May 11, 2023, stands out as historic for animal protection: On that day, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision upholding California’s Proposition 12, the nation’s strongest farm animal protection law, a move that rejected the pork industry’s challenge to the law. We led the campaign for the...

The fatal shooting on May 12 of a mother black bear in Newtown, Connecticut, leaving two cubs orphaned, has understandably sparked widespread outrage and grief. Local residents were familiar with the bear; they knew her as “Bobbi” and have launched Facebook pages in her honor. With her death, the...

With spring in full blossom, my favorite escape from Zoom meetings is getting outside for a long walk with my dog, Lilly. That time is a tremendous respite for both of us. In a year when we’ve spent so much time indoors, I think we appreciate even more the fresh air, sunlight, the sound of birds and...

Although many years have passed, I can’t help but think of Dolly on Valentine’s Day. She was my first dog, and the very embodiment of unconditional love. I was a toddler when my parents brought her home, a golden retriever puppy with the softest eyes and fur. It was love at first sight. Dolly and I...

With Halloween upon us, the residents of wildlife sanctuaries and animal rehabilitation centers associated with the Humane Society of the United States and our affiliates are busy trick or treating. They are snacking on peanut butter and nuts stuffed inside pine cones, bringing down pinatas filled...

Anyone with pets knows that our furry family members can become so frightened by exploding fireworks that they do anything to escape the noise, whether it’s hiding in the bathtub, or something more desperate (and dangerous), such as breaking through windows or door screens. At least we can make...

In an important and encouraging advance for the protection of farm animals, Arizona has moved to ban cruel cages for egg-laying hens and ensure that all eggs produced and/or sold in the state are cage-free. The regulations promulgated by the Arizona Department of Agriculture guarantee that over 7...

President Joe Biden’s State of the Union speech marks a midway point in his term, and for us, an opportunity to assess the administration’s animal protection priorities. Like many animal advocates, we were buoyed by the legislative successes we helped to secure as 2022 closed. At year’s end, a...

Update: The Humane Society of the United States is coordinating an evacuation of approximately 80 animals out of three Florida shelters. A rescue flight funded by the HSUS has departed from Jacksonville this morning with cats and mostly large-breed dogs who were up for adoption at Nassau Humane...

As Hurricane Michael barrels into Florida, having turned overnight into a category 4 storm, our Animal Rescue Team has been reaching out to shelter partners and allies, as well as emergency management officials, to encourage them to move unowned shelter animals out of harm’s way and secure pet...

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...

During his years in the Senate, now-President Joe Biden supported dozens of animal welfare measures, including legislation to require dolphin-safe labeling on tuna, stop canned hunts, annually prohibit the use of taxpayer dollars to fund federal inspection and approval of meat at horse...

This week, the Washington Post and New York Times reported rampant coronavirus spread at meatpacking plants, and efforts by large meat producers to obscure the transmission rates. “As dozens of plants that closed because of outbreaks begin reopening, meat companies’ reluctance to disclose detailed...

Our work at the Humane Society family of organizations impacts millions of animals, through public education and media outreach, litigation, corporate social responsibility reforms, and supporting regulations that govern the treatment of animals or legislation that protects them. This work is...

I was at the South Florida Wildlife Center yesterday when workers there released six pelicans back into the wild. The birds, who can be found wintering in South Florida this time of year, had all been brought in last month with injuries that need never have happened: they had each been hurt by fish...

We were pleased with today’s news that U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert of the U.S. Virgin Islands has reminded Virgin Islanders that animal fighting is now illegal there under federal law. Shappert’s announcement reflected not simply her strong grasp of the connections between animal fighting...

For human beings, the end of summer can mean squeezing in a few last trips to the beach or mountains before school begins and the pace of work picks up. But for bears, the end of summer is a vital life stage; it’s when they start a feeding frenzy called “hyperphagia,” which involves seeking food and...

The Biden administration has withdrawn a deplorable pending rule that would have allowed qualifying chicken slaughter plants in the United States to permanently dial up line speeds from an already inhumane and lightning-fast 140 birds per minute to 175 birds per minute. The U.S. Department of...

Slaughterhouses are hotspots for the coronavirus, with tens of thousands of infections reported among American workers since the onset of the pandemic last year. Yet, appallingly, at the height of the crisis last spring, the Trump administration ordered that these facilities should remain open. To...

The coronavirus pandemic has revealed the terrible consequences of keeping live wild animals in cruel, unhealthy and unsuitable confinement in wildlife markets that slaughter and sell them for food. Bills introduced in Congress this week would position the United States as a global leader in ending...