WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — An animal rights group is suing U.S. agencies, alleging violation of federal law.
Animal Welfare Institute filed a complaint Dec. 13 in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, the U.S. Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service and acting administrator Alfred V. Almanza, alleging failure to render a final decision regarding the plaintiff's petition.
According to the complaint, the Animal Welfare Institute suffered monetary damages from receiving no response to their petition. The plaintiff alleges the defendants failed to respond to the institute's proposed petition regarding a more humane treatment of livestock.
Animal Welfare Institute seeks to declare the defendant's inaction is in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act, enjoin the defendant from further delay, and any other relief as the court deems just. It is represented by attorneys Jeffrey Gutman, Anna Luft and Patrick Tierney of The George Washington University Law School Public Justice Advocacy Clinic in Washington, D.C.
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Case number 1:16-cv-02436-TSC