What dog lovers don’t know about where their beloved puppies come from can hurt them. When puppies are born to emaciated, sick or injured dogs in cramped and dirty wire cages, the physical and mental toll can extend throughout their lives, impacting their behavior and wellbeing while causing...

Earlier this month, we reported on a gut-wrenching story out of Wyoming, about a man who injured a wolf by running her down with a snowmobile, taped her mouth shut, paraded the terrified animal around a local bar and posed for photos with her before killing her. I’m often hesitant to share such horrific cases because the violence and indifference to animal life can feel gratuitous, even hopeless. And the authorities’ handling of this case reinforced that feeling for me. The alleged perpetrator of these vile and depraved acts was fined $250, a veritable slap on the wrist, for “illegal possession” of a wild animal.

There isn’t sufficient outrage in the world to cover the depravity of the father and son who were charged with breaking Alaska state law in mid-April when they killed a mother bear and her shrieking cubs on Esther Island in Prince William Sound. The details of their wanton crime, revealed just this...

With so much global attention focused on the dog meat trade in a handful of Asian countries, it’s important not to overlook the fact that there is a regional cat meat trade as well. The best one could say is that it’s smaller than the dog meat industry, thankfully. Otherwise, it’s got the same...

For the past five years, Pham Quoc Doanh has been making his living by running a cat meat restaurant and slaughterhouse in Thai Nguyen, Viet Nam. But the work has weighed heavily on him, especially since he knew that many of the cats brought to him by cat meat traders were stolen pets. He decided to...

On Thanksgiving Day, with an estimated 20 million viewers watching, Thor the bulldog was handpicked from a crowded field of 196 breeds and crowned Best in Show at the 2019 National Dog Show. “With his adorable waddle and Winston Churchill looks, the dog won over the judges and the fans,” the...

A Pennsylvania court this week allowed an 18-year-old to avoid prison time for a crime that shocked Americans when a viral video of it surfaced earlier this year: in the video, the young man and his friend were seen torturing a dying deer, kicking him in the head and even ripping off his antler as...

Round 5 of Spayathon TM for Puerto Rico, a strategic initiative that aims to reduce pet overpopulation on the island, concludes today. As always, it’s been a joyful but incredibly busy time for our staff and volunteers who are working round the clock at seven clinics to bring free high-quality, high...

The pandemic has hit so many Americans so hard. Among them is Liliana, a single mother in Los Angeles who lost her job as a seamstress in March. She couldn’t find employment despite her best efforts and then, to make matters worse, she became sick with the coronavirus.  Liliana and her daughter...

Many communities hit hardest by the coronavirus crisis are those that were already underserved. These are the communities that have high rates of poverty and limited access to veterinary and other pet care services but where we see so much love and heartwarming bonds between people and their animals...

Last week, the HSUS Pets for Life program provided its 100,000 spay/neuter surgery at no cost to pet owners. Since early 2012, PFL has provided over 400,000 essential veterinary services, supplies, and medications to people and pets in need. PFL is a trailblazing program based on two simple premises...

One of the great benefits of working at the Humane Society of the United States is that staff members can bring their pets to our offices. For me, that means Lilly, my sidekick, can come to work with me. She loves nothing more than visiting colleagues for treats and pats and socializing with the...

I am participating in round 3 of Spayathon™ for Puerto Rico, an initiative launched to change the landscape for animals of the island by providing high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter services to the pets here, all at no cost to their owners, caregivers and guardians. The energy here is infectious...

In a disturbing trend, pet stores say they are selling more puppies than ever before during the coronavirus pandemic that has forced many non-essential businesses to close doors. A phone survey of 34 puppy-selling pet stores in 14 states conducted by the Humane Society of the United States found...

Hundreds of localities now ban the sales of dogs from puppy mills in pet stores because of how cruelly the breeders, transporters and pet stores treat the animals in their care. Our puppy mills campaign has been leading this fight and last month we released an undercover investigation into the...

Not so long ago, for a golden retriever now known as Chewbacca (nicknamed Chewy), the whole world was the small, dirty space inside the four wire sides of his pen. The first five years of Chewy’s life were spent on a dog meat farm in South Korea. But Chewy was lucky. The farmer favored him and so...

For decades, the Humane Society of the United States has advocated on behalf of animals raised and killed for meat. One of our earliest campaigns, back in the 1950s, was to ban the worst forms of slaughter , which culminated in passage of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act . In recent years, we...

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments about Proposition 12, California’s landmark law to address animal cruelty and public health issues stemming from the worst factory farming practices, such as confining pregnant pigs in gestation crates so small they can hardly move. Jon Lovvorn...

Dozens of dogs are now safe after police raided an illegal dog meat slaughterhouse in Indonesia just moments before the slaughter began. Just as a truck loaded with 53 terrified dogs arrived at the slaughterhouse, in the early hours of November 24, the sting operation took place. The dogs were...

One of the most important aspects of animal advocacy is ensuring that changes to policy translate to meaningful actions that save lives. What happened on a street in Indonesia earlier this month signals remarkable progress, bringing much-needed hope to the more than one million dogs who are sold for...