Results

This paper examines the laws pertaining to zoo animals on the international, federal, and state level, along with voluntary standards, not mandated by law. On the international level there are only regulations which apply to the trade of the species between international countries, limiting how many can be imported and exported and how they are transported. On the federal level, those laws most important to zoo animals are the Animal Welfare Act and the Endangered Species Act. The AWA sets minimum standards for the care, handling, housing, and transport of animals exhibited in zoos. The ESA applies to those animals listed as threatened or endangered, but even then exhibition alone will never constitute a violation. State laws consist of anti-cruelty statutes that come into force only after a violation has occurred. Voluntary associations such as the American Zoo Association set higher standards of care for their members, in some instances, than the minimum standards set forth in the Animal Welfare Act. Using the elephant as a case study, this paper exposes the inadequacies of our existing laws, which have resulted in unfortunate incidents nationwide. It also exposes the underground trade of surplus zoo animals, which continues because of the lacking enforcement of current laws.

This overview discusses the nature of the international trade in wild reptiles and the impediments to enforcing those laws that protect reptile species. The concerns of ownership, such as zoonotic disease, injury to the animal itself, and threats to public safety, are also presented.

This Paper will discuss the current trends in tiger conservation and management. Part I will discuss the statutory protections afforded to tigers in India’s Wildlife Protection Act and the operation of CITES. Part II will cover the primary reasons for renewed concern over the fate of the tiger, focusing on the demand for Asian medicines and other tiger derivatives. This Part will also discuss the current state of conservation efforts in India, focusing on how nearby rural villages have been affected by the establishment of the tiger reserves and wildlife conservation areas in India. Finally, Part III will propose some ways to begin to curb some of the demand in the international tiger derivative market and to improve community involvement and enforcement of India’s current regulations, as well as exploring potential avenues for strengthening aid efforts from and within the United States.

This article seeks to address more thoroughly how the historical “old maxims” of the public and wildlife trust doctrines can be used as Lucas background principles of property law to overcome takings challenges brought against state and federal environmental regulations. First, the historical underpinnings of the public trust doctrine and the wildlife trust doctrine prior to the founding of the nation are described. The Illinois Central Railroad v. Illinois and Geer v. Connecticut, which are the key Supreme Court cases establishing the validity of these doctrines in the United States are summarized. The author asserts that the doctrines may be interchangeably applied as a means of protecting important environmental resources. The author illustrates how the use of these doctrines might have changed the ultimate outcome of the Lucas case.