Pennsylvania Bar Institute

This update on the latest developments in animal law begins with a survey of recent court decisions from Pennsylvania and beyond. Specific topics include the exemption in the Construction Code from permitting requirements for “agricultural buildings”; cruelty to animals; standing of animal rights organizations to compel enforcement of laws; “vicious propensity” of certain dog breeds; liability of a landlord for a tenant’s dog; and the deductibility of a taxpayer's unreimbursed volunteer expenses incurred while caring for foster cats in a private residence.

Our instructors also discuss a number of bills pending in the Pennsylvania General Assembly that address a variety of issues, including strengthening the provisions of the “Puppy Lemon Law”; banning the use of live animals for targets at trap shoots; prohibiting cruelty to a pet owned by an individual benefitting from a protection from abuse order; banning the use of carbon monoxide systems to euthanize animals; banning greyhound racing; enhancing penalties for illegal traps; new restrictions on exotic animals; the “Safe Food and Safe Families Act”; and allowing hunting on Sunday.

This course was recorded in August 2011 at PBI’s Eighth Annual Animal Law Conference. Other excerpts from the conference are available at PBI’s Online Campus.

Dara Lovitz, Esq., Bala Cynwyd

Sarah S. Speed, Esq., Pennsylvania State Director, Humane Society of the United States, Mechanicsburg