Animal Law Podcast #82: Maybe Cruelty Laws CAN Protect Farmed Animals!

On this week's podcast I will be talking to Will Lowrey of Animal Outlook about a case that really has everyone in the animal law community talking. Several years ago Animal Outlook conducted an undercover investigation of Martin Farms, in Pennsylvania, a dairy farm that proved to be the locus of much hideous cruelty to animals. Some of that cruelty was what we often call “gratuitous,” i.e., not in the interests of the farm, just plain old ugliness. But a good deal of it consisted of the way Martin Farms conducted its business, such as the horrendous suffering inflicted upon calves in the “dehorning” process. After years of legal effort by Animal Outlook the case ended up in an appellate court in Pennsylvania which said, yeah, this is bad. Well, they said a lot more than that and much of it implicates one of the most nefarious legal tricks of the trade that the industry has used to avoid consequences for their illegal treatment of animals, the “customary” or “normal” farming practices exemption.

Will Lowrey is Legal Counsel for Animal Outlook. On behalf of Animal Outlook, Will is engaged in numerous lawsuits against the government and animal agriculture using a wide range of legal strategies including administrative challenges, false advertising, and animal cruelty laws. Will also supports Animal Outlook's investigations work. Prior to joining Animal Outlook, Will clerked in the Superior Court of New Jersey and interned with the Virginia Attorney General’s Animal Law Unit and the Animal Legal Defense Fund. Before law school, Will worked a lengthy corporate career and, in his free time, helped run several non-profits focused on a variety of animal issues.

View the full episode with resources here: https://ourhenhouse.org/ALP82/ The Animal Law Podcast is released by the nonprofit organization, Our Hen House. Share your thoughts with us on social media! Find us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (@ourhenhouse).