The Current Issue

VOLUME 32 ISSUE 2

ARTICLES

BALANCING THE EVILS OF INDUSTRIALIZED ANIMAL AGRICULTURE

Aryana Swanson

The open rescue movement aims to save animals on factory farms in dire need of veterinary care and to protest industrialized animal agriculture as a whole. To complete a rescue, activists usually have to break some minor criminal laws, such as laws that prohibit trespass and theft. Activists charged with such crimes have tried to present the necessity defense at trial, arguing that they broke the law to avoid a greater harm: the imminent death of an animal. So far, no court has allowed an open rescuer to present
the necessity defense to the jury.

This Comment proposes a new strategy for open rescuers. Rescuers should allege that they acted to avoid three harms: the imminent death of an individual animal, the systemic cruelty occurring on factory farms, and the human harm caused by factory farm pollution of the air and water. By doing so, open rescuers can make a strong preliminary showing of all elements of the defense and can build on climate activists’ successes. Finally, public sentiment indicates that, as a matter of public policy, open rescuers combatting systemic cruelty and neglect on factory farms should be entitled to present the necessity defense.

ANIMALS UNDER A WELFARIST REGIME: A LEGAL ASSESSMENT OF E.U. FARMED ANIMAL WELFARE LEGISLATION

Alice Di Concetto

Despite being one of the few jurisdictions in the world to recognize animal sentience, the European Union has become a major center of industrial animal production. This situation can be explained by the fact that the standards contained in E.U. farmed animal welfare laws have primarily sought to ensure a level playing field within the E.U. market by harmonizing management practices on farms. Even with this aim, however, vague drafting and ambiguous requirements have plagued E.U. animal welfare laws, leading these laws to fall far short of “ensuring the smooth running of the organization of the market in animals.” For this reason, the European Commission announced in 2020 the revision of the European Union’s farmed animal welfare legislation. This Article attempts to provide an exhaustive overview of the E.U. farmed animal welfare legislative framework, as well as the significant shortcomings of existing rules.

DOG MEAT SALES IN CHINA: THE LEGALITY AND POLITICS OF A CONTROVERSIAL TRADE

Peter J. Li

This Article examines the legality, historical context, and political dynamics of China’s contemporary dog meat trade to evaluate whether the country is positioned to end the slaughter and consumption of dogs. Although dog meat consumption has often been framed as a longstanding cultural tradition, this Article demonstrates that its widespread reemergence in the 1980s is a modern commercial development rather than a continuation of an uninterrupted dietary practice.

Through comparative analyses of Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea, the study argues that legislative prohibition of dog meat is not contingent upon economic affluence. Instead, political will, shifting cultural norms, and civic advocacy in these territories have been decisive in jurisdictions that successfully enacted bans. The Article concludes that China’s evolving public attitudes toward dogs, recent judicial recognition of their emotional value, and precedents in Asian legal reforms suggest viable pathways
for national legislation. A targeted, single-issue statute—similar to South Korea’s 2024 Special Act—may represent the most pragmatic route for China to end the dog meat trade.