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Animal Law Research Guide

Introduction

This guide will assist in researching issues in Animal Law, Animal Rights and Animal Welfare using resources available to Georgetown University Law Center students and faculty. Animal Law topics include domestic animals, farm animals, marine mammals, wildlife, animal experimentation, and endangered species.

Background Information

For an introduction to the overall field of Animal Law, the following sources may be helpful:

1. Books.

  • Animals and the Law: A Sourcebook (2001), KF390.5.A5 C87 2001Animals and the Law image
    This book is a survey of the most pertinent federal and state laws, regulations and court cases concerning animals. Chapters focus on companion animals, animal agriculture, animal entertainment, wild animals and laboratory animals.






  • Animal Law: Cases and Materials (2006), KF390.5.A5 W35
    This academic casebook has chapters on property law, contract law, tort law, constitutional law and other legal topics as they relate to the law of animals.

  • Animal Law: Welfare, Interests and Rights (2008) KF390.A5 F382
    Written primarily as a textbook, this publication focuses on the issues surrounding animal law such as ownership, sales, divorce, recovery of damges for harm to animals and providing for animals in wills. Contains historical legislation anc case law in the area of animal welfare.

  • Animals, Property, and The Law (1995), KF3841 .F73
    This treatise consists of three main sections focusing on the status of animals as property. the anticruelty statutes and the regulation of animal experimentation.

  • Encyclopedia of Animal Rights and Animal Welfare (1998), HV4708 .E53
    Brief articles on over 125 issues relating to the topic of animal rights and welfare. Almost all academic disciplines are represented from law to sociology to ethnology to veterinary medicine.

  • Rattling the Cage: Toward Legal Rights for Animals (2000), HV4708 .W57
    By emphasizing the basic legal rights of chimpanzees and bonobos. this book argues that these animals are entitled to freedom from imprisonment and abuse.

 

2. Journals

  • Journal of Animal Law, Michigan State University, College of Law. Available in print and HeinOnline.
  • Journal of Animal Law & Ethics, New journal from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Available in print and online..

  • Journal of International Wildlife Law & Policy. Available in print and online. [Browse the tables of contents.]

3. Encyclopedias

  • Animals, in American Jurisprudence 2d, available in print, Lexis and Westlaw.
  • Animals, in Corpus Juris Secundum, available in print and Westlaw.

4. Web Sites

  • Animal Legal & Historical Web Center, Michigan State University College of Law. Comprehensive information on animal law, including full text cases and case summaries, statutes and commentary. Foreign and international materials are included. Excellent navigation by jurisdiction, topic, subject and species.
  • Natural Agricultural Law Center, University of Arkansas School of Law. Comprehensive information on animal law and other agricultural topics, including cases, articles, CRS reports, legislative information, and topical "reading rooms" that compile sources for different subjects.

 

Law and Legislation

The following sources include laws and pending legislation on Animal Law topics. These sources should be used for information only--legal researchers should use primary sources for the most comprehensive and up-to-date information.

Books, Articles and Databases

Find Books.

  • Use the following library catalogs and databases to find books on Animal Law topics:

    • GULLiver (Georgetown Law Library).
    • GEORGE (Lauinger Library, Georgetown University).
    • WorldCat (catalog records from thousands of U.S. libraries).
    • Ebrary full text electronic books database (from on-campus only). Requires download of free Ebrary Reader.

  • Do keyword searches to find sources that deal with animal law or animal rights.

  • Use the subject headings of the items you find to further define your search. Some relevant subject headings of items available in our library are listed below:
  • Agricultural Laws & Legislation
  • Animal Experimentation
  • Animal Industry
  • Animal Rights
  • Animal Welfare
  • Animals, Treatment of
  • Animals--Law & Legislation
  • Cockfighting
  • Domestic Animals
  • Domestic Animals--Law & Legislation
  • Endangered Species
  • Endangered Species--Law & Legislation
  • Horses
  • Human-Animal Relationships
  • Marine Mammals
  • Marine Mammals--Law & Legislation
  • Slaughtering and Slaughter Houses
  • Veterinarians
  • Wild Animal Trade
  • Wildlife Conservation
  • Wildlife Conservation--Law & Legislation


Locate Books

  • Books on animal topics can be found in several places in Georgetown Law Library.
    • In Williams, find books on

      • Animal Law KF390.5 A

      • Animal Rights, Welfare , Ethics and Experimentation (non-legal) from HV4705 to HV4955

      • Animal Treatment & Law KF3832 to KF3841

      • Wildlife, Marine Mammals, Endangered Species and Laboratory Animals (non-legal) from QL 31 to QL 775, R853 A53, and SK37 to SK593

      • Wildlife & Endangered Species Law, KF5640

    • To locate books in Wolff, see the Books and Book Chapter section of the International and Foreign Animal Law Research Guide for guidance.

  • To have a book sent from Lauinger Library to the Law Center, click the "Request" button in the item's catalog record, and complete the requested information.
  • To request a book from non-Georgetown libraries, use WorldCat, use the "Click here to request via ILL" link in the book's record, and follow the instructions to submit an interlibrary loan request.

Find Articles.

  • Use an articles database (journal index) to find articles about Animal Law. [Hint: Journal indexes help you find articles like library catalogs help you find books.] The following indexes available at http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/guides/articles.cfm have articles on law and policy topics, and will be useful in researching Animal Law:

    • (Index to) Legal Periodicals and Books (legal periodical articles)

    • Legal Trac (legal periodical articles)

    • Academic Search Premier (cross-disciplinary periodicals)

    • Research Library (Proquest) (cross-disciplinary periodicals) -- make sure to select all databases

    • Social Sciences Index

    • Sociological Abstracts


  • Do keyword searches to find sources that deal with animal law.
  • Use the subject headings of the items you find to further define your search.
  • Also, search for articles in full-text articles databases such as in Lexis and Westlaw, and JSTOR and Project Muse

Locate Articles.

  • Use E-Journal Finder. Enter the name of the journal to find where articles from the journal can be found in electronic format. Make sure to choose "All Libraries" from the drop-down box to see the electronic holdings at the main campus and the medical libraries; and/or
  • Use GULLiver. Enter the name of the journal to see our print and/or electronic holdings for the journal; and/or
  • Use Interlibrary Loan to request articles that are not available from Georgetown.

Search Databases.

  • Westlaw, Topical Materials by Area of Practice > Animal Law (news, articles, statutes, regulations, cases, secondary sources)
  • Social Science Research Network (SSRN) for scholarly (published and soon to be published) articles and working papers.
  • PolicyFile, papers from public policy think tanks, non-governmental organizations, research institutes, university centers, advocacy groups, and other entities.
  • PAIS International for policy documents.
  • Social Sciences Databases at Lauinger Library (some available from on campus only).

More Web Sites

These are a few of many web sites covering Animal Law, Rights and Welfare. They include sites from academic institutions, associations and organizations, and the U.S. government.

Research Guides

  • Animal Law, Gonzaga University School of Law Library.

News & Blogs

There sources provide news& information on recent animal law and animal rights issues.

Special Topics

Revised 2/2009 (BRM)
Links 10/2009 (MK)

Page last saved 12-Nov-2009