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Similar to bans on citizen lawsuit based on alleged violations of the Federal Animal Welfare Act (
see, e.g.,
Animal Legal Def. Fund, Inc. v. Espy, 23 F.3d 496 (D.C. Cir. 1994);
Peninsula Humane Soc’y v. Walters, No. C 84-2010 SAW (N.D. Cal. Feb. 5, 1985) courts have dismissed lawsuits filed by individuals alleging violations of state animal cruelty statutes on similar grounds.
A good example is a case decided in New Jersey, Goldman v. Critter Control of New Jersey, 454 N.J. Super. 418 (App. Div. 2018). In
Goldman, the Court analyzed whether an individual could file a civil lawsuit against animal facilities for alleged violations of the animal cruelty statute. In summary, the Court held there was no private cause of action, including, as alleged here, as a qui tam action under the animal cruelty statute, because the statute did not expressly permit such action.