Prairie dogs are one of the most controversial and widely misunderstood wildlife species in North America. Since early European migration onto the North American grasslands, prairie dogs have been celebrated as an essential keystone species for healthy grasslands ecosystems, but also vilified and...

You’d think it would be easy to persuade people to protect prairie dogs: Not only are they a keystone species, with nine other species directly dependent on them for survival, but they’re also irresistibly cute, with big eyes and big personalities. Yet the personable little rodents often find...

Follow these tips to keep animals safe and comfortable in the cold.

Two decrepit barns, thick with dust and cobwebs, greeted rescuers when they arrived at a rural Ohio property on a cold fall morning. “It really, truly looked abandoned, except there were animals living in there,” says Laura Koivula, director of animal crimes and investigations for our Animal Rescue...

Contents How many animals are used in experiments each year? Which animals are used in experiments? What kinds of experiments are animals used in? What kinds of institutions use animals in experiments? Where do laboratories get the animals they use in experiments? What is life like for animals in...

For more than two decades, the Humane Society of the United States has welcomed interns hoping to expand and enhance their professional skillset—and broaden their animal welfare knowledge in the process. But the opportunity to fight for all animals hasn’t always been convenient or inclusive; our...

WARNING: This page contains graphic content. What are wildlife killing contests? While contests like dogfighting and cockfighting have been condemned in the U.S. as barbaric and cruel, wildlife killing contests still happen regularly in almost all of the 42 U.S. states they are legal in. Killing...

The shocking number of animal cruelty cases reported every day is just the tip of the iceberg—most cases are never reported. Unlike violent crimes against people, cases of animal abuse are not compiled by state or federal agencies, making it difficult to calculate just how common they are. However...

In November 2022, our Animal Rescue Team responded to an alleged neglect case in Ashland County, Ohio where 16 horses, six goats and several cats and dogs were trapped in dirty, dark conditions—many of the horses were forced to stand in feet-high piles of their own waste.

Whether you’re a bison, a Western box turtle, a burrowing owl or any other wild creature of the prairie, a refuge belonging to the Southern Plains Land Trust is an awesome place to be. Why? One of the newest members of the Humane Stewardship Alliance, the Southern Plains Land Trust manages a growing...

It’s not easy to accept that all things must eventually come to an end. We often go into denial in the face of the inevitable and airbrush away the aftermath when it does occur. So it probably shouldn’t have surprised me to read about a gardener who glossed over the demise of an entire tree with...

The Humane Society of the United States is assisting the Ashland County Sheriff’s Office with the rescue of 16 horses, six goats and several cats and dogs from an alleged neglect situation in Ashland, Ohio. The Humane Society of Ashland County, Days End Farm Horse Rescue and Happy Trails Farm Animal...

Contents Is it possible to conduct commercial horse slaughter in a humane manner? Does horse slaughter have a negative financial impact on American taxpayers? Is horsemeat safe for human consumption? Can the federal government ensure the safety of horsemeat? Has ending domestic horse slaughter...

The cream-colored mare was pacing, criss-crossing her pen in the cobweb-strewn barn. When they found her on an Ohio property in November 2022, our Animal Rescue Team immediately noticed her ruptured eye, which had scarred over.

My husband and I were contemplating whether to hike the 3-mile trail in Utah’s Zion National Park that September day. I’d read that this trail was our best chance to spot bighorn sheep, but after a week of exploring the five national parks in the state, our bodies were tired—and it was already late...

What is immunocontraception? Immunocontraception is a birth control method that uses the body's immune response to prevent pregnancy. Why is the Humane Society of the United States sponsoring research in immunocontraception? The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) believes that...