How We Choose the Cases We Champion at Litigation for Animal Welfare
Each year, over 10 million animals in the United States die due to abuse, neglect, or systemic exploitation. The sheer scale of this crisis is heartbreaking—and for a nonprofit team like ours, it presents a sobering reality: we cannot litigate every case.
At Litigation for Animal Welfare (LAW), our mission is to create maximum impact with limited resources. That means we have to make hard decisions about which cases we take on. While we grieve for every animal lost to cruelty, we focus our legal power on the cases most likely to change the system itself.
Our Focus: High-Impact, Precedent-Setting Cases
LAW selects cases that have the potential to:
Establish legal precedent that improves protections for animals under existing laws
Challenge unjust or outdated laws that harm animals or permit their abuse
Protect vulnerable animals in cases of imminent harm or systemic exploitation
Advance animal rights through strategic litigation and legal scholarship
We concentrate our efforts where our litigation can pave the way for future victories—not just for one animal, but for thousands.
Two Primary Types of Legal Action
LAW’s Litigation Team specializes in two powerful areas of focus:
1. Legislative Litigation
We work to overturn laws and regulations that enable cruelty or violate animals' fundamental rights. These may include:
Laws that allow abusive farming or breeding practices
Regulations that authorize unnecessary killing of wild or domestic animals
Statutes that treat animals solely as property without considering their sentience
Through strategic litigation, public education, and advocacy, we aim to reshape the legal landscape and create enduring protections for animals at the state and federal levels.
2. Strategic Animal Abuse and Exploitation Cases
LAW also pursues civil and criminal cases against individuals, companies, and municipalities that harm animals through:
Physical abuse or neglect
Financial exploitation (e.g., puppy mills, illegal breeding, trafficking, and donation scams)
Local ordinances that punish animals for natural behaviors or seek to execute animals unfairly
These cases are selected for their potential to expose patterns of abuse, halt harmful practices, and send a strong legal message: animals are not disposable.
The Role of the LAW Litigation Team
Our attorneys and legal scholars work diligently to:
Investigate high-potential cases referred to us by advocates, shelters, and concerned citizens
Analyze the legal landscape for opportunities to create or expand protections
Partner with expert witnesses, veterinary professionals, and community allies
Pursue cases through local, state, and federal courts to secure transformative rulings
Every case is a strategic decision made with the long-term vision of building a just legal framework where animals are respected, protected, and valued.
Our Guiding Values
While our resources are finite, our values are unwavering. We are committed to:
Dignity for all animals
Compassion in the pursuit of justice
Courage to take on powerful opponents
Integrity in all our legal work
How You Can Help
You can support our work by:
Donating to help fund high-impact litigation
Volunteering as a legal professional, researcher, or advocate
Sharing our mission on social media to raise awareness
Subscribing to our updates for ongoing case developments
Litigation for Animal Welfare is fighting not just for individual animals—but for the future of animal protection in America.
By selecting cases with the power to change laws and hearts, we aim to build a world where no animal suffers in silence.