Walking alongside a lion in South Africa or feeding a baby tiger with a milk bottle at a roadside zoo stateside as you smile into the camera might seem like a novel idea, but it never has a good outcome for the animal. And increasingly, American travelers are beginning to realize this, according to...
When Humane Society of the United States investigators go out to take a close look at facilities that keep captive birds—roadside zoos, animal markets and others—they almost always return with the same dispiriting reports of dismal treatment and living conditions. Owls and hawks tightly chained to...
This week, Delta Airlines announced it will discontinue its ban on emotional support animals on flights longer than eight hours. However, in a retrogressive move, the airline said it will continue to prohibit pit-bull-type dogs on its airplanes. Delta’s decision fails to acknowledge what scientists...
When Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico last year, many residents were faced with a choice they should never have to make: fly to safety while leaving their pets behind to face the storm alone, or stay home and risk their own -- and their pets’ -- lives. Current airline rules make traveling with...
Reports from Denmark this week are making it clearer than ever that mink fur farming is a public health minefield and an animal welfare nightmare. The European nation announced that it would slaughter all 15 million mink on its 1,000 fur farms following concerns that a mutation in the virus that has...
The National Institutes of Health says it remains committed to retiring nearly 255 federally owned or supported chimpanzees to a sanctuary. This announcement, made late last week, is a favorable development in a long-running, and sometimes rocky, saga that has been unfolding ever since we succeeded...
In the aftermath of devastating wildfires that claimed the lives of a still unknown number of people on Maui, we mourn with our supporters and colleagues in Hawaii. As with most disasters, the loss of human life and the financial and other damages incurred by individuals, governments, businesses and...
After Hurricane Irma struck in 2017, we responded to the British Virgin Islands where the storm had caused terrible devastation. Many people were forced to evacuate the island, but it was difficult to find transport for their animals. So, after providing the dogs required veterinary care, we flew...
The dog meat festival in Yulin, China, begins this Friday. However, dogs and cats, either stolen from their owners or plucked from the streets, are already being mercilessly bludgeoned to death or electrocuted before being cooked and served up as food in the city’s restaurants. As we do each year...
Indonesia’s first-ever prosecution of dog meat traders under animal health and food safety laws represents another milestone in the global campaign to protect dogs from being slaughtered for food. A district attorney on the island of Java recently confirmed plans to prosecute dog traders intercepted...
It was just after dawn when the Gaston County Police Department served a search and seizure warrant on a residential property in North Carolina last week. In the yard, makeshift enclosures made of wire and wood confined scared and skittish dogs. Our Animal Rescue Team was on the scene to help the...
Last year, a state inspector visiting Wendy Pets, a puppy mill in Seneca, Kansas, found 24 dogs had simply disappeared from the facility. When asked, a representative told the inspector he had “euthanized” the dogs by shooting them. Although he had been breeding dogs for years, he claimed “he wasn’t...
For the past seven years, Mr. Hung has been in the dog meat business in Viet Nam. He estimates that in that time, he has bought, sold and slaughtered as many as 20,000 dogs. Every couple of months, dog meat traders delivered around 50 puppies to Hung’s facility, where they were kept in filthy raised...