ARLAN WEBSITE REVIEW (October 2003)

The International Institute for Animal Law
http://www.animallaw.com

By Amie Wolken

A relatively new website, Animal Law.com has made a promising start with a comprehensive collection of animal laws and legislation throughout the states of America. It provides access to legislation and legal material pertaining to the rights and welfare of animals and also supports information concerning animal cruelty, animal control, laboratory animal welfare, the use of animals in education, product testing and in the laboratory, animal control issues, and general animal welfare. However, this “news” part of the website regarding matters other than the law is currently under development and as such is not yet operational, and neither is their case law section.

The website is designed solely for the purpose of making the great body of legal work concerning animals more easily accessible but does not purport to provide an exhaustive treatment of legislation and case law to the public. Nevertheless its database on American legislation is extensive and very helpful to anyone looking for information concerning the aforementioned.

Perhaps the most innovative feature on the website is the section involving “Model Laws”.. These model acts - which include “The Cosmetic Testing Alternatives Act” and The Dog Running at Large Act” are written by law students and are intended to provide suggested language for legislation that would create a better environment for animals living in our society.

Currently Animal Law.com is not exceptionally useful for any other purpose than researching American state law; however it looks promising for the future. One to keep an eye on.