Over the past two years, local animal rescue organizations across the country have been struggling. While we never lose sight of the incredible progress that’s been made by local shelters and rescues in curbing the intake of pets (down tens of millions in the past 50 years), recent challenges have been sobering, to say the least. According to Shelter Animals Count (of which the Humane Society of the United States was a founding member and ongoing sponsor) shelters are caring for an astounding 245,000 more companion animals than they did in 2022.
Enthusiasts across the U.S. are gearing up for the spectacle of the season taking place this weekend. Of course, I’m talking about the Puppy Bowl, an event that promotes animal adoption by showing adoptable pups “playing” a football game inside a model stadium. Year after year, the Puppy Bowl, which...
The fight for public policy gains for animals at the federal level is not for the faint of heart nor the weak of spirit. Every day, in every congressional session, it’s an all-out battle to secure humane laws and regulations. Whatever we achieve, we achieve against determined opposition, including...
For some years now, we have been keeping a close eye on three Chicago pet stores that have been finding their way around a city ordinance that prohibits the sales of commercially raised dogs and cats in pet stores to fight the problem of puppy mills. Instead of following the law and doing the right...
The rescue and reunion of animals whose lives we touch comprise the most joyful elements of our work within the Humane Society of the United States and across the range of our affiliates. In a season of reflection, gratitude and transition to a New Year, I draw special hope from the stories of three...
When it comes to the private ownership of captive tigers in the United States, you just can’t make this stuff up. Through the years, we’ve seen reports of tigers kept in apartments, tigers in garages, tigers in gas stations, tigers in tattoo parlors, tigers in junkyards and more. The other day, in...
The original “Tiger King” Netflix series was a pandemic phenomenon with a train-wreck fascination for millions of viewers and a whole cast of unsavory characters. But the sideshow weirdness of the personalities involved kept many viewers from focusing on the big cat industry’s epidemic of cruelty. ...
The strange saga of a neglected tiger discovered last February in the garage of a deserted Houston home reached a happily-ever-after conclusion this week. Our Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch in Murchison, Texas, the tiger’s home since his rescue, has been given full legal custody of the animal...
At the G20 coronavirus meeting today, global leaders, including President Trump, brainstormed on ways to control the pandemic that is now ravaging dozens of nations, leaving a vast trail of human casualties in its wake. But one thing that didn’t come up was the reason why we are in this predicament...
A new United Nations report out today foretells a dire future for Planet Earth: as many as one million plant and animal species are at risk of extinction, mainly due to human actions, including development, the cutting of down forests and exhaustion of natural resources, and poaching. More than a...
Over the last three decades, 80,000 mountain lions have been killed for trophies, most of them from the western and midwestern United States. This unbridled and ongoing assault, perpetrated by trophy hunters and predator-control agents and enabled by state and federal legislators, doesn't just hurt...
This month marks two years since Russia invaded Ukraine. Since then, the war has displaced more than 11 million people, including 5 million inside the country. Human and animal lives and safety are so often inextricably intertwined; some families refuse to evacuate without their cherished pets, who provide love, comfort and a sense of normality to their lives. And many have faced hardship in providing for themselves and their companion animals as their lives were suddenly upended.
The U.S. House has just passed a bill to prohibit public contact with big cats like tigers, lions and leopards as well as ban the possession of these animals as pets. The measure, which now awaits action in the Senate, has the potential to stop the endless cycle of breeding tiger cubs by those who...
The United Nations’ Committee on the Rights of the Child has formally recognized the damage that witnessing violence, including violence to animals, can cause to children. The U.N. declared that children have a right to be protected from exposure to that violence. This is an important moment for our...
Our goal in supporting passage of the Better Collaboration, Accountability, and Regulatory Enforcement (CARE) for Animals Act is to strengthen multi-agency collaboration in enforcement of the federal Animal Welfare Act. Recent footage from an investigation at a Long Island, New York captive wildlife...
President Trump has just signed into law the omnibus appropriations package with major victories for animals, including horses and burros, companion animals, marine mammals and animals in zoos and research facilities. The package, comprised of two bills (H.R. 1865 and H.R. 1158) funding all federal...
Responsibility for animals’ welfare rests with us all, including the federal government. Our work spans a range of federal agencies, all of which can do something to support the prevention of animal cruelty and suffering. A whole-of-government approach is consistent with the growth of our movement...