Animal law is broader than laws pertaining to animals. It is the body of law reflecting the efforts of people to create a just world through the rule of law.

The status of animals in our legal system is in flux and attorneys are discovering creative and interesting ways to use legal arguments in the face of increasingly complex scenarios. Our clients are legally impacted by a vast array of human/animal interactions. They range from the legality of estate planning for companion animals, to changing liability standards and insurance coverage in dog bite cases, to compensation beyond fair market value when an animal is killed, to public and private conflicts about where an animal can be, and finally, to the competing interests of wild animals and urban, farming, and recreational land use.

Animal law, when broken down into its component parts, has long been the subject of the rule of law all over the world. Orderly societies have wanted answers to questions like: who pays when an animal damages property or bites, where is it allowed to be, when and how can it be killed, how are risks managed, what constitutes a sale, what is the difference between lying and puffing, and under what circumstances will the treatment of an animal by a human be circumscribed.

With advances in science, the departure of a majority of Americans from rural communities and the acquisition of more than sixty-five million indoor pets, the public interest in animals has increased. This undeniable interest is reflected by the decision of thirty-seven law schools to offer animal law courses, and the passage of animal related criminal felony bills in more than thirty-six states, where only nine existed less than a decade ago.

The mission of the Animal Law Committee is to evolve our thinking on animal issues for both the United States and the world. By attracting the best and brightest lawyers in this country, with a wide variety of perspectives, we will look at animal-related problems and issues today, and think about new ways to define, manage, and solve them. Utilizing problem-solving strategies, we will also look at the law as it exists today-fragmented around the country-and envision what it could be. The TIPS ABA Animal Law Committee will be the instrument of a paradigm shift, and will bring to the table and address legitimate business and economic interests, and humane concerns.