In Search of Canine Justice

Julie Walsh

In Search of Canine Justice

Law and Practice
in the United States
and European Union

PETER LANG

New York • Bern • Berlin
Brussels • Vienna • Oxford • Warsaw

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Walsh, Julie, author.

Title: In search of canine justice: law and practice

in the United States and European Union / Julie Walsh.

Description: New York: Peter Lang, 2019. Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018050129 | ISBN 978-1-4331-5901-5 (hardback: alk. paper)

ISBN 978-1-4331-6403-3 (ebook pdf) | ISBN 978-1-4331-6404-0 (epub)

ISBN 978-1-4331-6405-7 (mobi)

Subjects: LCSH: Dogs—Law and legislation—United States.

Dogs—Law and legislation—European Union countries.

Animal welfare—Law and legislation—United States.

Animal welfare—Law and legislation—European Union countries.

Classification: LCC K564.D64 W35 2019 | DDC 344.2404/9—dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018050129

DOI 10.3726/b15044

Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.

Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the “Deutsche
Nationalbibliografie”; detailed bibliographic data are available
on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de/.

© 2019 Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., New York

29 Broadway, 18th floor, New York, NY 10006

www.peterlang.com

All rights reserved.

Reprint or reproduction, even partially, in all forms such as microfilm,
xerography, microfiche, microcard, and offset strictly prohibited.

About the author

Julie Walsh is Associate Professor of Political Science at American International College. She earned her Ph.D. in political science from the University of Connecticut. She has previously published other works on American politics.

About the book

Many scholars posit distinct European and American approaches to public policy, with the European approach more likely to have a generous social safety net, tougher regulations on businesses, and stronger protections for animals. Via a comparative analysis of several policies, In Search of Canine Justice asks whether this conventional wisdom holds in the area of canine welfare. While there is much vindication of these two distinct approaches, the reality is more complex when the behavior of particular states is taken into account. In short, European laws are more likely to advance canine welfare, but there are not only exceptions but places where practices deviate from the laws. At the state level in the United States, the trend is toward more protective laws and practices in this area as well.

In Search of Canine Justice is a valuable resource for students of comparative politics, animal studies, animal law, and public policy, as well as anyone with a general interest in canine welfare or a specific interest in the regulation of commercial breeding, euthanasia, commercial greyhound racing, scientific experimentation, and/or unnecessary surgeries for cosmetic reasons.

This eBook can be cited

This edition of the eBook can be cited. To enable this we have marked the start and end of a page. In cases where a word straddles a page break, the marker is placed inside the word at exactly the same position as in the physical book. This means that occasionally a word might be bifurcated by this marker.

Table of Contents

Tables

Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Introduction: Canine Welfare in the United States and European Union: Are the Stereotypes True?

Chapter 1. Dogs for Democratic Socialism: US and EU Approaches to Canine Welfare

Chapter 2. Caring for Best Friends: Public Policies to Protect Companions

Chapter 3. In or Out of the Family? High Stakes for Canine Status

Chapter 4. Betrayal of Trust: Public Policies to Prevent Common Cruelties

Chapter 5. A Discriminating Search for Canine Justice in the US and EU

Index←vii | viii→ ←viii | ix→

Tables

Table 2.1: US Caretakers’ Responsibilities.

Table 2.2: EU Caretakers’ Responsibilities.

Table 3.1: US National and State Regulations for Breeders.

Table 3.2: EU Regulations for Breeders.

Table 3.3: EU Regulations: Microchipping and Euthanasia.

Table 4.1: US States with Rules Applying to Animal Research.

Table 4.2: EU Member States and Unnecessary Surgeries.

Table 4.3: US States that Regulate Ear Cropping.←ix | x→ ←x | xi→

Acknowledgments

I am deeply indebted to many people who helped me to bring this project to completion. From the start, my colleagues at American International College have been supportive of this research. The College granted me a sabbatical in 2014, which helped me enormously to jumpstart the research and writing for the work. Otherwise, I am reliant on summers only to get writing done! While I was on sabbatical, Dean Susanne Swanker, and Professors Thomas Maulucci and Gary Jones covered my duties for me. In addition, Professors Debbi Anderson and Gary Jones encouraged me to present my early research findings to the campus community when I returned from sabbatical. The feedback from that presentation helped me to improve the manuscript. I am especially appreciative of the support of my colleagues given the inter-disciplinary nature of this work.