It could have been the setting of an eerie movie that our Humane Society of the United States rescuers and law enforcement officers walked into this cool fall morning. The location was Washington County, Pennsylvania, and they were responding to an alleged large-scale animal neglect situation...

For a few days now, Bruno the bear has been something of a celebrity around the world. Hundreds of people have flocked to catch a glimpse of this wandering bear who is reported to have walked to Missouri all the way from Wisconsin, journeying through Illinois and, briefly, Iowa, possibly in search...

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the pork industry’s lawsuit that attempts to overturn California’s Proposition 12. Special interest groups have been trying to stop the implementation of the historic ballot measure, which passed in 2018 with 63% of California voters in support. Proposition...

No one can predict when or where the next global public health crisis will arise. But a Humane Society International white paper concludes that farming animals on a large scale poses a serious risk. The novel coronavirus is believed to have originated in a wildlife market in Wuhan, China, from...

Every now and then an individual animal’s story captures worldwide attention and brings the pains and paradoxes of our relationship to other species into stark relief. We saw this with Cecil, Harambe and Lolita—animals who became famous because of their tragic fates. We saw it last month with a wild wolf captured, tormented, and killed by a man in Wyoming. Each of these stories shines a spotlight on not only the animals and their plights but on who we are and how we should aspire to be. And most recently, a dog named Cricket, who was killed two decades ago, has become the subject of another such story.

I appeared today on MSNBC’s Morning Joe to speak about the COVID-19 crisis and wildlife markets with Humane Society International’s Peter Li and our colleague Gene Baur of Farm Sanctuary. Together, we made the case for an immediate end to wildlife markets all over the world, and described the filth...

What many commentators have cast as President Trump’s predilection for trade wars has certainly caused consternation and even outrage as it has became clear that more tariffs on exports of American farm products would result in major losses for the agricultural sector. That was especially true for...

In a historic move, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program has issued the final Organic Livestock and Poultry Standards rule, a landmark federal regulation that strengthens and clarifies animal welfare standards. While the rule only covers animals raised in the National...

A federal court judge last night threw out a challenge to San Francisco’s ban on the sale of fur, in a historic victory against this unnecessary and immensely cruel commodity. The city’s ban, which passed in 2018, took effect earlier this year and it led the way for many wins against fur, including...

It’s official: a long-fought-for piece of legislation in Rhode Island to protect hens abused for eggs just became law. The measure phases out the extreme confinement of egg-laying hens and mandates that the birds be housed in cage-free facilities. Rhode Island joins six other states that have passed...

In light of the urgent need to address climate change and promote sustainable practices in agriculture and other sectors, there is a growing realization that our food choices matter. Some people believe that switching from beef to chicken sufficiently addresses climate concerns when it comes to diet, but when compared to non-meat sources of protein, chicken production is still the source of significantly more greenhouse gas emissions.

It’s a gruesome topic that no one really likes to talk about but last week the methods for “depopulating”—killing—hundreds of thousands of pigs and chickens during a natural or manmade disaster, such as a pandemic like COVID-19, were front and center at a meeting of the American Veterinary Medical...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is one of the federal agencies with the most impact on animal protection issues. Who heads it can make all the difference to the wellbeing of millions of animals, including those in puppy mills, roadside zoos, factory farms, laboratories, horse show rings and in...

Our dynamic Farm Animal Protection team has been responsible for a seismic shift in how the country’s largest food companies address animal welfare. From Walmart, Safeway and Kroger, to Denny’s, IHOP and Panera Bread, to Smithfield and Perdue, major corporations have worked with us to enact...