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For you and for all of us at the Humane Society family of organizations, 2020 has been a long year. As we reach its close, I want to give you my highest assurance that we’ve kept our shoulders to the wheel, expanding our lifesaving programs, pushing our ambitious public policy agenda, carrying out

With the signing of the omnibus bill this past weekend, U.S. federal law now includes critical protections for horses we have fought hard for over many years. These include measures to stop the widespread drugging of racehorses and provide increased track safety, keep horse slaughter plants in the

Hundreds of beauty companies around the globe---including our market leading partners Unilever, L’Oréal, Procter & Gamble, Avon, Lush and a growing number of cosmetic ingredient suppliers---now support an end to cosmetics animal testing. Forty countries have passed laws to ban or limit such tests

Each year, trained responders from the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International enter disaster zones to rescue and rehabilitate affected animals. Over the years, our teams have responded swiftly and effectively to situations ranging from hurricanes to earthquakes to

The National Marine Fisheries Service today released a proposed rule intended to reduce the risk of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales getting entangled in heavy ropes used in fishing gear such as that used for catching lobsters and crabs. Unfortunately, this long-anticipated rule

Update (1/25/2021): A Senate version of the Preventing Future Pandemics Act was introduced today by Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Cory Booker, D-N.J. The House version, introduced earlier this month, now has 50 cosponsors. With the coronavirus pandemic still raging, the urgency around preventing

On Dec. 31, Florida's greyhound racetracks closed for good as a result of a ballot measure we helped pass with our partner groups in 2018. That win brought down what was once the stronghold of this "sport" and effectively sounded the death knell for greyhound racing in the United States. The work

A recent court case in Florida shines the spotlight on the questionable tactics Petland uses to dupe customers and make large profits off the sales of sick puppies---most of whom come from puppy mills. The case involved a Petland store in Plantation, Florida, which sold a customer a golden retriever

The Trump administration, in its final days, is attempting to undo crucial, century-old protections for migratory birds as a handout to the construction and oil and gas industries. A new rule published this week by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would exempt industries from being prosecuted or

A bill that would prohibit public contact with big cats like tigers, lions and leopards and ban the possession of these animals as pets was swiftly reintroduced in the U.S. House today, suggesting that the measure is poised for early action in Congress. The Big Cat Public Safety Act had already

Gorillas at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park have tested positive for the coronavirus in the first known cases of its transmission to non-human primates. The animals are believed to have contracted the virus from an asymptomatic zookeeper. This is distressing news on many levels. While gorillas are not

Vietnam is one of the world’s largest consumers of rhino horn for use in traditional medicine. The demand there has helped push this distinctive animal to the brink of extinction. The animals are killed for their horns and a small number remain alive and suffer in agony after the horns are hacked

Thirty-seven chimpanzees languishing at a New Mexico primate laboratory are still waiting for the National Institutes of Health to fulfil a promise it made in 2015---to retire them to sanctuary after a lifetime spent in research. Today, we’re giving these animals a helping hand by suing the federal

In October last year, the Trump administration stripped federal protections for wolves, giving state managers in the lower 48 states the ability to greenlight trophy hunting and trapping seasons on these animals. Today, we and our allies sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over this illegal and

A U.S. District Court has ordered Jeff Lowe, a notorious big cat exhibitor who took over the running of Joe Exotic’s zoo, GW Exotics, to ​surrender all big cat cubs and their mothers in his possession over allegations of mistreatment. The preliminary injunction in the Department of Justice case for

The inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris heralds a new beginning. Most Americans are looking forward to putting the challenges of last year behind them. But many are still facing the difficulties of illness, unemployment and economic uncertainty because of the global

An attempt by some Wisconsin lawmakers to ​force ​a ​rushed and unlawful wolf hunting season in the state beginning next month has been narrowly defeated by the state’s Natural Resources Board. In November, we reported how we had ​ helped stop an effort by the Wisconsin Natural Resources Board to

The Biden administration has withdrawn a deplorable pending rule that would have allowed qualifying chicken slaughter plants in the United States to permanently dial up line speeds from an already inhumane and lightning-fast 140 birds per minute to 175 birds per minute. The U.S. Department of

A groundbreaking bill introduced in California today would end all trophy hunting of black bears in the state. If successful, California would be the first state to implement such a ban, setting a magnificent precedent for the rest of the nation to follow. The bill was introduced by State Sen. Scott

One more nation, Sweden, announced today that it will suspend all mink fur farming this year to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and its mutations. Sweden’s announcement contrasted starkly with a media report in the United States this week, based on an open records request filed by the Utah