Humane Society of Rochester and Monroe County for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Inc. v. Lyng

Congress implemented the Dairy Termination Program (DTP) to reduce the supply of milk production after a decrease in the demand for milk. The program was authorized by the Food Security Act (FSA), and it authorized the government to enter into contracts with milk producers to buy their dairy cows for slaughter. The FSA granted the secretary of the Department Agriculture the authority to promulgate regulations on how the cattle subjected to the program should be branded to ensure identification. Secretary of Agriculture Richmond Edmund Lyng (defendant) promulgated regulation Notice LD-249, which required that farmers brand their cattle with a hot branding iron rather than a freeze, chemical, or other method. In response, the Humane Society of Rochester and Monroe County for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Inc. (society) (plaintiff) sued Lyng. The society argued that the regulation was arbitrary and capricious because using a hot branding iron subjected the cattle to inhumane treatment and alternative methods for branding were available. Douglas D. Burdick and Mary Jane Burdick (plaintiffs), who participated in the DTP, also joined the suit on the ground that by complying with the regulation they would violate New York’s animal-anticruelty statute. The district court issued a temporary restraining order to prevent Lyng from enforcing the regulation. The society and the Burdicks then moved for a preliminary injunction. Lyng moved to dismiss the case. The court held a hearing on the preliminary injunction. At the hearing, the society and the Burdicks presented eight witnesses, all of whom testified that using a hot branding iron constituted cruel and inhumane treatment and subjected the farmers to potential liability under the animal-anticruelty statute.