In August, reports began to surface that a lion in Zimbabwe, who was beloved by local communities, was likely lured out of Hwange National Park and allegedly killed by an American trophy hunter. His name was Mopane. For anyone who followed the story of Cecil the lion in 2015, these details created a...

Earlier this year, Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington convened a task force to recommend steps to save critically endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales. These orcas live in family groups in Puget Sound, and they and their habitat have been under threat for decades. Between the late 1960s and early...

For someone who’s been supporting the protection of whales as long as I have, the prospect of a return to commercial whaling is a genuine nightmare. But that’s what Japan has proposed to this year’s meeting of the International Whaling Commission, set to begin next week in Florianopolis, Brazil. And...

This week, we presented the Russell & Burch Award to Dr. Donald Ingber, a professor at Harvard University and the founding director of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard. Dr. Ingber is one of the pioneers behind the development of organ-on-a-chip technology, which is...

By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson For years now, trophy hunters have spun a web of lies to tie their ruthless killing of some of the world’s most at-risk animals to fake conservation benefits. A recent exchange in the prestigious Science magazine has laid bare links some scientists have with the...

For years, Scotland has allowed fish farmers and other fisheries to shoot seals in order to keep them from eating their fish —a brutal practice that has resulted in so much unnecessary suffering and death among these charismatic marine mammals. Last week, in a long-awaited move that Humane Society...

The Humane Society of the United States and its partners are back on the ground for the second round of Spayathon for Puerto Rico, an ambitious project that aims to provide free spay, neuter and vaccination services to 30,000 dogs and cats in the commonwealth over 12 months. The first round in June...

With many of our Animal Rescue Team members still in Killeen, Texas caring for the nearly 200 cats we rescued there less than two weeks ago in an alleged neglect case, other HSUS responders went to another property in Texas on Thursday rescuing approximately 150 equines—including horses, mini-horses...

Update: On August 13, Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang denied an emergency petition from 60 Alaska residents asking the agency to close wolf hunting and trapping on lands adjacent to Denali National Park. He ruled that an emergency order to stop the trophy hunting...

Days before the Kentucky Derby kicks off in his home state next week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has announced he will introduce a bill to reform horse racing. This is a promising development for the future of race horses in a sport that has increasingly come under a cloud because of the...

The Senate Committee on Appropriations today released a package of 12 appropriations bills for fiscal year 2021, and it is a mixed bag for animals. The House has already approved its appropriations bills, which fund federal government agencies, and they include significant protections for animals...

By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson Ten years ago, Americans were stunned by a pet chimpanzee’s vicious attack on a Connecticut woman, Charla Nash. The animal bit off Nash’s fingers and toes, tore off most of her face, and left her fighting for her life. The chimpanzee, Travis, was shot and killed by a...

South Korea moved one crucial step closer to condemning its dog meat trade to history this week, with the last three dog meat shops in Seoul agreeing to stop all slaughter for dog meat within the capital city. "We will maintain the city as a slaughter-free place to promote the dignity of animal...

The momentum to end the use of fur continues to build. As state legislative sessions get under way across the United States, bills to ban fur sales have been introduced in five states so far, including Rhode Island, Oregon, Connecticut, Hawaii and New York. A bill introduced in Washington would ban...

We’ve never cared for the cheap, lurid television programming tied to Shark Week, preferring to join with other groups and media outlets in a celebration of this apex species found in all of the world’s oceans and even sometimes in rivers. Sharks are part of an incredibly diverse taxon, a cluster of...

By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson The Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act passed the Senate Commerce Committee with a near-unanimous voice vote this week, with American lawmakers leaving no doubt of how they view the nefarious global trade in which fishermen cut the fins off sharks and dump them back in...

Shenzhen has become the first city in mainland China to ban the consumption of dog and cat meat, marking one of the biggest wins yet in the global battle to end the dog meat trade. This is China’s fifth largest city. Although not itself a major center for dog and cat meat consumption, Shenzhen is...

Every day, we are making groundbreaking advances in our fight against fur. Major fashion houses and retailers, from Gucci to Burlington, have gone fur-free and just last weekend, California became the first U.S. state to ban fur sales. But today, in a sad reminder of the fact that the battle against...

The canned hunting industry is often associated with countries like South Africa, where wealthy trophy hunters can pick out and shoot captive-bred lions in enclosures for a hefty price tag. It is, literally, the equivalent of shooting fish in a barrel, and it is a practice so shameful, many hunting...

As 2018 draws to a close, so too does the 115th Congress. Each year, the federal team at our affiliate Humane Society Legislative Fund pushes hard to advance legislation that protects animals, and this year, we saw strong progress. Notably, in the Farm Bill signed last week by President Trump, we...