First Time User Tutorial

Welcome to the Animal Legal & Historical Center!

Wondering where to go first?

Try the front page

The front page gives recent animal law news as well as recent cases we’ve added. Links are provided to the materials discussed.

Go to our FAQ section

You may also want to check out our Frequently Asked Questions that also appears on the front page on the right-hand side.  This lists specific set of questions and answers on dog law topics and more general legal topics related to animals.

Check out our in-depth Topical Introductions

Another place to start is our Topical Introductions. Topical Introductions contain a collection of legal materials (cases, laws, and articles) for a specific topic with a short summary and detailed legal analysis. Topics range from dog issues (like dog bite laws, lost dogs, custody issues involving pets in divorce) to complex federal laws such as the U.S. Endangered Species Act or the Animal Welfare Act.  On the top purple navigation, simply expand the Topics tab. Below, you will see a link to a page that lists all of our Topical Introductions. Select the topic that interests you or the find the category for your topic (for example “wildlife” for topics involving wild animals or “farm animals” for topics concerning animals kept for food or fiber). Once you click on a Topical Introduction, you will first see a summary of the issue with tabs above that can lead you to more in-depth information.

Examine a Comparative Table of Laws

We have many tables of laws that show you “laws at a glance” for many topics such as where to report animal cruelty, the minimum age to sell puppies, strict liability dog bites laws, and more. On the top purple navigation, simply expand the Topics tab. Below, you will see a link to a page that lists all of our Comparative Tables.

Review a case, law or municipal code

You can also find a specific law or legal case by going to the Find Materials tab in the top purple navigation that appears on every page. Laws and cases are also presented based on subjects like anti-cruelty or dangerous dog as well as by species such as dogs, cattle, cats, whales, and more. You can select a state in the State/Federal pull-down to see all the laws of a particular state or narrow to a topic through the Topics pull-down. You can even narrow down a case, law, or article based on species from bears to wolves. Also, we now have a growing number of local laws in our municipal ordinances collection. This includes nearly all municipalities that have adopted some sort of dog breed bans (known as “breed-specific legislation”).

This is just a sample of all that we have at the Animal Legal & Historical Center. If you would like an overview of some of the more complex aspects of our site such as journal articles and administrative regulations, see the Researchers and Attorneys button.

Thank you once again for visiting the site.