Search

Our mission is to build a more humane world, and over the past few weeks, I have been reflecting on our progress toward this vision by recounting 2023’s wins for animals of all kinds: wildlife, dogs, cats and other companion animals, animals used in labs, and animals farmed for food and for fur.

I’ve talked about access to care as a defining animal welfare issue of our time: Everyone caring for a companion animal deserves and should be able to obtain necessary resources for their animal’s health and wellbeing. And certainly, the absence of resources shouldn’t mean that people shouldn’t

As the New Year dawns, we celebrate the humane laws taking effect in 2024 that address a range of animal protection concerns.

Over the past two years, local animal rescue organizations across the country have been struggling. While we never lose sight of the incredible progress that’s been made by local shelters and rescues in curbing the intake of pets (down tens of millions in the past 50 years), recent challenges have

Inscribing the humane treatment of animals into our laws takes years, and so we are heartened by some key measures at the state level taking effect in 2024, which are the result of so much rallying and advocacy, and which will contribute to shaping the humane world we envision. As of Jan. 1, 2024

Reducing the production and consumption of animal products on a large scale not only benefits animal welfare, but it can also have profound effects on the health of our planet. As 2023 came to a close, our Humane Society International colleagues returned from the United Nations’ conference on

Our goal in supporting passage of the Better Collaboration, Accountability, and Regulatory Enforcement (CARE) for Animals Act is to strengthen multi-agency collaboration in enforcement of the federal Animal Welfare Act. Recent footage from an investigation at a Long Island, New York captive wildlife

Several years ago, people in the Netherlands learned about the plight of what animal advocates dubbed “exploding chickens.” Known in the industry as “broiler chickens,” these birds are bred to grow so quickly that they reach slaughter weight in just six weeks. Such rapid growth leads to debilitating

Rosemarie Haddad had recently lost her husband of many years when her beloved dog became terminally ill. The best thing she could do for her longtime companion was humane euthanasia. In a moment of grief and loneliness, she called the Petland at Carriage Place in Columbus, Ohio, to inquire about a

Making the world a more humane place for animals is fundamentally a matter of changing hearts and minds. No progress for animals would be possible without shifting perception. Where once a person wearing a fur coat conveyed a sense of wealth and status, it is now an image of callous indifference in

Today, the Humane Society of the United States released a new undercover investigation revealing a thriving market for elephant ivory in Connecticut and showing that the weak patchwork of laws surrounding the elephant ivory trade is not enough. Connecticut urgently needs a law banning the intrastate

In a triumph for wild animals and the people who advocate for their protection, Belgium’s Parliament voted to prohibit the importation of hunting trophies from many endangered species into the country. This means that trophy hunters who pay top dollar to travel abroad to shoot endangered animals to

We’re devoted to ending the worst forms of systemic animal suffering by working with corporations—and while we’ve had some immense wins, some companies refuse to listen to calls for change. A fascinating discussion on our corporate policy work took place on our Humane Voices podcast, which came out

Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it will be proposing a rule that would ban predator control on the National Wildlife Refuge System. When finalized, this rule will be a huge victory for countless wildlife living on refuges. The National Wildlife Refuge System is home to thousands

No one deserves to live with the suffocating stench of ammonia and floors, countertops and walls smeared with feces and filth. And yet this is what our Animal Rescue Team discovered at a residence in Topeka, Kansas, early Tuesday morning, where a total of 73 animals were languishing. Our team

Update 2/7/24: We and our co-petitioners notified the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of our intent to sue over the agency’s denial of our petition to protect gray wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains under the Endangered Species Act. The agency must make decisions based on sound science, rather

I recently discussed the benefits of reducing the consumption of animal products both for farmed animals and for the climate. But there are many other potential beneficiaries of a revamping of how animals are bred and farmed in various contexts, from ranches to fur farms. Here are some of the wild

Enthusiasts across the U.S. are gearing up for the spectacle of the season taking place this weekend. Of course, I’m talking about the Puppy Bowl, an event that promotes animal adoption by showing adoptable pups “playing” a football game inside a model stadium. Year after year, the Puppy Bowl, which

As the runways are being set up for Fashion Weeks this February and March in New York, London, Milan and Paris, we, along with our fellow members of the global coalition the Fur Free Alliance, are launching the biggest anti-fur campaign of all time, urging millions of fur-free supporters across

A company called “Safer Human Medicine” is proposing to build a monkey breeding warehouse in the small town of Bainbridge, Georgia. At full capacity, the proposed facility, at a significant cost to taxpayers, would be the largest in the U.S., holding up to 30,000 long-tailed macaques bred for