For Alex and Loki, our two resident tigers at our Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch in Murchison, Texas, spring brings lots of new opportunities for fun and play. Loki, especially, loves hunkering down in the tall grass in his enclosure at the sanctuary, says Noelle Almrud, the director of Black...
It is a scenario that would be impossible to fathom anywhere other than with in the bizarre world of walking horse competitions. Last Saturday, at the annual Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration, the event’s top honor of World Grand Champion went to a horse, I’m Mayhem, trained by a man named Rodney...
This Friday, with the release of Disney’s “Black Beauty,” a new generation of moviegoers will be introduced to Anna Sewell’s beloved story of a horse who goes from a carefree life as a foal to one filled with troubles before returning home to peace and love. The book, narrated as an autobiographical...
By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson The last horse slaughter plants in the United States closed years ago, and Congress has consistently voted to prohibit funding for horse slaughter inspections within U.S borders. Unfortunately, this does not prevent the inhumane transport of American equines to other...
I was happy to see that so many viewers enjoyed watching the fun video of animals enjoying the summer at our Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch in Texas. You can watch it here. As it turns out, when it’s hot out, bears, gibbons, horses, monkeys, pigs and tigers in sanctuary are not different from us...
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced a final rule to stop a strange, persistent and deeply disturbing cruelty that has survived more than a half century’s legislative attempts to suppress it. In a huge win, the new rule bans the use on Tennessee walking and racking horses of devices and substances integral to soring, including tall, high-heel-like horseshoes (known as “stacks”) and chains that bang against a horse’s chemically sored ankles, all used to cause excruciating pain. The rule also assigns sole responsibility to the agency’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to screen, train and authorize inspectors, and creates an inspection system that relies on veterinarians, veterinary technicians or others employed by government agencies to enforce relevant laws and regulations. We believe that the rule puts the government on a much stronger footing to finally eliminate soring.
There’s new hope for ending the painful practice of horse soring: a long-awaited new administrative rule from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, one that’s badly needed and long overdue. Horse soring is an undeniably cruel practice in which trainers covertly and deliberately torment show horses by...
The appropriations bill and accompanying coronavirus relief/stimulus package for fiscal year 2021 now advancing through Congress will bring critical and much-needed support to millions of Americans. We are also pleased to report that the package, which funds federal agencies, includes a number of...
The U.S. House has just voted to protect racehorses from dangerous but widespread practices within the racing industry, including the rampant use of performance-enhancing drugs and poor attention to racetrack safety. The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (H.R.1754), led by Reps. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y...
Update! The U.S. Senate has just voted to approve the Farm Bill by a vote of 87 to 13. The bill did not include the dreaded King amendment that had the potential to nullify important state and local laws protecting animals, but senators approved three key measures that benefit companion animals. The...
President Trump’s pardon of Joe Exotic is an affront to animal-loving Americans, Republican, Democrat and independent, and it will be viewed with outrage today and for many years to come. Joe Exotic, a.k.a. Joseph Maldonado Passage is a serial tiger abuser/killer who was serving a 22-year sentence...
