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A federal court has ruled that a jury was right in holding Smithfield responsible for creating a nuisance for a community in the vicinity of a pig growing facility in North Carolina. Neighbors of the Smithfield-affiliated facility, which held 15,000 pigs, had alleged that the company essentially

In the midst of a booming coronavirus surge across the United States, a related crisis is brewing on the nation’s mink fur farms where outbreaks have failed to be treated with the same level of concern and seriousness we have seen from other countries. A recent striking example of this inaction can

For some years now, we have been keeping a close eye on three Chicago pet stores that have been finding their way around a city ordinance that prohibits the sales of commercially raised dogs and cats in pet stores to fight the problem of puppy mills. Instead of following the law and doing the right

Each December, we round up some of the year’s most notable successes in carrying on the fight for animal protection. For the next several weeks, alongside breaking news about animals and our efforts to protect them, I will bring you our top animal protection victories during this most unusual year

With fewer than 360 North Atlantic right whales surviving on earth today, the clock is ticking for these marine mammals. Today, the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society Legislative Fund, along with our coalition partners, asked the National Marine Fisheries Service to take urgent

The Department of Transportation has just finalized a rule that prohibits airlines from banning pit-bull-type dogs and certain other breeds from serving as service animals on flights. The Humane Society family of organizations has long opposed breed bans because they are unscientific and

The U.S. House has just passed a bill to prohibit public contact with big cats like tigers, lions and leopards as well as ban the possession of these animals as pets. The measure, which now awaits action in the Senate, has the potential to stop the endless cycle of breeding tiger cubs by those who

The year 2020 has seen phenomenal progress in our work to end the use of fur. Nations moved to announce an end to fur production and/or sales, citing the “immoral” nature of this trade that results in the suffering and death of millions of animals each year for nothing more than a coat or trim on a

Despite the pandemic, our fight against puppy mills continued full throttle in 2020. We won several important legal and legislative battles against these commercial enterprises that keep large numbers of dogs in sordid conditions, and we continued to raise awareness about problem mills through our

A mink living in the wild near an infected Utah fur farm has tested positive for the coronavirus, providing yet another pressing reason why the United States needs to end all mink fur farming without further delay. While it is not clear if the infected animal had any contact with the mink on the fur

We have made remarkable progress in our work to end cruel cage confinement of farm animals during 2020. As a result, millions more animals around the world will no longer face lives of abject misery in tiny cages and crates on massive factory farms that treat them as products and not as sentient

As a result of slaughterhouse closures during the pandemic, some producers have used a cruel method called “ventilation shutdown,” or VSD, to kill whole herds of pigs. Ventilator shutdown involves locking a flock or herd of animals in a building and turning off the ventilation systems. As the

The global pandemic posed immense challenges to the animal protection community this year. Around the world, people—and the animals who depend on them—reeled from the impact of illness, death, closures, job losses and difficulty in accessing the most basic services. We stepped in to try and fill

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

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

Compassionate coexistence. It’s such a simple and worthy goal, yet it’s one of the areas in which the human aspiration to do right by wildlife still falls well short of what animals deserve. That’s why building global capacity and commitment for humane and effective approaches to resolving human

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

Canada, the largest importer of shark fins outside Asia, has passed a landmark bill that includes measures to prohibit the trade in shark fins nationally as well as finning in Canadian waters. Humane Society International/Canada joined Canada’s Minister of Fisheries and the Canadian Coast Guard in

Almost a week later, many of us are still smiling. That’s how much fun we had at our HSUS Stand Up for Animals event last Wednesday night at the Avalon Hollywood in Los Angeles. It was a memorable night, as host Carol Leifer, along with fellow comedians Jay Leno, Feraz Ozel and Sarah Silverman, kept