Animal Law
Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.
– Anatole France
In studying Animal Law, a great shift can be seen in society’s concern about animals. In Spain, apes are now given human rights. In New Zealand, support for protecting companion animals and animals in captivity is strong. In the United Kingdom, some of the strictest laws against causing animal suffering exist. Unfortunately, the United States ranks as one of the worst countries in the world regarding protecting animals. This is according to the World Animal Protection organization which gives the U.S. an overall grade of “D” with “A” as the highest ranking. See https://api.worldanimalprotection.org.
Colorado has a number of laws to protect animals, though. For example, C.R.S. § 18-9-204.5 makes it illegal to own a “dangerous dog”. C.R.S. §§ 18-9-201-209 overall protect animals from cruelty. C.R.S. § 13-21-124 creates strict liability for a dog owner whose dog bites a victim but only if the victim suffers serious bodily injury or death. But, as always, there are exceptions to each of these laws. Domestic violence can even be regarded as having occurred if the crime is against an animal when the animal is used as a method of coercion, control, punishment, intimidation, or revenge. See § C.R.S. 18-6-8003 and §§ 13-14-101, 103.
However, sometimes an owner of a domestic animal is mistakenly charged as having violated one of these or other animal laws. That is when you need legal representation to save your animal from possibly being euthanized and you from having serious criminal ramifications.
The Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution provides that all criminal defendants have the right to counsel. It is a right that is epitomized by the example of John Adams representing the British soldiers who participated in the infamous Boston massacre of 1770. Every criminal defendant deserves a fair trial. Mark Anthony Law will ensure that happens.