Results
| Title |
Author |
Citation | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overview of Invasive Species and Animal Welfare | Cassandra Burdyshaw | Animal Legal & Historical Center |
This overview discusses state and federal laws that control the spread of invasive species. It also touches upon the tension between eradication methods and potential animal welfare concerns. |
| Brief Summary of Invasive Species and Animal Welfare | Cassandra Burdyshaw | Animal Legal & Historical Center |
This brief summary introduces the concept of invasive species and the federal and state laws that address their control. It also briefly explores the potential animal welfare issues that arise in dealing with invasive species. |
| Detailed Discussion of the Laws Concerning Invasive Species | Cassandra Burdyshaw | Animal Legal & Historical Center | This paper introduces the concept of invasive species and give examples of how they threaten the economy and ecosystem and human health. It then examines the federal laws that address invasive species, as well as examples of state responses to invasive species. The methods of control and eradication of invasive species are explained. Finally, the paper discusses the impact that these laws and methods have on animal welfare. |
| Swan Song? Giving a Voice to Mute Swans in the Chesapeake Bay | Michael Markarian and Jonathan R. Lovvorn Esq. | 11 U. Balt. J. Envtl. L. 115 (Spring, 2004) |
This article discusses the decision by the United States District Court to grant an injunction filed by the Fund for Animals to stop the killing of the federally protected mute swan. The authors suggest that more research needs to be conducted with regard to alleged harm the swans cause in the Chesapeake Bay. Moreover, alternatives to culling the population must be explored as this is required by multiple federal laws. Further, the authors suggest that we should not not blame the very species we introduced centuries ago or artificially arrest the natural progression of the various species in an ecosystem, be they native or exotic. |
| Ethical Management of Invasive Species The Burmese Python | Kaela S. Sculthorpe | Animal Legal & Historical Center | Burmese pythons and other invasive species wreak havoc on local environments and threaten biodiversity globally. Beginning with an overview of the unique challenges posed by the Burmese python in Florida, this article addresses invasive species laws and management that currently exist both in the United States as well as across the globe. The current method for addressing the complications created by the pythons is to capture and destroy them. This process is not the most effective means of addressing biodiversity loss as Burmese python populations are now declining in its native habitat due to overexploitation. The following discussion proposes that these pythons not be captured and killed, but rather humanely captured then released back into its native habitat. This is a logical alternative because (1) capture and release is a more ethical solution and (2) capture and release promotes biodiversity. In addition to managing the current threat of these invasive species, countries must also work to prevent the future growth of unwanted populations. In order to successfully rid South Florida of the Burmese python, while preventing the future spread of invasive species, the laws that allow these invasions to happen must change. This article will explore state and federal controls regarding the management of invasive species as well as offer solutions to strengthening these protections. |
| Detailed Discussion of the Ethical Treatment of Invasive Species | Bradley Varner | Animal Legal & Historical Center | This paper broadly defines what an invasive species is and why they pose a threat to indigenous ecological communities. The first section will examine the legislation aimed at protecting native ecologies from invasives and how these laws are often silent on the animal welfare component. The paper then examines the threat invasive species pose through four species case studies. It concludes with suggestions on how current laws and conservation policies inadequately evaluate animal welfare in the US and how future proposals should include a cost-benefit analysis for native and invasive species. |
| Against the Current: The Attempt to Keep Asian Carp Out of the Great Lakes | Drew YoungeDyke | Animal Legal & Historical Center |
In the man-made channels connecting the Mississippi, Illinois and Des Plaines Rivers to Lake Michigan lurk fish with the potential to dramatically and permanently alter the biomass of the Great Lakes. Asian carp have been found in the Chicago Area Waterway System, and the effort to keep this injurious species out of Lake Michigan has sparked a multi-state legal battle, resurrecting an 81-year old Supreme Court case and a new request that the System’s locks be closed. At stake is the $70 million shipping industry that relies on the locks, the $7 billion fishing industry that relies on the lakes and the invaluable ecosystem and natural resources that comprise world’s largest freshwater lake system. |