Arizona’s Game and Fish Commission has voted to ban wildlife killing contests: gruesome spectacles in which participants vie for cash and prizes for killing the most or heaviest animals within a specific time period. This is a wonderful development because Arizona has been the site for an appalling...
As black bears work extra hard to pack on the pounds and prepare for the barren winter months ahead, trophy hunters are rampaging through their habitats, slaughtering these iconic animals so they can hang their heads on walls. Some states are even allowing these hunters to use dastardly practices...
Spring is a crucial time for black bears: After emerging from their dens following months in winter hibernation, many spend the first few weeks building up strength by eating mainly grasses and other plants. Mother bears are especially weak, having spent the last few months nursing cubs hungry for...
Today Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation to ban wildlife killing contests in New York state. This is a wonderful moment for wildlife, as New York has been the scene of more than 20 of these senseless spectacles each year. The contests targeted a broad range of animals including coyotes, foxes, bobcats, squirrels, raccoons, crows, rabbits and woodchucks. The new law, to take effect in November 2024, will prohibit cash-for-wildlife competitions in which the objective is to slaughter animals for money and prizes.
Arizona today banned all wildlife killing contests for coyotes, bobcats, foxes and other animals, joining a growing number of states taking action to stop these gruesome events in which participants vie for cash and prizes for killing the most or heaviest animals within a specific time period. The...
By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson Update: The bill to ban fur sales has also passed the concurrence committee and will now head to the governor’s desk for his signature. In two historic votes for animals, California lawmakers have voted overwhelmingly to ban fur sales and to stop the trophy hunting...
Washington has just outlawed wildlife killing contests—the seventh state to do so in the past six years. The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission voted 7-2 this morning to pass a rule ending these gruesome spectacles where participants kill large numbers of wild animals simply for the thrill and...
Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced it will be proposing a rule that would ban predator control on the National Wildlife Refuge System. When finalized, this rule will be a huge victory for countless wildlife living on refuges. The National Wildlife Refuge System is home to thousands...
A bill introduced in California this week would end all trophy hunting of bobcats, making the Golden State the first in the union to move decisively to protect one of our country’s most iconic native carnivores. Assembly bill 1254, introduced by Assembly Member Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Los Angeles...
A groundbreaking bill introduced in California today would end all trophy hunting of black bears in the state. If successful, California would be the first state to implement such a ban, setting a magnificent precedent for the rest of the nation to follow. The bill was introduced by State Sen. Scott...
California, which took the pioneering move of banning mountain lion trophy hunting three decades ago, is still standing strong for these iconic animals. This week, California lawmakers passed groundbreaking legislation to ban the use of certain rodenticides that have been held responsible for the...
Colorado has closed a loophole in its law to end all wildlife killing contests of furbearing animals, including coyotes, bobcats, swift foxes and prairie dogs. Although the state had already banned most such contests in 1997, a regulatory loophole permitted some events that limited the numbers of...
Earlier this month, an emaciated mountain lion found his way into a condominium complex in Vail, Colorado. Images show a very scared, skinny cat with light spots, indicating that he was still very young and not old enough to survive on his own. This mountain lion, with no mother in sight, was likely...
For the last few months, our Fund for Animals Wildlife Center in Ramona, California, has been home to two high-profile residents: a coyote found with plastic construction tubing wrapped around her neck, and a bear, Eve, who came to us severely underweight and completely bald. Today, I want to share...
Inscribing the humane treatment of animals into our laws takes years, and so we are heartened by some key measures at the state level taking effect in 2024, which are the result of so much rallying and advocacy, and which will contribute to shaping the humane world we envision. As of Jan. 1, 2024, California’s Proposition 12, widely considered the world’s strongest law for the protection of farm animals, now enjoys full implementation.
On Dec. 31, Florida's greyhound racetracks closed for good as a result of a ballot measure we helped pass with our partner groups in 2018. That win brought down what was once the stronghold of this "sport" and effectively sounded the death knell for greyhound racing in the United States. The work...
We recently celebrated progress toward protecting wolves, bears, coyotes, cougars, foxes, bobcats and other native carnivores living on the vast U.S. National Wildlife Refuge System, when the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service advanced a rule that would protect them from lethal and flawed “predator control” programs. Until the rule is finalized, however, their lives still hang in the balance, waiting for a decision that could mean the difference between life and death. Such is the power that public policy has over the lives of animals. And it’s just one decision that we’re urging the Biden administration to make before election season stalls critical activity to finalize protections for so many species.