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The global pandemic posed immense challenges to the animal protection community this year. Around the world, people—and the animals who depend on them—reeled from the impact of illness, death, closures, job losses and difficulty in accessing the most basic services. We stepped in to try and fill

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

The pandemic posed many challenges for our Humane Society International staff working to end the dog meat trade in nations where it exists. Travel overseas was difficult if not impossible in most cases, but with millions of dogs still suffering in the dog meat trade, sitting on our hands was not an

For you and for all of us at the Humane Society family of organizations, 2020 has been a long year. As we reach its close, I want to give you my highest assurance that we’ve kept our shoulders to the wheel, expanding our lifesaving programs, pushing our ambitious public policy agenda, carrying out

With the signing of the omnibus bill this past weekend, U.S. federal law now includes critical protections for horses we have fought hard for over many years. These include measures to stop the widespread drugging of racehorses and provide increased track safety, keep horse slaughter plants in the

Hundreds of beauty companies around the globe---including our market leading partners Unilever, L’Oréal, Procter & Gamble, Avon, Lush and a growing number of cosmetic ingredient suppliers---now support an end to cosmetics animal testing. Forty countries have passed laws to ban or limit such tests

Each year, trained responders from the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International enter disaster zones to rescue and rehabilitate affected animals. Over the years, our teams have responded swiftly and effectively to situations ranging from hurricanes to earthquakes to

The National Marine Fisheries Service today released a proposed rule intended to reduce the risk of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales getting entangled in heavy ropes used in fishing gear such as that used for catching lobsters and crabs. Unfortunately, this long-anticipated rule

Compassionate coexistence. It’s such a simple and worthy goal, yet it’s one of the areas in which the human aspiration to do right by wildlife still falls well short of what animals deserve. That’s why building global capacity and commitment for humane and effective approaches to resolving human

Update (1/25/2021): A Senate version of the Preventing Future Pandemics Act was introduced today by Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Cory Booker, D-N.J. The House version, introduced earlier this month, now has 50 cosponsors. With the coronavirus pandemic still raging, the urgency around preventing

Canada, the largest importer of shark fins outside Asia, has passed a landmark bill that includes measures to prohibit the trade in shark fins nationally as well as finning in Canadian waters. Humane Society International/Canada joined Canada’s Minister of Fisheries and the Canadian Coast Guard in

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

Almost a week later, many of us are still smiling. That’s how much fun we had at our HSUS Stand Up for Animals event last Wednesday night at the Avalon Hollywood in Los Angeles. It was a memorable night, as host Carol Leifer, along with fellow comedians Jay Leno, Feraz Ozel and Sarah Silverman, kept

By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson There’s a reason why the Humane Society of the United States and the Humane Society Legislative Fund invest substantial time and effort in seeking to shape funding decisions within the U.S. Congress; it pays off big for animal protection. Today the U.S. House of

Good news in our work means animals thrive and we therefore celebrate it. That’s how it was for me this morning when I woke up to the report that there will be no whaling in Iceland this summer. Something my colleagues at Humane Society International and I have fought since Iceland resumed whaling

With many of our Animal Rescue Team members still in Killeen, Texas caring for the nearly 200 cats we rescued there less than two weeks ago in an alleged neglect case, other HSUS responders went to another property in Texas on Thursday rescuing approximately 150 equines—including horses, mini-horses

Japan, a long-time outlier on the global consensus against commercial whaling, overtly resumed killing whales for profit today in defiance of a 33-year international moratorium that still remains in effect. Japan’s actions make it a pirate whaling nation, acting completely outside the rule of

We are making great progress every day in our fight to end the dog meat trade and I have two major developments to share with you today from countries that have been the focus of some of our most important work. Yesterday, South Korean authorities shut down one of their country’s largest dog meat

Fourth of July has always been one of my favorite holidays and I especially enjoy watching the fireworks with my family. Although this year I can’t help but worry a little as the holiday approaches. That’s because last year my dog, Lilly, suddenly developed an incredible fear of fireworks -- a fear

The hands-on rescue work we do at the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International can be some of the most difficult for our responders, emotionally, because no matter how often they do this, it is never easy to see animals living and suffering in terrible conditions. But it