Oklahoma Bar Journal
What Is Animal Law?
By Gary Maxey
Animal law is not a single statute, a narrow specialty or simply another name for animal rights. It is the body of law governing relationships among people, institutions and animals. Like environmental law before it, animal law draws upon established legal doctrines and applies them to problems involving animals and the people responsible for them.
Although American anti-cruelty statutes date to the 19th century, animal law emerged as a distinct field during the 1970s. In 1977, Seton Hall Law School offered the first animal law course. Two years later, attorneys formed Attorneys for Animal Rights, now the Animal Legal Defense Fund. The field developed through litigation, scholarship, bar committees and legal education. In 1992, Lewis & Clark Law School began teaching animal law, later establishing the first animal law journal and its Center for Animal Law Studies.
The growth has been remarkable. In 2000, only nine law schools offered animal law classes. The Animal Legal Defense Fund now reports that 167 law schools in the U.S. and Canada have offered an animal law course.
Why has the field grown so quickly? One reason is the changing place of companion animals in American life. A 2023 Pew Research Center survey found that 97% of American pet owners consider their animals part of the family, and 51% consider them as much a part of the family as a human member. Spending reflects that bond. The American Pet Products Association reports that Americans spent $158 billion on their animals in 2025, including food, veterinary care, supplies and services.
This emotional and financial investment has legal consequences. When a beloved animal is injured, killed, mistreated or claimed by another person, owners increasingly seek lawyers and courts to protect the animal and their relationship with it. Divorce and protective-order cases raise possession, safety and care issues. Estate planners prepare pet trusts and care instructions. Civil actions involve veterinary negligence, wrongful injury or death, dangerous dogs, fraudulent sales, housing disputes, insurance coverage and ownership.
The change is also visible in state legislatures. Several states now direct divorce courts to consider an animal's care or well-being rather than treating the animal exactly like furniture. Protective order statutes increasingly allow judges to include household animals, recognizing that threats against animals may be used to control human victims.
Animal law extends far beyond dogs and cats. Farm animal matters implicate agricultural practices, food production, transportation, biosecurity and regulation. Wildlife law concerns conservation, hunting, trafficking, habitat and the authority of tribal, state and federal governments. Exotic animal cases involve private possession, sanctuaries, zoos, public safety and endangered-species protections. Animals used in entertainment raise questions involving racing, rodeos, circuses, film production and exhibition. Research animals are governed by federal rules, licensing requirements and institutional standards.
An animal law problem may require knowledge of constitutional, administrative, criminal, property, contract, tort, family, trust, estate or municipal law. It may also involve veterinarians, law-enforcement officers, agricultural producers, tribal authorities, rescue organizations, insurers and public health officials.
In Oklahoma, these questions arise under state cruelty laws, local ordinances, livestock rules, probate statutes and provisions governing trusts for domestic or pet animals, as well as generally applicable civil and criminal law.
Animal law does not dictate a single philosophy or outcome. Lawyers represent animal owners, farmers, veterinarians, businesses, governments, nonprofit organizations and persons injured by animals. The practice recognizes that animal-related disputes are real legal disputes with significant human, economic and public safety consequences.
Animal law has grown because animals occupy an important place in modern life, while the law must balance affection, responsibility, commerce, safety and humane treatment. It is a practical, broad and developing field that Oklahoma lawyers increasingly will encounter.
Gary Maxey is the senior managing partner at Maxey Law LLC in Vinita. He serves as vice chair of the OBA Animal Law Section. He has served as special judge for Garfield County and as associate district judge for Craig County until his retirement in 2015 after 21 years on the bench. In 1988, he was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives and served two terms.
Originally published in the Oklahoma Bar Journal – OBJ 97 No. 7 (September 2026)
Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff.