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...
Every time we share news of a victory in our fight to protect animals, or positive trends in our cause, or growing momentum in a particular campaign, it’s also a story about the countless contributions of people working tirelessly behind the scenes to make these good things happen. Our campaigners...
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...
We are fighting hard right now for wolves with legal petitions, lawsuits and lobbying pressure designed to protect this most besieged wildlife species. This is a perilous time as one state after another has surrendered to trophy hunters and special interest groups seeking to kill wolves. At the same...
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...
I appeared today on MSNBC’s Morning Joe to speak about the COVID-19 crisis and wildlife markets with Humane Society International’s Peter Li and our colleague Gene Baur of Farm Sanctuary. Together, we made the case for an immediate end to wildlife markets all over the world, and described the filth...
A poignant Washington Post story about a black bear mourning her 6-month old cub, struck dead by a vehicle in Yosemite National Park, is a reminder that even in wild spaces animals are at risk when they come into contact with humans. Since 1995, motorists have killed more than 400 bears in Yosemite...
The coronavirus pandemic is not the only problem plaguing the horse racing industry as it prepares for the first of the Triple Crown races at Belmont Stakes this Saturday with altered schedules, shorter race times and a TV-only audience. This past year has placed the sport—and its key players—under...
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...
Update: The full Trophy Hunting by the Numbers report has been released, providing a global look at the scope and impact of trophy hunting. A new poll shows that more than 75% of Americans oppose trophy hunting, and 82% oppose the trophy hunting and import of African lions and elephants, both listed...
Since Illinois reopened its bobcat hunts in 2015, after a 40-year hiatus, trophy hunters and trappers have killed nearly 1,400 bobcats using some of the cruelest methods imaginable, like steel-jawed leghold traps. These devices are so painful that the animals sometimes gnaw through their own limbs...
A no-holds-barred carnage of wolves in Wisconsin last week, which ended with trophy hunters killing nearly twice the sanctioned quota of animals in just under 60 hours, offers a terrible glimpse into just what lies ahead for these beloved native American carnivores unless the Biden administration...