LAW BLOG
The content of this blog is included in a series of books, Animal Welfare & Human Responsibilities – A Translation from Legalese to English, written by the Pet Court Arbiter. Those books, each covering one of the 50 states, addresses laws which criminalize mistreatment of animals and laws which establish minimum standards of care for animals.
Laws are complicated. They are written by lawyers at the behest of government representatives, appointees, and employees. The verbal linguistics used are frequently difficult even for lawyers to understand. Many times, the words used can be interpreted in different ways. It is not unusual for a law to be passed which is in conflict with laws which were passed years or decades earlier. This is as true for laws governing animal abuse as it is for any other area of law.
This blog attempts to make laws regarding the welfare of animals more comprehensible to laymen – non-lawyers who are not used to finding and reading complex legal materials. Laws regarding animal abuse and human responsibilities have been gathered, grouped together by subject, and translated into everyday English. The legalese of actual laws is included with the English translations. In particular, this blog addresses laws which pet parents, animal shelters, law enforcement officers, veterinarians, and those with jobs that regularly touch upon animal safety are most likely to encounter at some point in day-to-day life. Animals most likely to be encountered are dogs and cats, and therefore, they are the focal point of this blog.
Under the heading Law 101, Pet Court has also included an overview of government structure and an introduction to some basic legal concepts which are necessary to understand the legalese underlying the laws of any state.
Law 101
Alabama
