Cosmetic and convenience surgeries on companion animals: the case for laws with bite to protect a dog’s bark

Abstract

Of the various potential improvements and expansions of the current legal protections for companion animals, this paper will focus on the rationale for, and the possibility of, a ban on companion dog and cat cosmetic and convenience surgeries. After discussing the practical significance of society’s soft spot for companion dogs and cats, this paper will discuss the ‘physically painful’ and ‘unjustifiable’ nature of the cosmetic and convenience surgeries themselves, as well as the statutes, legislative and voter initiatives, and case law relevant to those surgeries. Ultimately, this paper will conclude that although across the board bans on companion dog and cat cosmetic and convenience surgeries would likely fail in all but a tiny minority of ‘animal-friendly’ municipalities, bans that solely target debarking could be more broadly enacted because debarking has been practiced for a shorter period of time than the other surgeries, is performed less frequently, and may be more readily understood by the average American as ‘unnatural,’ and therefore, cruel.     

Animals, Ethics and Public Policy

In orthodox moral thinking in the West, animals count for something but human interests take precedence. It is argued that this moral orthodoxy or animal welfare position is flawed. It fails to take into account that some animals, like humans, are persons and that some, so-called 'marginal' humans lack personhood. More importantly, although it is likely that animals do not have an interest in liberty for its own sake and have less of an interest in continued life than humans, there is little justification for the animal welfare claim that an animal's suffering should be regarded as less important morally than that of a human. It is concluded that the adoption of a 'sentiency position', whereby animals have a right not to suffer, has radical implications for the way animals are treated, ruling out intensive forms of animal agriculture and those scientific procedures that inflict suffering as morally illegitimate.     

Under the analphabête series

Theatre

Speech (The Predicament of Three Women in the Nuclear Age), written and directed by Avram Patt, Theatre for the New York City, October 1983, New York City

Fen, by Caryl Churchill directed by Les Waters, London Joint Stock Theatre Group's production presented by Joseph Paff at the Public Theatre, New York City

Top Girls, by Caryl Churchill, directed by Max Stafford‐Clark, Royal Theatre Court production presented by Joseph Papp at The Public Theatre, New York City

Sophie, by comedienne Judy Sloan, October 1983, at the Gay Women's Alternative, New York City.

Awake Sleeping Heart, a collage for five women based on the life, journals and paintings of the Mexican artist Fri‐da Kahlo, conceived and directed by Emma Missouri, October 1983, Northampton, Massachusetts

Antigone Too: Rites of Love and Defiance, written and directed by Martha Boesing for At the Foot of the Mountain, August 1983, at the People's Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Orgasmo Adulto Escapes from the Zoo, by Dario Fo and Franca Rame, performed by Estelle Parsons at the Public Theatre, New York City, Fall 1983.

Dance

Celebration of Traditional Cultures, La Mama Annex, November 11–13, 1983.

History, An American Dream, by Anne Bogart, St. Mark's Church, October, 1983.

Vamot A Andar (Let's Get Going), Wallflower Order and Grupo Raiz, October, 1983, Symphony Space, New York City

Testimonies, New York City Political Dancers, Merce Cunningham Dance Studio, August 1983.

Set and Reset, Trisha Brown and Company, Brooklyn Academy of Music, October 1983.

Books

The Amazing Decade: Women and Performance Art in America 1970–1980, edited by Moira Roth. Los Angeles: Astro Ariz, 1983. 149 pp., bibliographies. Cloth: $25.00; paper: $12.50

Woman and Spirituality by Carol Ochs. Totowa, New Jersey: Rowman and Allanheld, 1983. 144 pp., notes, bibliography, index. Cloth: $16.95

Women In Music: An Anthology of Source Readings from the Middle Ages to the Present, edited by Carol Neuls‐Bates. New York: Harper &; Row, 1982. 332 pp., selected bibliography, index, illustrations. Cloth: $18.50

American Women Composers Before 1870 by Judith Tick. Ann Arbor, Michigan: UMI Research Press, 1983. 233 pp., appendix, notes, bibliography, index. Cloth: $44.95

Louise Farrenc, 1840–1875 by Bea Friedland. Ann Arbor, Michigan: UMI Research Press, 1980. 177 pp., appendices, notes, bibliography, index. Cloth: $49.95

Mourning Dress: A Costume and Social History by Lou Taylor, Boston: Allen &; Unwin, 1983. 287 pp., appendices, chapter notes, select bibliography, index. Cloth: $24.50

Listings     

动物法律人格之否定——兼论动物之法律“物格”

随着德国民法典第 90a条的修正 ,“动物不是物”的规定对法学界带来了巨大的冲击 ,另有环境伦理学有关动物成为权利主体主张的提出 ,似乎动物取得人格权 ,成为权利主体的现实就在面前。但环境伦理学的主张并不能等同于法律学的主张 ,法律人格无法扩张至动物。奥地利、德国、瑞士等国民法典的修正主旨并不是赋予动物以法律人格。不过对动物的法律保护必须加强 ,在民法中应当将其作为一类特殊的物来对待 ,在法律规则的适用上有别于普通物。     

动物法律地位刍议——私法视野下的分析

在动物法律地位问题上,存在"肯定论"和"否定论"两种观点。"肯定论"的观点在认识论上忽视了动物不可能具有道德判断能力的事实,在本体论上曲解了法律主体据以享有权利的"内在价值"的含义,在私法理论上带来一系列的难题,在法律制度上缺乏可操作性,故不足取。"否定论"中的"义务论"观点则认为,需要人类保护的动物乃是人类的保护义务的客体。"义务论"既可以达到"肯定论"拟保护动物的目的,又完全不与现有的法律理论和制度相冲突,还具有可操作性,所以是解决动物法律地位问题的最佳方案。     

毒品查缉方法应用综述

随着国内外毒品犯罪形势日趋严峻，在海关、机场、码头、车站等关键场所，为了实现毒品现场快速检验的目的，迅速确定和控制毒品犯罪，国内外的有关部门研制出多种便携式毒品快速检验装备，我国常用的有单项检验装置和综合型检验装置。现代化卫星监控技术也被用于发现毒源植物的种植情况。近年来，动物缉毒作为缉毒侦查的一种生物手段，在这个领域发挥着其他手段无法替代的作用。现在可以用以缉毒的动物有缉毒犬、缉毒猪、缉毒鼠、缉毒蝶等等。     

饲养动物致害责任探析

动物致害责任的立法历史悠久,我国现行关于动物致害责任的民事立法规定太过原则与笼统,缺乏可操作性,难以形成利于受害人权利保护的合理的民事救济体系。未来民法典应区分不同的动物种类,适用不同的归责原则,并预设各类动物侵权类型的责任承担。     

试论野生动物致人损害的救济问题

野生动物致人损害的案件分为两类 ,一为野生动物园内的野生动物致人损害的 ,实践中主要以野生动物园承担民事责任。二为野生状态下的野生动物致人损害的 ,我国目前尚无立法规定如何对受害人进行救济。作者试图从国家补偿的角度对野生动物致人损害的救济的法理基础 ,赔偿义务机关的设置等问题提出一点设想。     

非法偷猎、走私野生动物案件的现场勘查

近年来,面对国内非法偷猎、走私野生动物刑事案件增幅较大的现状,如何提高案件现场勘查水平是我国森林公安机关必须解决的最迫切的问题。由于野生动物案件现场勘查的对象不同,在证据固定的方法上有其特殊性,因此,需要制定必备的技术操作规范。通过对现场勘查、物证提取和保存等关键环节的研究,提出可作为重要参考依据的技术标准。     

论饲养动物损害赔偿责任的一般规则

《侵权责任法》第78条所称的＂动物＂可依据《国民经济行业分类标准》界定。＂饲养＂包括喂养和放养。＂造成的＂不是在法律意义上使用,动物不能行为。＂管理人＂只有在能实际控制且从中受益的情况下才承担民事责任。《侵权责任法》第26条、第29至第31条适用于第78条。