in protecting dogs and other pets from weather and inhumane tethering. If you see a potential violation, note the date, time and location; write down the details, and take photos or video. Then call animal control, NJ SPCA or the police. Follow up if the situation is not fixed. There is no provision allowing a concerned citizen to rescuer to take an animal held in violation of these laws. But the authorities may do so if they have a reasonable suspicion the animal is at risk of imminent harm. There are otherwise provisions for corrective warnings, fines, seizure pursuant to a warrant and the like.

Trump Plans for Offshore Drilling a “Grave Danger” to Wildlife

The Trump Administration plans to expand offshore oil and gas drilling over the next five years from 2019-2024 to include areas off the Atlantic, Pacific and Alaska coasts as well as in the Gulf of Mexico and the Arctic. The proposed oil and gas development will cover more than 98% of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. Only the State of Florida has been granted an exemption for its coastal waters.

The Wildlife Conservation Society has warned such an expansion of oil and gas development in U.S. coastal waters presents a “grave danger” to marine animals such as whales and sea turtles. The North Atlantic right whale pictured here is an endangered species; there are only 500 of these whales left. They will suffer significant “stress caused by this expansion of oil and gas activity” that may push them to extinction.

Polar bears, narwhals, and walruses are some of the animals already endangered by warming temperatures and overfishing of their prey. Increased oil and gas development will mean further degradation of their habitat including their prey. It is not just the threat of a large oil spill. These animals face loss of habitat and injury from smaller oil and gas leaks that can occur simply from drilling or pipelines. Their habitat is also threatened by increased traffic of tankers and equipment and the use of seismic air gun blasts used to explore for oil and gas. These animals are not likely to survive with increased oil and gas development in the Arctic.

North Atlantic Cod and corals are other examples of animals whose habitat will be further degraded by increased oil and gas development. All of the oceans’ animal life is threatened.

Go here to send a letter to Interior Secretary Zinke to let him know you oppose the expansion of offshore drilling that threatens America’s marine wildlife.

Trump Administration Targets Alaska Wildlife

Last year on April 3, 2017 President Trump signed into law House Joint Resolution 69, H.J. Res. 69, that repealed 2016 Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) regulations making generally illegal some of the most egregious hunting practices on 76.8 million acres of land on Alaska National Wildlife Refuges. Except in cases of federally qualified subsistence users, the regulations prohibited:

a. Taking black or brown bear cubs or sows with cubs (exception allowed for resident hunters under customary and traditional use activities at a den site October 15-April 30 in specific game management units in accordance with State law);
b. Taking brown bears by luring them with bait for a point blank kill;
c. Taking of bears using cruel leghold or other traps or snares;
d. Taking wolves and coyotes during the denning season (May 1-August 9);
e. Taking bears from an aircraft or on the same day as air travel has occurred. (A similar regulation already applied to wolves or wolverines.)

In repealing the regulations by federal statute, the Congress and Trump Administration made it impossible for FWS to re-issue the regulations under a later administration. Instead, it will take another federal statute to make these activities illegal on Alaska National Refuges to the extent they are not prohibited by state law.