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In 2023, in the states, we helped to pass 153 good measures and prevented the passage of 66 bad ones. We’re on a similar course this year, and the first half of 2024 has seen a nice string of public policy successes at the state level. We’ve helped to pass bills on animals in cosmetics testing

In May this year, Washington’s governor signed into law the strongest legislative protections for egg-laying hens anywhere in the world. Nevada became the second state in the country, after California, to pass a law banning cosmetics testing on animals. And New Mexico passed a law banning coyote

Missouri’s proposal to open season on black bears has the trophy hunting industry’s fingerprints all over it. But the state’s residents now have a chance to voice their opposition to it. The Missouri Department of Conservation has just opened formal public comment on this ill-conceived plan, based

In every state where we’re working to protect wolves from trophy hunters and trappers, the political nature of the fight is obvious. But the tragic impacts of political gamesmanship involving wolves are especially evident in the controversy surrounding Wisconsin Natural Resources Board chair

For some, freedom means the right to use nature, even to the point of destruction. Others view freedom as involving an enormous duty to present and future generations: to protect native wild species and their habitats that make America one of the world’s most fascinating places. We believe that

Imagine our world and its wildlife without the protections of the Endangered Species Act. Had it not been for this bedrock federal law, the beloved American bald eagle would most likely have gone the way of the dodo or the passenger pigeon. Gray wolves and grizzly bears would be no more than relics

We just filed a legal petition urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to immediately restore Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountains. The wolves in this region are in grave danger due to new laws passed in Idaho and Montana, and the Humane Society of the

The killing last week of Takaya, the lone wolf of Canada’s Discovery Island whose story of survival and resilience captivated people around the globe, is a grim reminder of the uphill battle wolves face in the modern world. This was a legendary young wolf, with a grit and instinct for survival that

Our agenda for the protection of wildlife is an ambitious one, focusing on the most serious threats to threatened and endangered animals in the United States and around the world. We’ve invested a lot of energy and resources in the fights to stop the trophy hunting industry in its tracks, to

By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson As President Donald Trump prepares to deliver his State of the Union address today, it’s a good time to take stock of how his administration has dealt with animal protection issues of interest to us at the Humane Society of the United States and the Humane Society

Wolf restoration programs exist to bring the species back to habitats where they were wiped out. But a wolf family established by wolves previously captured in Oregon and reintroduced in Colorado has now been removed from the wild. This week, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife department announced that

Every now and then an individual animal’s story captures worldwide attention and brings the pains and paradoxes of our relationship to other species into stark relief. We saw this with Cecil, Harambe and Lolita—animals who became famous because of their tragic fates. We saw it last month with a wild

Update 3/25/22: Earlier this week, the Court denied Safari Club International’s motion to dismiss our case. Now that trophy hunters' attempt to derail our lawsuit has been shut down, the judge will allow us to proceed to the merits. The number of leopards in sub-Saharan Africa has plummeted by 30%

It truly gave me a lift to watch the Weather Channel’s two-part feature on our animal rescue work ( here and here). I’m immensely proud of my Animal Rescue Team colleagues. I am also grateful to them, and I admire them for their courage, compassion and calm in the face of emergencies that upend the

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

Update 11/19/2021: Today, the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission voted to not allow the 2022 spring bear hunt ! The 4-4 vote means that mother bears and their dependent cubs will be protected from trophy hunting at a time when they are most vulnerable. For all of us, fall is a time for winter

After teetering on the brink of extinction, the grizzly bear population in the United States finally began to recover, thanks to the Endangered Species Act. Currently, grizzly bears are classified as “threatened” with extinction. But now that could change for some of them. This week, the U.S. Fish

Idaho is pulling ahead in a race to the bottom for how states treat wolves. The Idaho Department of Fish and Game recently released a draft wolf management plan that will guide how the state manages the wolves who live there through 2028. The plan aims to reduce Idaho’s wolf population by 60%

It was November 2022 when, at the request of the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office, our Animal Rescue Team arrived at a property in Ohio that seemed abandoned. Inside two ramshackle barns, filled with cobwebs and feet of filth and manure, there were animals struggling to survive. The horse who would

Strangling neck snares are among the cruelest methods of trapping animals. These devices, made of cable wire looped through a locking device, are designed to tighten around the animal’s neck as he thrashes around and struggles to free himself, cutting his mouth and breaking his teeth in his