The art of displaying live animals, fish and other creatures
has existed in one form or another for many years. Some of the earliest
predecessors of today’s zoos and aquariums were displays maintained by ancient
Egyptians and Chinese emperors thousands of years ago. European royalty displayed oddities in menageries
hundreds of years ago. The earliest
predecessor of the modern zoo was the London Zoological Garden opened in about
1825. The first modern zoo in the United States was The Bronx Zoo which opened
in New York in about 1900.
The earliest zoos were government sponsored
exhibitions. In more recent years zoos
and aquariums have become businesses. In most cases these businesses are
operated as nonprofits but in some instances they are also operated as
successful (and in some cases not so successful) for-profit businesses.
Historically zoos and aquariums have been lightly regulated
as an industry. Those regulations which existed tended to be in the areas of
animal husbandry, and were derived from considerations of agricultural
enterprises. Zoos and aquariums were
also subject to certain import-export requirements, laws governing endangered
species and laws generally relating to public safety. Little if any consideration was given to the
actual operation of zoos and aquariums themselves. Even today the operation of
zoos and aquariums is governed more by policies and procedures derived from
accrediting organizations such as the Association of Zoos and Aquariums than by
statutes and regulations imposed by governmental authorities.
In recent years there have been more and better organized
efforts to advocate legal regulation of animal safety, animal comfort and the
governance of the manner in which zoos and aquariums are operated. These efforts are likely to continue, and as
a result the level of regulation of zoos and aquariums is likely to increase as
time passes.
Because of the increase in the amount of law governing
animals (and animal rights) in the past 20 years, we have seen the start of
publications regarding animal law. Several of the nation’s law schools have
begun publishing law reviews specifically focused on
animal rights. To date however these law reviews and publications have all
focused on animal law from the perspective of animal rights. There has been
little in the way of publications and organized academic legal thought from the
perspective of the zoo and aquarium industry. In addition to publishing law
reviews, law schools have begun teaching classes on animal rights, and creating
programs revolving around animal rights and regulation of activities regarding
animals.
The first and probably most prominent animal-rights law
review is the Animal Law Journal, which was created at Lewis and Clark
Law School in Portland Oregon in or about 2002. In addition to publishing a
regular law review, the law faculty at Lewis and Clark Law School also wrote
the first academic treatise for law students in connection with animal law. Animal Law In a Nutshell was
published by West publications in 2011.[1] The animal law program at Lewis and Clark law
school has been affiliated with the Animal Legal Defense Fund since its
inception and its focus is on animal rights. Recently in or about 2008 Lewis
and Clark law school formalized its affiliation with the Animal Legal Defense
Fund with the joint formation of The Center for Animal Law Studies.
In addition to publications from Lewis and Clark law school,
Michigan State University began an animal-rights law program in or about 2005.
Pennsylvania law school briefly published an animal rights Journal from
approximately 2006-2009. Stanford Law School recently began the publication of
an animal-rights Journal in 2010. All of these publications have been from the
perspective of animal rights and protecting animals against abuse. None have
focused on the rights or interests of zoos and aquariums.
In addition to academic treatises from legitimate academic
institutions, there have been fringe groups which have been formed to pursue
animal rights agendas such as the Nonhuman Rights Project located in Coral Springs
Florida. The Nonhuman Rights Project advocates for personhood and direct legal
rights for animals. The views of the
Nonhuman Rights Project are so extreme that in PETA's recent failed lawsuit
against Sea world, when the Nonhuman Rights Project sought to intervene in the
lawsuit and sought to present its views of the rights which should be provided
to Orcas, even PETA objected to their participation.
The perspective brought by these organizations and their
focus on animal rights and interests of animals has not been without benefits.
No one can disagree that there have been beneficial improvements in the
treatment of animals as a result of the publicity brought by these
organizations. New standards governing space of animal enclosures and the
design of enclosures has resulted in the improved animal health, better
education and outreach by zoos and aquariums, better viewing by visitors to
zoos and aquariums and other improvements. However the one-sided approach and
the focus solely on animal rights that these organizations and publications
present are not generally beneficial to the zoo and aquarium industry. The
organized resistance and opposition to the zoo and aquarium industry is
increasing.
The purpose of this blog is to provide a discussion of legal
issues involving zoos and aquariums from the viewpoint of the zoo and aquarium
industry. In addition to topics on animal rights, this blog will discuss other
issues of legal significance to zoos such as land use issues, the more
stringent application of ADA and public access requirements to zoos and
aquariums, and the unique employee safety issues that can arise under OSHA and liability
for escaped animals.
[1]
The Nutshell Series is a series of legal treatises intended for law students as
a quick guide to a particular legal topic.
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