October 28, 2009
THE GOOD WE DO: TO MARK NATIONAL PRO BONO
WEEK NEW YORK STATE BAR ASSOCIATION RECOGNIZES COMMITTEE ON
ANIMALS AND THE LAW
Committee Provides Array of Animal Law Information
and Resources That Make A Difference For Animals & the People Who
Care for Them
ALBANY— To commemorate the first annual Pro Bono Week (October
25-31), the New York State Bar Association has launched a new campaign
called The Good We Do to recognize the significant contributions made by
the scores of attorneys across the state who donate their time, services
and expertise to help others in need. Among the attorneys being
singled out by the Association are the members of the
Association’s Animals and the Law Committee.
The committee is marking National Pro Bono Week and World Animal Week
by making available its authoritative animal law-related resources to
members of the public and to the legal profession. These
educational and informational materials are now available online at http://www.nysba.org/animalweek.
"These helpful and wide-ranging educational tools are the result of
the dedicated efforts of the committee’s members to make a
difference for animals and people," said Committee Chair James F.
Gesualdi of Islip. “We are extremely pleased to provide this
information as part of our contribution to Animal Week and to National
Pro Bono Week.”
The committee is pleased to offer the following Animal Law-related
resources:
• Lesson plans and educational materials relating to
Abraham Lincoln, Animals and Animal Law http://www.nysba.org/Content/NavigationMenu/PublicResources/LawYouthCitizenshipProgram/LawDay2009/Default3851.htm
• Humane Education Law Information Notice to schools, parents
and students about the requirements of New York State Law http://www.nysba.org/Content/NavigationMenu/PublicResources/LawYouthCitizenshipProgram/LawDay2009/AnimalsHumaneLaw.pdf
or http://www.nysba.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Humane_Education_Law
• Tips on what to do if you find an animal in an abandoned
home or apartment and what to do with your pet if you lose your
home http://www.nysba.org/Content/NavigationMenu45/LegalLinksResources/TipSheetsonHowtoDealwithAbandonedPetsduetoForeclosures/default.htm
• Testimony: The State’s comprehensive disaster
preparedness must encompass plans for household pets, livestock and
other animals http://www.nysba.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Disaster_Preparedness
• Patient Pet Care Program (voluntary program that ensures
the pets of hospitalized patients will be given proper care) http://www.nysba.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Patient_Pet_Care_Program_St_Vincent_s_Hospital_
• “Teen Animal Cruelty: Legal Issues and Practical
Solutions” program materials and video replay featuring several
noted speakers http://www.nysba.org/Content/NavigationMenu45/AnimalWeek/Teen.Animal.Cruelty.links.to.files.doc
• Animal Law in New York pamphlet http://www.nysba.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Pamphlet_Animal_Law_in_New_York_State
• Laws & Paws Newsletter http://www.nysba.org/laws&paws
This comprehensive list of materials and online resources builds upon
the spirit of the First Annual “Week for the Animals” in New
York State, which, as Governor David A. Paterson noted in a related
Proclamation, “helps raise awareness of the uniquely special and
valuable place animals have in our lives.” These materials and the
ongoing efforts of the committee and its members also serve to elevate
the highest traditions of the profession to serve people in need and the
animals that are an important part of their lives.
The Committee on Animals and the Law was established to provide an
information resource for the Association’s members and the public
about non-human, animal-related humane issues which arise from and have
an effect upon our legal system.
Founded in 1876, the 76,000-member New York State Bar Association is
the official statewide organization of lawyers in New York and the
largest voluntary state bar association in the nation. The State
Bar’s programs and activities have continuously served the public
and improved the justice system for more than 130 years.
###
| 
News Center
