Animal law an exploding practice area
It's one hot practice area for lawyers: animal law is exploding, according to the cover story in the August 2007 issue of the Illinois Bar Journal, the monthly magazine published by the Illinois State Bar Association.
Animal law is not about giving chimpanzees the right to vote, spotted owls the right to own land, or cats the right to sue owners for feeding them certain brands of cat food.
It encompasses a wide variety of criminal and civil issues related to people's beloved companion animals. The criminal aspects of animal law focus on cruelty issues - animals who have been abused, mistreated or neglected.
On the civil side, tort law covers matters such as veterinary malpractice and animal injuries to humans such as dog bites. Another civil issue, estate planning, involves establishing a trust to ensure that their companion animals will be cared for upon the death or disability of their owner. Companion animals have also been the subject of custody disputes when a couple decides to end their marriage.
Zoning and even constitutional issues may arise for clients who are concerned about living downwind of a hog confinement operation or wish to keep potbellied pigs as household companions.
In fact, there is so much animal law within the traditional categories of law that an animal-law casebook has been developed for use by most, if not all, of the 80-plus U.S. law schools which offer animal law courses.
So why the growth? People love their animals and treat them as beloved members of the family. It's that simple.
For a copy of the article, write to: Publications Department, Illinois State Bar Association, 424 S. Second Street, Springfield, IL 62701.
Note: This information was prepared as a public service by the Illinois State Bar Association and is a joint project with the Illinois Press Association. Its purpose is to inform citizens of their legal rights and obligations.
© Illinois State Bar Association
If you have questions about the application of the law in a particular case, consult your lawyer. The law is constantly changing. Information on this site or any site to which we link does not constitute legal advice.