On December 23 the New York State Court of Appeals rejected on a 6-0 vote the efforts of dog owner Jon Hammer to challenge the breed standards for Brittany spaniels set by the American Kennel Club and the American Brittany Club.
Both groups provide that for competition purposes an Brittany spaniel with a tail “substantially more than four inches shall be severely penalized.”
Hammer owns a Brittany with a 10-inch tail and challenged the AKC/ABC breed standards on two points. Hammer argued that language in the standards requiring longer tails to be docked or clipped violated New York state laws against animal cruelty, essentially requiring him to participate in criminal animal abuse in order to enter his dog into competition. On those grounds, Hammer sought to have the rules set aside.
The New York State Court of Appeals rejected Hammer’s argument on legalistic grounds. It noted that Hammer the law Hammer invoked was a criminal statute that had no provisions for private individuals to bring civil actions. In its opinion, the court wrote,
This is not a criminal action and plaintiff is not asking law enforcement officials to charge defendants with violations of the law subject to criminal penalties. Indeed, plaintiff has not alleged that these organizations are cruelly or unjustifiably injuring or maiming any dogs and admittedly does not intend to conform his dog’s tail length to the breed standard. Therefore, neither plaintiff nor defendants have engaged in any conduct that violates the law as plaintiff interprets it.
The statute does not, either expressly or impliedly, incorporate a method for private citizens to obtain civil relief. In light of the comprehensive statutory enforcement scheme, recognition of a private civil right of action is incompatible with the mechanisms chosen by the Legislature ( see Sheehy, 73 NY2d at 634-635; see also Walz v Baum, 42 AD2d 643, 644 [3d Dept 1973], lv denied , 33 NY2d 517 [1973]). Inasmuch as plaintiff concedes that his claims sounding in discrimination cannot be maintained in the absence of a private right of action under the Agriculture and Markets Law, those claims were also properly dismissed.
The full text of the court’s decision can be read here.
Sources:
New York court rules in favor of AKC. Press Release, American Kennel Club, December 29, 2003.
Dog owner loses court fight over length of his pet’s tail. Associated Press, December 2003.