On this episode of Animal Amicus, hosts Senior Policy Program Manager Nicole Pallotta and Managing Attorney David Rosengard discuss how states define “animal,” the legal implications for animals categorized as wildlife, companion animal, livestock, scientific experiment, or “vermin,” and the resulting instability.  

Resources referenced in this episode along with additional relevant articles are listed below:  

Animal Legal Defense Fund: Animal Cruelty Charges Dropped Because Fish Are Not “Animals” Under North Carolina Law by Nicole Pallotta 
Animal Legal & Historical Center: North Carolina General Statutes § 14-360 
Hakai Magazine: Fish Feel Pain. Now What? by Ferris Jabr 
Compassion in World Farming: Why Fish Welfare Matters: The Evidence for Fish Sentience 
Animal Legal & Historical Center: New Mexico Statutes Annotated § 30-18-1 
Animal Legal & Historical Center: Utah Code Annotated § 76-9-301

Animal Legal Defense Fund: Friend or Food? Companion Pigs Challenge Legal Distinctions by Nicole Pallotta 
Sports Illustrated Vault: The Lost Pets that Stray to the Labs by Coles Phinizy 
BARk: The Dog Who Sparked an Animal Rights Movement by JoAnna Lou 
Animal Legal Defense Fund: Animals Used in Research 
Nebraska Law Review: The Animal Welfare Act at Fifty: Problems and Possibilities in Animal Testing Regulation by Courtney G. Lee 
Institute for Laboratory Animal Research: Gaps in US Animal Welfare for Laboratory Animals: Perspectives from an Animal Law Attorney by Pamela Frasch 
Animal Legal & Historical Center: Detailed Discussion of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act by Cynthia F. Hodges 
Vox: The “Humanewashing” of America’s Meat and Dairy, Explained by Jessica Scott-Reid 
National Library of Medicine: Are They Buying It? United States Consumers’ Changing Attitudes toward More Humanely Raised Meat, Eggs, and Dairy 
Animal Welfare Institute: A Consumer’s Guide to Food Labels and Animal Welfare 
Animal Welfare Institute: Legal Protections for Animals on Farms 
Frontiers: Nonhuman and Nonhuman-Human Communication: Some Issues and Questions 
Science in the News: River Dolphins Have a Surprisingly Large Vocabulary 
The Washington Post: Coyote-killing Contests Face Growing Outrage, State Bans 
Outdoor Life: Coyote Hunting Contests Would Be Banned on Federal Land if Congress Passes the Bill It Introduced This Week 
Animal Legal & Historical Center: Texas Penal Code § 42.092 
Animal Legal Defense Fund: Fighting to Bring Kristen Lindsey to Justice 
American Veterinary Medical Association: AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals 
Public News Service: Lobster and Crab Cruelty in Maine? by Mark Scheerer 
Animal Legal Defense Fund: Switzerland Bans Practice of Boiling Lobsters Alive Without Stunning First by Nicole Pallotta