Chair: Bonnie Lutz
Chair-Elect: Stacey Evans
Awards
At the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA, on August 5, 2016, ALC awarded Fred Kray its 2016 ABA-TIPS Animal Law Committee's Excellence in Animal Law Award. Fred has dedicated nearly four decades to legal justice and fairness. He has litigated many precedent-setting animal law cases and facilitated the repeal of a ban on dogs of certain breeds in the state of Washington, impacting the lives of thousands of animals for the better. Fred's commitment to animals and educating others extends well beyond the courtroom. He is a seasoned TIPS member and was a featured speaker at the ABA TIPS Shelter Law CLE in 2015. He has presented in various CLEs on various animal law topics throughout the country and lectures in law schools about animal law issues. Fred also hosts a legal news show to empower dog owners and runs the related website, www. pitbulletinlegalnews.com. Recently, he co-authored with Adam Karp, Esq., Defending Against Dangerous Dog Classifications.
Policy Recommendations
The ALC began working on a resolution regarding issues related to community cats.
Public Service Activity
The ALC continued its co-sponsorship of a humane education project with the HEART organization that began in 2009. The program trains primarily lawyers and law students with materials that are generally targeted to students in upper elementary school grades. On March 22, 2015, the Committee brought this project to Michigan State University Law School. This effort was co-sponsored by the State Bar of Michigan, MSU Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, and Attorneys for Animals. On October 7, 2015, the Committee co-sponsored trainings for local SALDF chapters at Chicago-Kent College of Law.
Website and Webinars
On June 28, 2016, the ALC Equine Law subcommittee held a webinar discussing the Bureau of Land Management's Wild Horse & Burro Program. ALC continued to update its Facebook, LinkedIn, and website on the many events and activities ALC had.
Meetings
Minutes of all business meetings were created, approved, and posted on the TIPS/ALC website. Throughout the year, open conference calls included lunch and learns on the following topics: updates on civil litigation to protect factory farm animals, the failure of animal testing models in the pharmaceutical industry, and animal agriculture: regulatory failures and opportunities for advocates.
In May 2016, some Equine Law subcommittee members met at the National Equine Law Conference in Kentucky. Several members, including subcommittee Chair Margrit Parker, were presenters.
Publications
ALC continued publishing an excellent newsletter three times a year with increasingly interesting and timely articles.