ISAR Interviews Lt. Col. Mark Eichelman

On March 18, 2010, ISAR Chairman, Professor Henry Mark Holzer interviewed Lt. Col. Mark Eichelman about his recent article in 16 Animal Law 153 (2009) entitled "Ringling Brothers on Trial: Circus Elephants and the Endangered Species Act," which discusses the dismissed case against Ringling Brothers circus for allegedly abusing the elephants it exhibits. Much of the Holzer - Eichelman discussion centers around the legal problem of "standing to sue" -- that is, who is entitled to bring a case against humans on behalf of animals.

According to Lt. Col. Eichelman, "organizations almost have to go through gymnastics to try to find someone to meet 'standing' requirements where the elephants are the ones being harmed on a daily basis. If we believe the allegations out there it doesn't matter, you have to find a human being who is suffering as a result to the harm being done to the elephants."


The full text version of Lt. Col. Eichelman's text itself, "Ringling Brothers on Trial: Circus Elephants and the Endangered Species Act," may be purchased from LexisNexis HERE.