On this episode of Animal Amicus, hosts Senior Policy Program Manager Nicole Pallotta and Managing Attorney David Rosengard discuss sentience, the legal status of nonhumans, the “Oregon trilogy” (State v. Nix, State v. Fessenden, and State v. Newcomb), and animal rights victories across the United States and globally.   

Resources referenced in this episode along with additional relevant articles are listed below:   

Animal Legal Defense Fund: Critical Caselaw: Judicial Recognition of Animal Sentience (webinar featuring Jamie Contreras & David Rosengard)  

Animal Legal Defense Fund: Animals’ Legal Status  

Animal Legal Defense Fund: How Animals Differ from Other Types of “Property” Under the Law  

Animal Legal & Historical Center: State v. Nix , 334 P.3d 437 (2014), vacated, 356 Or. 768, 345 P.3d 416 (2015)  

Casetext: State of Oregon v. Hess, 273 Or. App. 26 (2015)  

Casetext: People v. Harris, 405 P.3d 361, 2016 COA 159 (Colo. App. 2016)  

Animal Legal Defense Fund: Charging Considerations in Criminal Animal Abuse Cases  

Oregon Live: Animals Can Be Victims of Crime, Oregon Court of Appeals Says  

FBI: Tracking Animal Cruelty: FBI Collecting Data on Crimes Against Animals  

FBI: 2019 National Incident Reporting System  

Animal Legal & Historical Center: State of Oregon v. Fessenden, 310 P.3d 1163 (Or. App., 2013), review allowed, 354 Or. 597, 318 P.3d 749 (2013) and aff'd, 355 Or. 759 (2014)  



Animal Legal Defense Fund: Two Great Legal Victories for Animals in Oregon  

Oregon Live: Oregon Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Deputy Who Entered Private Property to Rescue Starving Horse  

Animal Legal & Historical Center: State of Oregon v. Newcomb, 359 Or 756 (2016)  

Oregon Live: Pets not ‘mere’ property: Oregon Supreme Court upholds dog-starvation conviction  

FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin: The Emergency Aid Exception to the Fourth Amendment’s Warrant Requirement  

Animal Legal & Historical Center: State v. Davidson, Slip Copy, 2006 WL 763082 (Ohio App. 11 Dist.), 2006-Ohio-1458  

Animal Legal Defense Fund: 34 Horses in Limbo: Pre-Trial Forfeiture  

Animal Legal Defense Fund: Delhi High Court Rules that Community Dogs Have the Right to Food by Nicole Pallotta  

Animal Legal Defense Fund: Islamabad High Court Holds that Animals Have Legal Rights by Nicole Pallotta