Thank you so much to everyone who contributed to scaling Legal Impact for Chickens via Manifund! Here are some updates since my last comment here:

• LIC’s Animal Outlook v. Harvey’s Market lawsuit apparently had an immediate impact! “Harvey’s Market . . . discontinued the sale of foie gras once notice of this lawsuit was received,” according to the butcher shop’s answer to our complaint.  

• As you know, we’re suing KFC-supplier Case Farms for cruelty. On November 4, 2024, Case Farms filed its own appellate brief. Case Farms’s brief openly advocates for a reading of the law where, “‘[a] veterinarian can regularly perform major surgery on animals without anesthesia, and a hog farmer can routinely kill diseased hogs by torturing them to death.’” LIC filed our appellate reply brief on November 21, 2024. On February 11, 2025, the North Carolina Court of Appeals heard oral argument. Counsel for Legal Impact for Chickens explained: “The question in this case is whether a complaint alleging detailed, specific animal cruelty that violates the law states a claim under North Carolina's animal cruelty statute. Applying the law as written to the complaint as written says that it does.” He continued: “We would allege that intentionally running chicks over is cruel. I think there’s no argument that that’s not cruel. And we’d allege that, because that defeats the statutorily exempt purpose of producing poultry, there’s no way that that’s part of the process of producing poultry.” We now await the appellate court’s ruling.

• And as you know, LIC is suing the abusive Alexandre dairy for cruelty. On February 7, 2025, Alexandre filed a demurrer. LIC responded in opposition to Alexandre’s demurrer on March 3, 2025. LIC’s brief explained: “The complaint alleges in great detail that animals suffer illegal abuse at the hands of defendants, who have a pattern and practice of starving and dehydrating cattle, dragging disabled animals across concrete, and pouring salt into cows’ eyes. This conduct violates animal protection laws that LIC is authorized to enforce. This Court is empowered to hear this case, and, if the Court ultimately deems appropriate, to enjoin such cruelty.” On March 14, 2025, the Humboldt County Superior Court heard oral argument. Judge Timothy Canning presided. LIC’s Equal Justice Works fellow, Isabella Nilsson, argued for LIC. She explained that the complaint alleges ongoing strange and unusual animal abuse by Alexandre. Also in attendance were LIC’s co-counsel, the compassionate and knowledgeable Megan Yarnall and Frank J. J. F. Martin of Eureka-based Janssen Malloy LLP. We now await the Court’s ruling.

• In December 2024, Legal Impact for Chickens sent an official books and records request to Tyson’s board on behalf of a shareholder. The shareholder is demanding more information about Tyson’s treatment of chickens and of workers. We are now in communication with attorneys for Tyson’s board regarding the documents to which our client is entitled.

• In January 2025, Legal Impact for Chickens and the University of San Francisco School of Law Student Animal Legal Defense Fund submitted a comment to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regarding animal welfare and Salmonella. The comment responded to a USDA proposed rule: the Salmonella Framework for Raw Poultry Products. LIC asked USDA to address animal welfare in the final version of the Salmonella Framework rule. As stated in our comment, studies have shown that birds are more susceptible to Salmonella when they have low welfare and poor health. Keeping barns cleaner, providing proper food and water, maintaining comfortable temperatures, lowering the number of birds kept in one flock, and lowering stress in other ways can all help stop illnesses from spreading on bird farms. USDA currently only provides voluntary guidance about how to reduce Salmonella by increasing bird welfare before slaughter. LIC asked USDA to create binding regulations. USDA currently only requires Salmonella testing of some samples of chicken and turkey parts after the birds have been slaughtered. LIC’s comment asked the agency to require testing earlier in the process, or otherwise require some way to trace positive results back to the farm where the birds were raised. LIC also asked USDA to collect and publish information about the rates of Salmonella found in each facility. These measures would allow USDA to identify farms or slaughterhouses with particularly high levels of Salmonella, and to address any animal welfare or food safety issues leading to those high rates. After LIC submitted its comment, 65 members of the public submitted their own comments asking USDA to address animal welfare in its Salmonella Framework. Thank you to each of these kind, thoughtful commenters for standing up for birds! Sadly, however, in April 2025, USDA withdrew the proposed rule.

• LIC submitted testimony in support of a Maryland ​cage-free bill​. LIC staff attorney Kathryn Evans researched, wrote, and submitted the testimony. The bill would require egg farms in the state to  give their hens a certain minimum space, enrichments, and no cages.​ The bill would also require that all eggs sold in the state come from places which meet those requirements. 

• Nov 3, 2024: LIC president Alene spoke at Effective Altruism Global (EAG) Boston!

• LIC hired a new managing attorney, Drew Givens! Drew is an Army veteran and a former prosecutor. He obtained his JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. While in law school, he was president of the Virginia Animal Law Society and interned with Animal Outlook. He has litigated on behalf of indigent criminal defendants and has prosecuted criminal cases for the Commonwealth of Virginia, ranging from animal cruelty to first degree murder. Drew is licensed to practice in Virginia.

• As of Dec 10, 2024, LIC Equal Justice Fellow Isabella Nilsson is officially an attorney!!! She is licensed to practice law in California!!!

• LIC thus now has four full-time attorneys on staff.

• Cornell Law student Akber Khan and Lewis & Clark Law student Finn Sporrer accepted offers to intern at LIC in summer 2025!

• LIC put out its 2024 Annual report: https://legalimpactforchickens.org/2024-annual-report.

Updates on all the exciting stuff that has happened at LIC lately:

• Legal Impact for Chickens commissioned an undercover investigation of poultry giant Foster Farms. Foster Farms is the largest poultry producer in California. The investigation was released on October 7, 2024 by animal protection charity Animal Outlook (AO). The undercover investigator caught Foster Farms driving forklifts over chickens, throwing them, and kicking them. Animal cruelty is a crime. So AO has presented the video and legal analysis to the Fresno County District Attorney’s office and is requesting criminal animal cruelty charges. On October 11, 2024, the Fresno Bee reported: “Fresno County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Tony Botti said detectives launched an investigation recently and it remains an ongoing case.” Foster Farms also reportedly released a statement that, as a result of the LIC-sponsored investigation, Foster Farms had “‘implemented’” new animal-welfare procedures. These reportedly included companywide animal welfare training, creating a new chief animal welfare officer role and new animal welfare director roles, and “[i]ncreased” animal welfare audits and Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization (PAACO) staff.

• On September 30, 2024, Legal Impact for Chickens filed an animal-cruelty suit against Alexandre Family Farm for pouring salt into cows’ eyes, dragging disabled animals across concrete, starving cattle, and more. The well-known dairy has several thousand cattle and sells its milk at Whole Foods. But an April 2024 exposé by animal-welfare charity Farm Forward revealed “systemic deception, cruelty, and animal abuse” at Alexandre. Farm Forward put the exposé together with the help of rancher whistleblowers. LIC filed its complaint in Humboldt County Superior Court. LIC seeks an injunction to protect Alexandre’s cattle.

• The food known as “foie gras” comes from dangerously force-feeding a duck or a goose. A duck foie gras producer will shove a tube down each ducks’s throat three times a day over nearly three weeks. This forces the duck to ingest so much food that his liver grows up to ten times its usual size. As a result, the liver reaches a diseased state, increasing the bird’s mortality risks. On August 10, 2023, LIC thus contacted a San Francisco caterer to demand that the company “permanently stop selling foie gras.” The caterer responded immediately, and agreed to remove this cruel dish from its menu! Then, on July 30, 2024, LIC sent a cease-and-desist letter to DC butcher shop Harvey’s Market on behalf of LIC’s client, Animal Outlook. The letter demanded that Harvey’s Market stop labeling its foie gras as “humanely raised.” But Harvey’s Market stated that it has no plans to change anything. So, on October 15, 2024, LIC filed a lawsuit against Harvey’s Market in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, on behalf of Animal Outlook. The complaint alleges that this type of misleading advertising violates the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Procedures Act.

• On August 1, 2024, LIC filed the record in our Case Farms lawsuit. And on September 3, 2024, LIC filed its opening appellate brief. LIC’s brief explains: “[O]ur law declares Defendants’ animal cruelty unlawful. Our law . . . says how animals must be slaughtered—and boiling them alive is not a legal way to slaughter animals. 9 C.F.R. § 381.65; Treatment of Live Poultry Before Slaughter, 70 Fed. Reg. 56624-01, 56625 (Sept. 28, 2005). The law also prohibits abusing animals. Negligently killing or abusing an animal is criminal.” Since then, farming groups, veterinarians, and a North Carolina animal rescue have all weighed in to stand up for birds. The Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance, The Cornucopia Institute, and Food Animal Concerns Trust moved together to submit an amicus brief. The farming groups’ brief states: “Defendants’ alleged conduct is not only unethical, but completely contrary to the professional standards of modern poultry farming.” Former North Carolina appellate judge Hon. Lucy Inman represents these three amici. North Carolina veterinarian Dr. Laura Cochrane, DVM, forensic veterinarian Dr. Martha Smith-Blackmore, DVM, and North Carolina nonprofit DEGA Mobile Veterinary Care moved together to submit a second amicus brief. The veterinarians’ brief states: “North Carolina takes animal cruelty seriously.” North Carolina appellate attorney Michael G. Schietzelt and colleague Luke Taylor represent the three veterinary amici. North Carolina animal rescue Beautiful Together also moved to submit an amicus brief. Beautiful Together’s brief states: “Legal Impact for Chicken’s complaint alleges shocking atrocities that, if committed against a dog or cat, would merit universal condemnation.” North Carolina appellate specialist Christopher S. Edwards represents Beautiful Together.

Thank you so much to everyone who invested!!!!

Manifund says:

"Manifund auction for 'Scaling Legal Impact for Chickens to make factory-farm cruelty a liability' has resolved!"

"This project was successfully funded. It received $4.87K in funding. 97.3% of shares were sold at a valuation of $5K. The founder currently holds the other 2.66%, and 2.66% has been offered for sale at a valuation of $5K.

Not all of the shares you initially offered in the auction were sold, so we made a sell offer for the remaining 2.66% at a valuation of $5K on your behalf, which gives you the opportunity to raise more funds. You are able to delete that offer if you choose from your project page."

"Your bid of $60 at $500 was declined." Why? I was one of the first people to fund this project. Did all the people in the shareholder list fund more than $500?

This seems like a very promising enterprise! Success already under your belt, a clear plan for scaling up further from here, pretty high potential yields should it succeed; overall I'm pretty impressed with / optimistic about your prospects here.

We are so excited that LIC is doing this important work standing up for those who cannot fight for their own rights. Thank you!

Thank you for the incredible work you are doing to help end cruelty to farmed animals. We need this so desperately and are so glad you are leading the way.

LIC is doing groundbreaking work for farmed animals in the legal sphere. As far as I know, it is the only US nonprofit law firm focused exclusively on factory farmed animals.

As a new employee at the organization, I can say for sure that everyone here is highly motivated to do this work well and as efficiently as possible. These are incredibly impressive litigators who went to top schools and could be doing anything else, but they care deeply about making a better world for chickens and have dedicated their careers to that end. I know that Alene Anello, our captain, is constantly thinking about how we can do more and what will be the most streamlined approach.

I believe in the mission and think the strategy is effective. My goal as a grantor is to estimate how much the grant would be worth if the project it funds is successful. It would help to understand what this grant does that the current LIC funding doesn't – say you win one of the new or existing cases, and someone wishes to buy the grant as a result, how much of the success would be attributed to this grant specifically?

• Chickens are more than 90% of the over 30 billion farmed land-dwelling vertebrate animals and are almost exclusively factory farmed. Humanity should switch to animal-free chicken and egg products, but in the meantime, LIC-style welfare reforms seem among the most effective for reducing chicken suffering. On the other hand, the number of chickens is not so large when weighed against invertebrate and aquatic farmed animals.

• LIC is a small, agile organization where I expect donations more cost-effectively address this than at the larger organizations with a wider variety of strategies that are bogged down by various bureaucratic and logistic challenges. On the other hand, overhead can be higher at small organizations if they have less streamlined processes.

• Alene has an impressive track record is clearly motivated to address this issue in the most effective ways possible.

• Most importantly, supporting cost-effective strategies to reduce factory farm suffering is a promising strategy towards moral circle expansion that will benefit all sentient beings in the long run (e.g., for the more numerous invertebrate populations), particularly by improving the outcomes of advanced AI technologies. Efforts like LIC that build the effective animal advocacy community are particularly promising.

from a quick scan, i'm pretty confused about the theory of change. three questions that sorta get at my confusion:

1. how do you compare the value of chickens to other nonhuman animals (e.g. lamb, fish, or shrimp)?

2. how do you compare the value of the work you're doing for chickens compared to other work that's being done for chickens?

3. what is the basket of values/ethics/ideals that a donor who would want to donate to you have?

(also, it would be helpful — easier to quickly scan, see which parts are relevant, etc — if you had used the common format that the other ACX grantees have been using.)

overall, though, i've heard really great things about LIC, and am quite excited about understanding more wrt the questions above!