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When our Humane Society International team first saw the Belgian Malinois, he was sitting forlornly in a cage only slightly larger than he, on a Korean dog meat farm. Dogs belonging to this breed are prized by police departments and the military for their natural ability to detect scents, but Jean

November 17, 2023, was a truly historic day in the fight to end the dog meat industry. In South Korea, where up to one million dogs are farmed and killed for human consumption each year, the government officially presented a roadmap to end the dog meat industry within a three-year period. We’ve been

When our responders rescue dogs from Korea’s dog meat farms, they invariably find the animals living in terrible conditions, in barren outdoor cages with no protection from the heat or the intense winters. Food is inadequate and the animals never feel the grass under their feet or a kind human touch

The dog and cat meat trade worldwide continues to be one of the most pressing companion animal issues of our time. An estimated 30 million dogs and millions of cats—including stolen pets, dogs and cats taken from the streets or farmed—are trafficked and slaughtered every year. These animals suffer

Shanghai is now hosting the 2019 World Dog Show, an event billed as a “joyful gathering for dog lovers and lovely dogs across the world.” Meanwhile, at restaurants just a few miles away, diners will partake of meat from dogs just as beautiful and lovable as the ones in the show. The irony is

It is a beautiful scene that never gets old no matter how many times we watch it: a dog who has endured a life of extraordinary suffering meeting her new parent at her new home for the first time and bonding instantly. But Korean-American actor Daniel Henney fell in love with Juliette, a young

In a blow to horses, the Trump administration has postponed implementation of a long-overdue federal rule to combat horse soring—–the deliberate infliction of pain on horses' legs and hooves to force an exaggerated gait—delaying enforcement until February 2026 and opening the door to even further

Note: This blog is part of a series highlighting how we fight—and win—for animals . This post focuses on our direct care, rescue and sanctuary work. Previous posts have covered how we’re ending the worst forms of institutionalized animal suffering through our efforts with corporations and

This week, Humane Society International staff is on the ground in South Korea, closing down the 16th dog meat farm in our campaign there and rescuing 70 dogs destined for a grim future on the butcher’s block. Among the dogs we found on site are poodles, beagles, huskies, golden retrievers

Our Humane Society International team is in South Korea, closing down yet another dog meat farm and preparing to transport more than 90 dogs to the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. Staff members on the ground describe this farm as smaller in size than some of the others we have closed

Every day, Humane Society International battles incredible odds to help and rescue animals in difficult and perilous situations, in countries scattered around the globe. The organization’s expertise and dedication is in evidence many times each year, whether they are responding within hours to a

Humane Society International responders are now on the ground in the Bahamas to rescue animals and reunite them with their families, following the devastation caused by Hurricane Dorian. Our team has spent three days on Abaco island, which was the hardest hit on the archipelago. They are combing the

For 50 dogs raised on a dog meat farm in South Korea, this will be a summer of hope instead of terror. This week, Humane Society International began pulling the dogs out of the farm just before the start of the Bok Nal summer season, when dogs are brutally slaughtered, cooked and eaten. The dogs at

The pandemic posed many challenges for our Humane Society International staff working to end the dog meat trade in nations where it exists. Travel overseas was difficult if not impossible in most cases, but with millions of dogs still suffering in the dog meat trade, sitting on our hands was not an

Earlier this month, authorities from the Special Area of the City of (DKI) Jakarta—the most populous metropolitan area in Indonesia, which includes the capital city—announced they have banned the dog and cat meat trades, which will save the lives of an estimated 340 dogs and countless cats per day

Ahead of the first Bok Nal since the passage of the Special Act to ban the dog meat industry in South Korea, people gathered in a hopeful celebration at Cheonggye Plaza in Seoul. The event was organized by a coalition of animal protection groups, including our team at Humane Society International

We have more good news to report in our global fight against the dog meat trade. The Indian state of Nagaland last Friday announced an end to all import, trade and sales of live dogs and dog meat. The ban would end the terrible suffering of approximately 30,000 dogs who are smuggled each year into

When I joined the Humane Society of the United States back in 1992 as a legal investigator, I couldn’t have predicted that my career path would lead me to the role I serve now, as president and CEO of the HSUS and CEO of Humane Society International. In my three decades of service, I’ve had the

Perceptions in South Korea about dog meat are changing, with more Koreans than ever before supporting a ban on it. But some within the country continue to believe that "meat" dogs are somehow different from "pet dogs" and therefore not adoptable. Humane Society International is working to change

Before Lucky was known as Lucky, he was a nameless dog chained outside a shop in Yulin, China, with a sign in front of him advertising dog meat. He couldn’t have known that death was mere moments away, nor anticipate how his fate might change. Chinese animal activists—who are ramping up their fight