While animals are legally considered to be property, there are a number of areas where U.S. law appears to treat at least some animals more like family. Many states have recently passed laws that allow companion animals to be included in Domestic Violence Protection Orders; judges overseeing divorce proceedings have created arrangements akin to joint custody when a divorcing couple cannot agree on who will keep the family dog; and the reasonable accommodations standard under the Fair Housing Act has been interpreted to require that non-trained “emotional support animals” be allowed to remain in the household despite a no-pet clause. Today’s panelists will discuss several additional areas where the treatment of animals may be somewhere between property and family, including the theory and doctrine of post-mortem gifts benefitting pets, the use of force to defend one's companion animal as an affirmative defense, and the applicability of the exigency doctrine to warrantless searches when domesticated animals are in need of rescue. The panel will also look at how the concept of animals as family applies in countries other than the United States and in various cultures.
Business meeting at program conclusion.