The Animal Welfare Act at 50

December 2-3, 2016

Overview

The Animal Law & Policy Program at Harvard Law School hosted The Animal Welfare Act at Fifty, a conference that brought experts together to assess the first fifty years of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) and consider recommendations for the future. The event included conference presentations as well as a separate academic workshop.

This event was open to the public.

Agenda

Day 1: Friday, December 2nd

9:00am, Welcome Remarks, Prof. Kristen Stilt

9:15 - 10:45am, Panel 1: Welfare Standards under the AWA

Anna Frostic, The Humane Society of the United States - Commercial Use of Infant Exotic Animals
Cathy Liss, Animal Welfare Institute - Animal Welfare Act Regulation: Why Industry Has Embraced Performance Standards, but Animal Welfare Advocates Shouldn’t
Kimberly Ockene, The Humane Society of the United States - History of Commercial Breeding Regulations and Necessary Upgrades
Naomi Rose and Georgia Hancock, Animal Welfare Institute - Captive Marine Mammals Under the Animal Welfare Act
Moderator: Delcianna Winders, Animal Law & Policy Program, Harvard Law School

10:45 - 11:00am, Break

11:00am - 12:00pm, Panel 2: AWA Interaction with Other Laws

Ani Satz, Emory University School of Law - Animal Protection and the Myth of Preemption
Delcianna Winders, Animal Law & Policy Program, Harvard Law School - The Endangered Species Act and the AWA
Moderator: Varu Chilakamarri, U.S. Department of Justice

12:00 - 1:15pm, Lunch

Martha Minow, Morgan and Helen Chu Dean and Professor of Law - Remarks

1:15 - 2:45pm, Panel 3: Regulating Animals Used in Research

Alka Chandna, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals - Biased Animal Experimentation Oversight Committee Membership Undermines the Animal Welfare Act
Bruce Myers, Animals | Environment LLC - From the Animal Welfare Act to the Toxic Substances Control Act—How Chemical Toxicity Testing Reform Is Poised to Reinvigorate the Protection of Laboratory Animals
Leslie Rudloff, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine - “Considering” “Alternatives” to Procedures Likely to Cause Pain or Distress
Moderator: David Favre, Professor of Law & The Nancy Heathcote Professor of Property and Animal Law, Michigan State University College of Law

2:45 - 3:00pm, Break

3:00 - 4:15pm, Panel 4: Emerging Issues Related to the Regulation of Animals in Research

Larry Carbone, University of California, San Francisco - Animal Welfare Standards for the Full Research Cycle
Samual Garner, National Institutes of Health - A Primer on Animal Research Ethics: The State of the Field
Garet Lahvis, Oregon Health & Science University - Non-Human Psychological Experiences and Their Implications
Moderator: Holly Fernandez Lynch, Executive Director, Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School

4:15 - 4:30pm, Break

4:30 - 5:15pm, Panel 5: Excluded Animals

Kathy Hessler, Lewis & Clark Law School - Aquatic Species under the Animal Welfare Act
Sue Leary, American Anti-Vivisection Society - Rats, Mice, and Birds Under the AWA?
Michael McFadden, FarmForward - Farmed Animals and the AWA
Moderator: David Cassuto, Professor of Law and Director, Brazil-American Institute for Law and Environment, Pace Law School

5:15 - 6:30pm, Cocktail Reception

6:30 - 8:00pm, Dinner Banquet: Ethical, Moral & Philosophical Perspectives Discussion

Lori Gruen, William Griffin Professor of Philosophy, Wesleyan University - Philosophy & Animal Studies
Bernard Rollin, University Distinguished Professor, Professor of Philosophy, Professor of Animal Sciences, Professor of Biomedical Sciences, and University Bioethicist, Colorado State University - Philosophy & Animal Science
Paul Waldau, Canisius College, Instructor at Harvard Law School & Harvard College - Animal Studies
Moderator: Kristen Stilt, Faculty Director, Animal Law & Policy Program, Harvard Law School

Day 2: Saturday, December 3rd

8:15 - 9:30am, Panel 6: Relocating Animals Under the AWA

Rebecca Huss, Valparaiso University Law School - Civil Asset Forfeiture and Cost of Care Assessments under the Animal Welfare Act
Ron Kagan, Detroit Zoo - The Role of Zoos in Animal Rescues
Carney Anne Nasser, Animal Legal Defense Fund - Rescued Animal Placement
Moderator: Joan Schaffner, Associate Professor of Law, George Washington University Law School

9:30 - 9:45am, Break

9:45 - 11:00am, Panel 7: AWA-Related Litigation and Other Efforts

Jenni James, PETA Foundation - Unchecked–How the Animal Welfare Act Evades Judicial Review
Katherine Meyer, Meyer, Glitzenstein & Eubanks LLP - Contemplating a Citizen Suit Provision for the Animal Welfare Act
Joyce Tischler, Animal Legal Defense Fund, and Valerie Stanley, Law Office of Valerie J. Stanley - Analysis of Early Regulatory and Litigation Efforts to Enforce the Animal Welfare Act
Moderator: Justin Marceau, Professor, University of Denver, Sturm College of Law

11:00 - 11:15am, Break

11:15am - 12:30pm, Panel 8: AWA Enforcement

Varu Chilakamarri, U. S. Department of Justice - Criminal & Civil Enforcement
Bernadette Juarez, Animal Care Program, USDA - Animal Welfare Act Enforcement Actions
Delcianna Winders, Animal Law & Policy Program, Harvard Law School - Discounted Penalties and Warnings in AWA Enforcement
Moderator: Jay Shimshack, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Economics, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, University of Virginia

12:30 - 1:30pm, Lunch

James Keen, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln - Practical Perspectives on Research and Animal Welfare

1:30 - 1:45pm, Closing Remarks, Prof. Kristen Stilt

More Information

For additional information, please contact alpp@law.harvard.edu.

Sponsored by the Animal Law & Policy Program at Harvard Law School, cosponsored by the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School with support from the Oswald DeN. Cammann Fund at Harvard University.