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Our Impact in the U.S.

We’re there for animals who are suffering in the U.S. today. And we’re confronting the root causes of that suffering for a kinder tomorrow.​   

5 states

banned the extreme confinement of farm animals

12 states

banned the sale of cosmetics tested on animals

Over 400
communities

enacted humane pet store laws to stop puppy mills

What we are working on

Humane World for Animals is working hard to protect all animals in the United States. 

Humane World for Animals staff holding chicken

Meredith Lee/Humane World for Animals

Ending the cruelest practices

We’re fighting for farm animals to have space to move and for a shift toward plant-based eating. We’re pushing to replace animal testing with advanced non-animal methods, ensuring pets and their families have vital resources, caring for animals in crisis, promoting humane wildlife management, and teaching people to live in harmony with nature.

Kitten rescued from hurricane reaches out to HSUS rescuer through carrier on boat in high flooded water

Anthony Rathbun/AP Images for the HSUS

Rescued after a hurricane.

Caring for animals in crisis

We partner with local groups and law enforcement to stop puppy mills, dogfighting, neglect, and more. We run sanctuaries in Oregon and Texas for wildlife victims and animals rescued from cruelty, and we operate a center that rehabilitates dogs and cats after disasters or abuse.

Two Veterinarians holding puppies

Daniel Heddon/The HSUS

Building a strong animal protection movement

Through grants, training, partnerships, and events, we empower shelters, rescues, vets, law enforcement, and communities to protect animals. We’ve connected over a million pets with critical resources and trained thousands to investigate cruelty, resolve conflicts, and assist animals in need.

Our Results

Across the U.S., we’ve made significant progress, especially in recent years.

We work around the country to help protect animals. Led by our state directors, we partner with elected officials, law enforcement, volunteer advocates and a vast coalition of others to ensure that animal welfare legislation is put into place and enforced throughout the country.

After decades of work, all 50 states now have felony animal cruelty provisions. And the FBI now tracks animal cruelty in its crime reporting system.

In 2022, after years of effort, the Big Cat Public Safety Act banned keeping big cats as pets or letting the public interact with them.

As of 2024, over 40% of the egg-laying hens in the country are cage-free. We’ve also continued our work with 12 of the top 50 food service companies and self-operated dining programs to set—and meet—plant-based menu and meat reduction goals. Similarly, we’ve partnered with corporations, universities and other institutions to require that hens kept for egg production are not confined to cages and pregnant pigs kept for breeding are not confined to cages throughout their pregnancies. And we continue to defend attacks on state laws banning extreme farm animal confinement.

We’re also making progress at the state level. In 2023, California—which in 2017 made up nearly a quarter of all retail fur sales in the U.S.— implemented the first statewide ban on new fur sales.  

traveler1116/iStock.com

Contact your state director

Our state directors work daily to advocate for animal protection laws in state capitols, local communities, and beyond. Through community organizing and direct lobbying efforts, our state directors fight the big fights to end suffering for all animals. Find the state director near you.

Some of our latest efforts

Related Campaigns

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