It happens every autumn: As we sit down to gather some of the biggest victories you helped make possible for our year-end roundup, we’re stumped. How do we share the thousands of achievements, big and small, that together we’ve made for animals in 2022?
The short answer is, we can’t. We could give you the statistics that mark our progress—the 114 animal-friendly state and local laws we helped pass in the United States; the 33,000-plus U.S. animals who received services through our Pets for Life and Rural Area Veterinary Services programs—but they wouldn’t tell the full story. Numbers don’t tell you about the people behind these wins—the staff members, volunteers and advocates who keep pushing for progress—or the animals who benefit.
So instead, we’re sharing some of the most meaningful moments of this year, ones that represent our relentless quest for a better world. This isn’t a complete list. It’s just a glimpse of what you make possible, through your donations, your advocacy and your support.
We truly couldn’t do it without you. Thank you.
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January
Luxury fashion brands Dolce&Gabbana and Moncler announced that they’re going fur-free. After years of tireless work by our fur-free team and partner groups, few luxury brands still use animal fur.
March
The Brazilian city of Anchieta committed to reducing the animal products served at its schools and government institutions by 20% after working with Humane Society International and our partner group Mercy for Animals. The municipalities of Botucatu, Salvador and Sobral implemented similar commitments—meaning that more than 13.6 million plates across these cities will be plant-based rather than animal-based each year.
With our encouragement, Indiana banned public contact with bears and big cats. Indiana became the 13th state to put such restrictions in place when Gov. Eric Holcomb signed the bill into law.
April
As part of our work helping pets affected by the war in Ukraine, HSI launched the Vets for Ukrainian Pets program in collaboration with the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe and the Federation of European Companion Animal Veterinary Associations. The program provides free veterinary care for the pets of war refugees in 38 countries and runs until Dec. 31, 2022.
Our undercover investigator spent seven months at Inotiv—an animal testing facility in Indiana—documenting the use of dogs, primates, “minipigs,” mice and rats in drug toxicity studies. When we released the investigation, 281,000 of you signed a petition asking Inotiv to free puppies being used for tests rather than euthanizing them. Inotiv never directly responded, and we filed a formal complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture about possible Animal Welfare Act violations at the facility.
May
Following the lead of Houston, which passed a similar ordinance in January, Dallas banned the sale of puppy mill puppies in pet stores. Now every major city in Texas has one of these HSUS-supported ordinances on the books.
June
With our support, Louisiana became the ninth state to ban the sale of cosmetics tested on animals.
After working with our Farm Animal Protection team, food service company ISS Guckenheimer announced that an unparalleled 55% of its meals will be plant-based by 2025. Aramark and Sodexo, two of the top-three largest food service companies in the United States, likewise committed to increasing their plant-based offerings by 2025.
July
With the help of our shelter and rescue partners, we began our historic transport of nearly 4,000 beagles from Envigo, a Virginia-based facility that bred dogs to be sold to laboratories for experimentation. Most of these pups would’ve eventually ended up in testing labs, but instead they found loving homes.
A coalition of conservation and animal welfare groups that included the HSUS celebrated when a federal district court rescinded sweeping Endangered Species Act rollbacks challenged by the coalition in 2019. The decision is temporarily halted pending an appeal, but once effective it will strengthen protections for countless imperiled species and their habitats.
August
We helped our partner organization Vshine rescue 150 cats bound for slaughter in Jinan, Shandong Province, China. Five people were arrested for stealing the cats, likely from their owners, and using sparrows—a protected species in China—as bait.
September
Lilly (shown at left) became the 20,000th dog sterilized through HSI/India’s street dog program. And the Indian city of Vadodara achieved a record-breaking 86% sterilization rate, leading to a 60% drop in dog-related complaints.
California became the first U.S. state to ban toxicity tests on dogs and cats for pesticides and food additives when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the HSUS-supported PET Act into law.
Learn More About Dogs in Research
Our Animal Rescue Team assisted government officials in rescuing 275 dogs—including the pup below—from a suspected dogfighting operation in South Carolina. We believe this to be the largest such takedown in the state's history
october
On the heels of our response in South Carolina, our Animal Rescue Team deployed to Florida, where we responded to Hurricane Ian. We were able to provide veterinary care, pet food and pet supplies to more than 1,500 people and their pets at our drive-through operation in Charlotte County.
December
We ended the year with news worth celebrating when the U.S. Senate passed the Big Cat Public Safety Act after nearly a decade of advocacy from the HSUS and HSLF. This landmark bill prohibits keeping big cats as pets and bans contact between big cats and the public.
We think big here at the Humane Society family of organizations. As we close out 2022, here’s a peek into the kinder, more compassionate world we hope to create—and a few of the milestones that are helping us get there.
Long-term vision: The animals in our food and farm systems no longer suffer from extreme confinement and other inhumane practices.
Long-term vision: Mother dogs and their puppies no longer suffer in puppy mills and pet stores no longer sell puppies and kittens from mills.
Long-term vision: No animals are killed for their coats, and the fur industry is a relic of the past.
Long-term vision: No animal suffers for the sake of personal care products.
Long-term vision: Dogs are no longer raised and killed for their meat.
Long-term vision: Governmental and non-governmental organizations have the resources and knowledge to respond to crises locally. When we partner with a law enforcement or animal welfare agency, we provide them with tools that allow them to be more prepared in the future.
Long-term vision: Wild animals are no longer hunted for bragging rights or to display their bodies or parts, and they are no longer kept captive for inhumane attractions such as roadside zoos, traveling shows, circuses and more.
Long-term vision: Agencies and organizations around the country and around the globe are empowered to care for the animals in their communities with the best and most up-to-date practices.
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This was written and produced by the team behind All Animals, our award-winning magazine. Each issue is packed with inspiring stories about how we are changing the world for animals together.
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