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A new law that ends the sales of puppies and kittens in pet stores has just taken effect in Maryland this New Year, heralding a new era of progress for companion animals suffering in puppy mills. Maryland is only the second state to pass such a law after California, and on January 2, Gov. Larry

Wildfires ravaging the Australian continent have killed 25 people and are taking an unprecedented toll on the country’s rich wildlife and other animals. We have all seen these heart-wrenching images in the media: dead koalas scattered across scorched landscapes; frightened cows standing under orange

Last year, Officer Stevie Hargenrater, a humane officer in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, was called to a property where she found a dead Rottweiler and a small sheltie mix in terrible condition. The officer had recently participated in the Humane Society of the United States’ training for law

Last week, a trophy hunter killed a mountain lion in Nebraska and posted a photo of himself on social media with the dead animal, a one-and-a-half-year-old male. While most Americans would find this unnecessary killing of a majestic native carnivore horrifying by itself, the facts behind this

In November, Americans were stunned by a viral video that showed two teenagers kicking and stomping an injured white tail deer they had just shot. In the 30-second clip, Alex Smith, 18, and his companion could be seen laughing and ripping off one of the deer’s antlers as the injured animal tried to

Public disapproval of trophy hunting and the havoc trophy hunters wreak on the world’s endangered and threatened wildlife is on the rise, both here in the United States and around the globe. We recently saw a striking example of this in play when a Norwegian company with offices in the United States

Each year, as winter settles in and temperatures drop dangerously low in parts of the country, we hear heartbreaking reports about companion animals left in the cold. Last month, in Clayton, Wisconsin, an extremely thin dog froze to death after being chained and left outside by his owner in bitter

A federal judge has just shut down the latest challenge to California’s foie gras ban, in an important ruling that reaffirms the right of states to enact legislation that protects animals in agriculture. Today’s district court ruling is the latest in a long-running saga that began in 2004, when

The Humane Society International rescue team's reports from Australia’s Kangaroo Island describe an "apocalyptic" scene. Once a critical wildlife habitat celebrated the world over for its pristine wilderness, Kangaroo Island has been ravaged by the recent bushfires, with at least 600 square miles of

I arrived at Project Chimps yesterday just as dinner was being served to its residents: 79 retired research chimpanzees who now call this verdant, 236-acre sanctuary nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Georgia their home. The building we were in is a brand-new, state-of-the-art structure named

It is exactly 25 years this month since 14 wolves from Canada were brought to Yellowstone National Park, an area that had not seen a single wolf in 70 years because of trophy hunting and trapping. Almost immediately, the animals began reshaping the landscape, regenerating the park’s ecological

A rule proposed by the federal government to reintroduce some of the cruelest of hunting methods to national preserves in Alaska has raised a chorus of outrage from conservation organizations, biologists, elected officials and American citizens, and there is still time to speak out against it. The

As severe weather events have become more frequent and more destructive in recent years, our Animal Rescue Teams at the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International have not merely expanded but also learned to pivot swiftly to respond to crisis situations. This includes

Twenty of Hollywood’s biggest names, including Alec Baldwin, Susan Sarandon and Joaquin Phoenix, today sent a joint letter to McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook, urging the company to institute commonsense animal welfare reforms advocated by the Humane Society of the United States. The letter, which

For many years now, Humane Society International has been at the forefront of a hot war against the dog and cat meat trade across Asia. We have taken on many high-profile fights and we’ve made tremendous progress, from pushing back hard against China’s Yulin dog meat festival to shuttering dog meat

India has seen a boom in pet ownership in recent years, and there has been a corresponding increase in the number of pet stores doing brisk business by selling puppies. Unfortunately, the boom comes with a downside for the animals caught up in this trade. Puppies sold in pet stores in India often

As Hurricane Florence batters the coast of the Carolinas, wreaking havoc with screaming winds and lashing rain, our Humane Society of the United States Animal Rescue Team is at the ready to deploy for search and rescue in the impacted areas, and to support shelters and communities that officially

Japan’s package of proposals seeking to upend the 33-year global commercial whaling moratorium was soundly rejected last week at the International Whaling Commission meeting in Florianopolis, Brazil, with more than 40 countries making it clear to the rogue nation, which continues whaling in defiance

The Los Angeles City Council has just voted unanimously to ban the sale of fur within city limits, making this the largest American city to do so. San Francisco passed a similar ban earlier this year. Today’s historic vote in Los Angeles, which comes just days after fashion giant Burberry and London

Yesterday, emergency officials in Horry County, South Carolina, which has been bracing for record flooding following Hurricane Florence, received a call from a couple with 12 cats. Their home was surrounded by rapidly rising waters, and they didn’t want to evacuate without making sure their animals