One of the legacies of The Fund for Animals is its precedent-setting use of litigation to protect animals in the courts. The Fund has won landmark court cases over the past few decades, to stop the U.S. Navy from shooting more than 5,000 burros in California, to halt the sport hunting of black bears in California and of bison on the National Elk Refuge in Wyoming, to end the shooting of captive-raised pheasants on Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts, to shut down the notorious Hegins pigeon shoot in Pennsylvania, and to provide protection for hundreds of species under the Endangered Species Act.
In January 2005, with the combination of The Fund for Animals and The Humane Society of the United States, the groups were able to launch a new Animal Protection Litigation Section which conducts even more precedent-setting legal campaigns on behalf of animals in state and federal courts around the country. With a staff of eight full-time lawyers, as well as numerous law clerks, administrative staff, outside counsel, and pro-bono attorneys, the section is the largest in-house animal protection litigation department in the country.
The Animal Protection Litigation Section also serves as a training ground for the next generation of animal lawyers and law students. As part of that mission, the section operates the Animal Law Litigation Project in Washington, D.C.-a joint-venture with George Washington University School of Law. The project, the first such joint animal law clinic in the country, offers a select group of highly qualified law students a chance to work side-by-side with The HSUS's and The Fund's legal staff on cutting-edge animal protection cases. Visit the law school's legal clinics web page for more information about the Animal Law Litigation Project.
While the Animal Protection Litigation Section handles cases for both The HSUS and The Fund for Animals, there are now more than a dozen active animal and environmental protection cases on behalf of The Fund for Animals, and more than three dozen total cases throughout the country. The Fund's legal docket includes actions to protect whales, elephants, bears, lynx, pigeons, cormorants, swans, pheasants, horses, and other animals.
Opportunities are available for spring, summer, and fall legal clerkships, one-year litigation fellowships, and donated pro bono services.
Due to the partnership with The Humane Society of the United States, the current cases in which The Fund is involved can be found on www.hsus.org:
- ASPCA, The Fund for Animals, et al. v. Ringling Brothers, et al (circus elephants)
- Johnna Seeton and The Fund for Animals v. Pike Township Sportsman's Association (Pennsylvania's pigeon shoot)
- The Fund for Animals v. Pennsylvania Game Commission (Pennsylvania canned hunting)
- The Fund for Animals v. Williams (wildlife refuge hunting)
- The Fund for Animals, et al. v. Norton, et al. (mute swans)
