Some really good news from a federal courtroom on a fight we’ve long been waging for horses: Last Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the United States Department of Agriculture had unlawfully withdrawn a 2017 rule designed to fix the agency’s weak regulations that have allowed horse soring to […]
Humane Society Legislative Fund
Posted inCalifornia
The other Supreme Court case you should be following
The norm on factory farms is to lock egg-laying hens, mother pigs and calves used for veal in cages so small they’re virtually immobilized. In 2018, California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 12, a historic ballot measure that banned the extreme confinement of these animals within the state. Proposition 12 also ensures that eggs, pork, and veal sold in […]
Posted inLife
Good news to start 2022: These new laws are now in place to protect animals
January 5, 2021 – We begin our work in 2022 encouraged by the knowledge that a handful of significant animal protection laws at the state level have now taken effect across the country. That makes for a great start to a year in which we hope to extend the reach of our campaigns to help […]
Posted inCalifornia
Supreme Court rejects meat industry challenge to historic farm animal law
June 28, 2021 – Today, the United States Supreme Court declined to take the North American Meat Institute’s appeal of its lawsuit challenging Proposition 12, widely considered the world’s strongest law for farm animal protection. Proposition 12 bans the extreme confinement of egg-laying chickens, mother pigs and baby calves used in the veal industry. The law also prohibits […]
Posted inLife
Animals deserve disaster preparedness plans, too. Here’s how you can help.
The past few years have shown how suddenly natural disasters and other emergencies can upend our lives. Take, for instance, recent severe hurricanes and wildfires, the early 2021 deep freeze in Texas or the ongoing worldwide Covid-19 crisis. Families everywhere have seen how crucial it is to have disaster plans in place for their loved ones. Animal lovers have […]
Posted inLife
2020 in review: How did your Members of Congress score on animal protection issues?
January 29, 2021 – With our final 2020 Humane Scorecard now online, we invite you to check out how your federal legislators stood on a range of key issues. Please share this scorecard with family, friends, and fellow advocates and help spread the word! In a year marked by a global pandemic and high partisan tensions on […]
Posted inLife
Victory! New Department of Transportation rule says airlines cannot ban certain breeds of service dogs
December 2, 2020 – The Department of Transportation has just finalized a rule that prohibits airlines from banning pit-bull-type dogs and certain other breeds from serving as service animals on flights. The Humane Society family of organizations has long opposed breed bans because they are unscientific and discriminate against animals based simply on their appearance. […]
Posted inLife
The Humane Society urges Interior Secretary to abandon wild horse surgical sterilization plan
Dec. 1, 2020 – In an unprecedented move over the weekend, the Bureau of Land Management began gathering and removing wild horses from land in Utah with the intent to use an invasive surgical procedure to remove the ovaries of select mares. The Humane Society of the United States and the Humane Society Legislative Fund […]
Posted inLife
Nordstrom Bans Fur and Exotic Animal Skins
WASHINGTON D.C./SEATTLE, Sept. 29, 2020 – Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE: JWN) today announced the company will stop selling products made using animal fur or exotic animal skin by the end of 2021. The new companywide policy includes Nordstrom, Nordstrom Rack and Last Chance stores, as well as Nordstrom’s e-commerce sites. The commitment was made in partnership […]
Posted inUS
HSUS, HSLF and partners urge Congress to end higher killing speeds at slaughterhouses
May 4, 2020 – In recent weeks, even as slaughterhouses have emerged as hotspots for the coronavirus pandemic, the Trump administration has been quietly issuing record numbers of waivers for them to kill animals at higher speeds. Now, a coalition of animal welfare groups, workers groups and consumer organizations is asking Congressional leaders to impose […]
Posted inOp-Ed
Kitty Block and Sara Amundson: On World Health Day, a global reckoning with COVID-19 is urgent
April 7, 2020 – Like an alarm bell in the night, COVID-19 has cut through the uneasy silence of the world’s failure to address pandemic illness tied to the trade, transport and consumption of wildlife. The notion that we could have prevented COVID-19 by taking decisive steps to curb that trade a decade or two […]
Posted inOp-Ed
Sara Amundson: U.S. House passes PACT Act cracking down on extreme animal cruelty
Oct. 22, 2019 – The U.S. House has just voted overwhelmingly to crack down on some of the worst and most malicious acts of animal cruelty, including crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating, and impaling live animals and sexually exploiting them. The watershed vote takes us one step closer to a federal anti-cruelty statute that would allow […]
Posted inOp-Ed
Sara Amundson: Equine advocates gather on Capitol Hill to promote equine welfare bills
Sept. 11, 2019 – Yesterday, horse advocates from across the country came to Capitol Hill to press for passage of humane legislation at the federal level. Members of the Homes for Horses Coalition, a network of equine rescues and sanctuaries, and veterinarians from the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association joined officials from Humane Society Legislative […]
Posted inUS
The Humane Society of the U.S. releases seventh annual Horrible Hundred report
May 14, 2019 – For the seventh year in a row, the Humane Society of the United States has published a list of 100 problem puppy mills and puppy brokers in the United States. The Horrible Hundred report is published annually to warn consumers about humane concerns at puppy mills and highlight the federal government’s failure to enforce […]
Posted inOp-Ed
Sara Amundson and Kitty Block: The state of the animal union under the Trump administration
Feb. 5, 2019 – As President Donald Trump prepares to deliver his State of the Union address tonight, it’s a good time to take stock of how his administration has dealt with animal protection issues of interest to us at the Humane Society Legislative Fund and the Humane Society of the United States. President Trump […]
Posted inUS
Animal Welfare Groups Applaud Federal Legislation to Ban Horse Slaughter
WASHINGTON, D.C. Jan. 30, 2019 — Federal lawmakers introduced legislation today to permanently ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption in the United States and end the current export of American horses for slaughter abroad. Introduced by Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) and Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.), the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act, is supported […]
Posted inCalifornia
San Francisco says a resounding ‘no’ to fur
March 20, 2018 – San Francisco has just voted to ban all sales of fur within its limits, in a historic victory for millions of animals cruelly confined and killed for their skins and hides. Today’s unanimous vote by its board of supervisors makes San Francisco the largest city in the United States to enact […]
Posted inEnviro
Wildlife protection and conservation groups call on Oregon lawmakers to oppose cruel cougar trophy hunting bills
Feb. 3, 2017 – A coalition of animal welfare, wildlife protection and conservation groups are calling on Oregon lawmakers to oppose four bills relating to cruel cougar trophy hunts recently introduced in the House and Senate. The Humane Society of the United States, Audubon Society of Portland, Cascadia Wildlands, Center for Biological Diversity, The Cougar […]
Posted inUncategorized
Ringling Bros. brings the curtain down on the circus and its animal acts
Jan. 16, 2017 – The Humane Society of the United States, long a bitter adversary of Feld Entertainment and Ringling Bros., applauded the company for its decision to shut down the circus in May, ending 146 years of coercive, inhumane wild animal acts that were at the center of the show. The HSUS and other […]
Posted inOp-Ed
Humane Society Legislative Fund: A Trump presidency would be a threat to animals everywhere (VIDEO)
Oct. 10, 2016 – The Humane Society Legislative Fund today announces its endorsement of Hillary Clinton for President, and the launch of a new ad campaign to inform voters that a Donald Trump presidency would be a threat to animals everywhere. In our view, Trump represents the greatest threat ever to federal policy-making and implementation […]