Somewhere toward the end of the last ice age, we formed an alliance with wolves: Maybe the ancestors of dogs got food scraps while our own ancestors gained protection from predators and other humans. These social species eventually collaborated on a vast scale, possibly even hunting woolly mammoths...

The Humane Society of the United States has just published its annual report evaluating food service companies on their environment and animal welfare commitments. The HSUS Protein Sustainability Scorecard assesses which companies are actually keeping their sustainability promises and which are...

Four conservation and animal protection groups sued the Trump administration today over its secretive new policy of approving elephant and lion trophy imports behind closed doors. The lawsuit targets a U.S. Fish and Wildlife decision, outlined in a March 1 memo, to shut the public and scientists out...

Plan for your livestock Write down a list of emergency telephone numbers, including those of your employees, neighbors, veterinarian, state veterinarian, poison control, local animal shelter, animal care and control, county extension service, local agricultural schools, trailering resources and...

It was a rude awakening: Just as my thoughts drifted into a pre-sleep jumble, a skunk pounced onto my nighttime reading. Not just any skunk, but a giant one flashing her black-and-white tail in a series of pungent leaps. Back and forth she went, bed to floor to bed, before my eyes caught up with my...

WARNING: This page contains graphic content. When rescuers slowly creaked the rusty door open, the dilapidated building appeared to be empty. Windowless and dark, the sheet-metal structure held no noise, only air thick with spiderwebs, dust and the burning smell of ammonia. Then a head with small...

(Each report is available as a downloadable PDF.) Pigs About Pigs [PDF] Animal Welfare in the Pig Industry [PDF] Economics of Alternatives to Gestation Crates [PDF] The Welfare of Intensively Confined Animals [PDF] Scientists and Experts: Gestation Crates [PDF] Welfare Issues with Gestation Crates...

This press release was updated at 2:35 p.m. EST on May 23, 2024. WASHINGTON—Pig producers, pork distributors and animal advocates decried the House of Representatives’ Farm Bill (the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024) that will likely be voted out of the Agriculture Committee today. They...

There’s a surprisingly simple way to make a big difference in the lives of animals: incorporating more plant-based foods. The more plants you eat, the more animals you’ll spare from lives of suffering. Fewer mother pigs will be kept in crates so small they can barely move. Fewer egg-laying hens will...

They were like moths to a flame or, more accurately, butterflies to a native plant. No sooner had I unloaded two joe-pye weed perennials from my car last August than three tiger swallowtails dive-bombed the pots, as if to validate my purchase. If only my fellow shoppers knew what they were missing...

WASHINGTON — On January 1, California’s 2018 ballot measure Proposition 12, which set landmark prohibitions on the sale of food products from farm animals locked in cruel and extreme confinement, will be fully implemented in the state. Proposition 12’s egg and veal provisions have been in place for...

It was the shot heard around the world. An American trophy hunter shot and severely injured Cecil with an arrow after he was lured outside Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe with elephant carcass bait. About 10 hours later, the hunting party tracked him down. A second arrow ended Cecil’s life. The...

Rochester Institute of Technology has committed to having 50% plant-based offerings on menus by 2025, in collaboration with the Humane Society of the United States.   As part of this effort, HSUS chefs provided an in-person plant-based culinary training to the university culinary staff. These events...

A raccoon in the chimney, a groundhog under the shed, a skunk under the back porch … when confronted with wildlife living up-close in their own homes or backyards, well-meaning but harried homeowners often resort to what they see as the most humane solution—live-trapping the animal and then setting...

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – With meat and dairy alternatives rising in popularity, Southwest Foodservice Excellence (SFE) , a national foodservice management company that specializes in K-12 nutrition, has collaborated with the Humane Society of the United States to bring plant-based options to the...

Imagine a chicken. Picture her downy white feathers and small, intense eyes. Maybe she’s sitting on a nest, softly clucking. Perhaps she’s scratching in the dirt, a quaint red barn in silhouette behind her. Cows graze contentedly nearby; a pig snuffles in the mud. It’s an idyllic vision, familiar...

Most animals in our food system live in dismal conditions. Mother pigs are locked in gestation crates so small they can’t turn around. Egg-laying hens are crammed into cages so tightly they can’t even spread their wings. And chickens in the poultry industry are bred to grow so large so fast that...

Our food system has a significant impact on the environment in various ways. One of the key factors is the greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) produced by the global food system, which accounts for 20% to 37% of all GHGs. Animal products, such as meat and dairy, have a much larger environmental...

The Humane Society of the United States has released its Protein Sustainability Scorecard, taking a close look at the food service industry in the U.S. and progress toward offering climate-friendly, plant-based foods. To meet client demand and public sentiment, virtually every major food service...