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WASHINGTON —Wildlife campaigners across the globe from animal charity Humane Society International have called for an urgent worldwide ban on the wildlife trade after China’s announcement that it will prohibit the buying and selling of wild animals for food in light of the mounting threat associated

BRUSSELS—Today the European Commission has announced that it will be taking steps to reduce legal protections for wolves in the EU. To achieve this, they will propose the downgrading of the wolf’s protection status under the Bern Convention. At present, wolves are listed under Appendix II, which

BRUSSELS (28 Sept. 2021)—The emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is widely thought to have passed to humans from bats via intermediate species sold in wildlife markets, has highlighted the fact that the trade in wildlife—both legal and illegal—poses a significant threat to human health. Today

SEOUL—The South Korean government has announced that the cabinet will launch a formal discussion next week on how to proceed with actions to address the increasingly controversial dog meat industry, news welcomed by Humane Society International/Korea which has rescued almost 2,500 dogs from South

SEOUL—In response to South Korean President Moon’s reported suggestion that it could be time for South Korea to ban dog meat, Humane Society International/Korea’s dog meat campaigner Nara Kim issues this response from Seoul: “As a Korean who has visited many dog meat farms and seen the appalling

BRUSSELS—The European Union has officially added the American mink (Neogale vison) to the list of Invasive Alien Species of Union Concern, in a move that could effectively ban mink fur farming across the EU. However, animal protection charity Humane World for Animals Europe (formerly called Humane

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—Politicians, wildlife experts and the public gathered today at the National Congress Chamber of Deputies for the opening ceremony of the photography exhibition “Still Life. Hunting Trophies.” to support a ban on the import into Argentina of hunting trophies from CITES-listed

This year has already been historic for animals, as the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in favor of upholding the strongest farm animal protection law in the country, California’s Proposition 12. This landmark law, approved by voters via ballot measure in 2018, prohibits the in-state

Iceland has announced it may kill more than 2,000 whales over the next five years, despite a declining market for whale meat and a growing sentiment against whaling among the Nordic country’s own citizens. Earlier this week, the Icelandic fisheries minister issued new commercial whaling quotas

Last Friday, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox signed a bill to end the use of gas chambers for euthanasia of cats and dogs, leaving just two states in the U.S.—Missouri and Wyoming—that continue to use this cruel and archaic method. Today, only three known and active gas chambers are used for companion animals

This week, Hong Kong authorities reported what appeared to be a case of human-to-animal transmission of coronavirus, after a pet dog tested positive. As it turned out, the dog, placed in quarantine, was not sick and Hong Kong authorities immediately released an advisory saying that while cats and

A rule proposed by the federal government to reintroduce some of the cruelest of hunting methods to national preserves in Alaska has raised a chorus of outrage from conservation organizations, biologists, elected officials and American citizens, and there is still time to speak out against it. The

With a proposal to permit the killing of brown bears over bait in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has “gone rogue.” The USFWS and its parent agency, the Department of the Interior, are way over on the dark side when it comes to the killing of

It’s been more than three years since we filed a petition asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to protect giraffes under the Endangered Species Act from trophy hunting and other imminent threats to their survival. During this time, the agency has responded once last year—following a

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

Days before the Kentucky Derby kicks off in his home state next week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has announced he will introduce a bill to reform horse racing. This is a promising development for the future of race horses in a sport that has increasingly come under a cloud because of the

For someone who’s been supporting the protection of whales as long as I have, the prospect of a return to commercial whaling is a genuine nightmare. But that’s what Japan has proposed to this year’s meeting of the International Whaling Commission, set to begin next week in Florianopolis, Brazil. And