Danielle Tepper had always loved dolphins. When she went on vacation to Hawai'i, she knew she had to see them firsthand. Tepper—now a senior editor at the Humane Society of the United States—wanted to do it ethically, so she avoided captive dolphin attractions. Instead, she booked an excursion to...

WASHINGTON— In a long-awaited victory for sharks across the globe, the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act passed the U.S. Senate Thursday night by a vote of 83-11 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 7776). This critical measure prohibits the commercial trade of shark fins and...

The young Belgian Malinois was only supposed to stay with Lisa Kauffman for a month. Kauffman, HSUS wildlife protection public policy program manager, welcomed Emmie into her home last October after she was found as an underweight stray and brought to a California shelter. Kauffman planned to care...

WASHINGTON—Today the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International released a disturbing undercover investigation revealing the potentially deceptive sale of products made from elephant ivory by sellers at 20 stores in Florida. The investigation, which took place in February...

HARTFORD, Connecticut—Today the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International released alarming results of an undercover investigation at 29 Connecticut stores, revealing the illicit sale of elephant ivory, as well as bone and teeth from other imperiled species. Elephant ivory...

As Joe Biden and Kamala Harris head to the White House, they bring with them a proven track record of protecting animals. In past years, we have worked with both the president- and vice-president-elect to strengthen laws on wildlife, marine mammals, farm animals, and so much more, and we look...

Since 2017, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan has introduced a bill that would undermine America’s war on ivory trafficking by hindering the ability of states to create laws fighting this illegal trade. The full Senate did not consider the bill the last time, and more Americans than ever before now...

During his years in the Senate, now-President Joe Biden supported dozens of animal welfare measures, including legislation to require dolphin-safe labeling on tuna, stop canned hunts, annually prohibit the use of taxpayer dollars to fund federal inspection and approval of meat at horse...

Update (10/26/2021): The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service proposed rules to rescind two Trump-era critical habitat regulations. If these rules are finalized, they will restore the definition of "habitat" and regulations that govern critical habitat exclusions...

Update 12/23/22: President Biden has signed the National Defense Authorization Act into law, which removes the U.S. from the cruel shark fin trade and helps to combat wildlife trafficking. There have been some massive wins for animals recently in the U.S., as the Congress acts to pass some...

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Natural Resources voted in favor of six bills and resolutions that threaten to remove protections from grizzly bears and gray wolves and weaken the Endangered Species Act. This “grab bag” of danger includes: The Trust the Science Act, H.R. 764...

The appropriations bill and accompanying coronavirus relief/stimulus package for fiscal year 2021 now advancing through Congress will bring critical and much-needed support to millions of Americans. We are also pleased to report that the package, which funds federal agencies, includes a number of...

Israel yesterday announced it intends to ban the fur trade. If successful, it would be the first nation to end the buying and selling of a cruel commodity that has fallen out of favor in the fashion industry and with consumers. Israel’s ban would make only a few minor exceptions for religious...

By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson During the past year and a half, the Trump administration and the 115th Congress have launched over a hundred attacks on the Endangered Species Act, the bedrock law that protects endangered and threatened animal species and their habitats. Today, the administration...

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...

The U.S. House has just voted 259 to 160 to reject a bad amendment that would have placed some of America’s most critically endangered marine mammals at even greater risk for their lives while making it easier for oil and gas interests to conduct offshore development activities. The amendment...

North Atlantic right whales are among the most critically endangered animals on the planet today. There are fewer than 440 left on earth, and their mortality rates are high: at least 20 individual right whales died in U.S. and Canadian waters during 2017 and 2018 and no calves were born during this...

Rep. Deb Haaland, President Biden’s nominee to lead the Department of the Interior, has a proven track record of working on the side of animals. Humane Society Legislative Fund endorsed her history-making run for the U.S. House in 2018, and she has since worked swiftly to not only move the ball...

By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson North Atlantic right whales, once decimated by whalers, have continued to face an onslaught of other threats to their survival in recent decades, including entanglement in commercial fishing gear, collision with large ships and climate change. These gentle giants...

By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson In the past two years, our federal government has waged war against the Endangered Species Act, the bedrock law that protects endangered and threatened animal species and their habitats. Today, despite our hopes that it would take the steps necessary to enforce our...