The U.S. House has just voted to protect racehorses from dangerous but widespread practices within the racing industry, including the rampant use of performance-enhancing drugs and poor attention to racetrack safety. The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (H.R.1754), led by Reps. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y...
Update! The U.S. Senate has just voted to approve the Farm Bill by a vote of 87 to 13. The bill did not include the dreaded King amendment that had the potential to nullify important state and local laws protecting animals, but senators approved three key measures that benefit companion animals. The...
President Trump’s pardon of Joe Exotic is an affront to animal-loving Americans, Republican, Democrat and independent, and it will be viewed with outrage today and for many years to come. Joe Exotic, a.k.a. Joseph Maldonado Passage is a serial tiger abuser/killer who was serving a 22-year sentence...
The U.S. House has just approved provisions that would make highways safer for wildlife to cross and create safer conditions to transport horses across the country, as part of the Moving Forward Act, a package of reforms designed to restore America’s aging infrastructure. The measures approved today...
In 1970, the U.S. Congress passed the Horse Protection Act to end the cruel practice of horse soring, which is the use of caustic chemicals, chains, weighted shoes, hard objects, cutting and other painful techniques to force horses to perform the artificial, high-stepping gait known as the "Big Lick" in order to win prizes in horse shows. Despite that law’s passage 53 years ago, the abuse has continued unabated as a scofflaw faction of the Tennessee walking horse industry insists on flouting the law. Now we have a chance to end it once and for all.
Three years ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture inexplicably blacked out records of inspections at puppy mills, roadside zoos, facilities that do invasive research on animals, walking horse shows and other operations, leaving those who use—and potentially abuse—animals in their care with little...
Federal prosecutors have charged more than two dozen racehorse trainers, veterinarians and drug dealers in a “widespread, corrupt” scheme to dope horses to push them beyond their limits, increase profits and cheat the betting public. “This is the most far reaching prosecution of racehorse doping in...
Each year, millions of homeless pets enter U.S. shelters and approximately two million dogs and cats are euthanized. This is a huge improvement since the 1970s when it was closer to 15 million, but it’s still too many. That’s why ending pet homelessness is a key goal for the Humane Society of the...
A signature strength of our movement is that people from all backgrounds and perspectives care about animals and want to help them. Our work will only grow in its reach and potency as new generations adopt this passion. These future leaders are already advocating for animal welfare and helping to...
For years, the government, through the Bureau of Land Management, has attempted to control wild horse and burro numbers by rounding the animals up and offering them for adoption. It was during one such roundup in the year 2000 that a flashy sorrel and white yearling was picked up in southern Oregon...