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...

The coronavirus pandemic has prompted the world to acknowledge the pressing need to change our relationship with animals. From the wildlife markets implicated in the origin of the novel coronavirus to the slaughterhouses that have become clusters for its spread, we now know only too well that our...

A panel of trophy hunters appointed by the Trump administration to advise the federal government on international wildlife trade policy has bitten the dust. Following a lawsuit filed by a coalition that included Humane Society International and the Humane Society of the United States, the Department...

In a landmark announcement that brings us closer than ever to the demise of fur, Macy’s Inc. — the parent company of the iconic American department stores Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s — says it will go fur-free by the end of 2020. This includes permanently closing all of its fur vaults and salons...

Massachusetts has just banned cruel wildlife killing contests, becoming the fifth state, after Vermont, California, New Mexico and Arizona, to take a firm stance against these gruesome events in which participants compete to win cash and prizes for killing the most or heaviest animals. The...

Queen Elizabeth II, one of the world’s most photographed icons, will no longer wear new fur outfits for her public engagements. Instead, she will now step out in harsh winters wearing faux fur. In a new memoir, the British queen’s official dresser Angela Kelly writes that the decision came after...

In recent months, China has made rapid progress toward quashing its infamous wildlife and dog meat trades. Last week, we got more good news on this front: China officially confirmed that dogs are pets and are not livestock for eating; and Wuhan, where the novel coronavirus is believed to have...

There is unprecedented focus on the challenges of animal welfare in China in the wake of COVID -19. The sharpening international scrutiny of its wildlife markets and wildlife trade will shake up animal protection policy in China and around the world. The news that a new classification scheme issued...

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...

Each year, trophy hunters and trappers kill around 2,000 of Colorado’s bobcats, either for fun or to sell their furs overseas, usually in Russian and Chinese markets. The animals are hunted down with radio-collared dogs and shot at point-blank range, or they are trapped in cage traps with no...

The Chinese wildlife trade is mired in long-held beliefs about the benefits of eating exotic and often endangered animals for good health. But the reality stands in stark contrast. The markets in China where live wild animals, including endangered species like pangolins, are bought and sold have...

Fashion seasons and runway shows without animal fur. Organ-on-a-chip technologies for testing cosmetics and other products. A transition to cage-free and crate-free systems that can change the lives of countless chickens and pigs in vast food supply networks. Plant-based meals in major restaurant...

Reports from Denmark this week are making it clearer than ever that mink fur farming is a public health minefield and an animal welfare nightmare. The European nation announced that it would slaughter all 15 million mink on its 1,000 fur farms following concerns that a mutation in the virus that has...

The year 2020 has seen phenomenal progress in our work to end the use of fur. Nations moved to announce an end to fur production and/or sales, citing the “immoral” nature of this trade that results in the suffering and death of millions of animals each year for nothing more than a coat or trim on a...

Today, we released the grisly findings of three undercover investigations into wildlife killing contests in Virginia, including the largest contest held east of the Mississippi River. The heartbreaking callousness and carnage our investigators saw at the weigh-ins of the three contests, which took...

I remember when fall fashion used to be practically synonymous with fur on the runways and in the stores of many of the top luxury brands. Not so, anymore. We’ve seen a paradigm shift over the past several years, with major company after major company announcing fur-free policies, Elle Magazine no...

This week, we released footage from the most recent undercover investigation of five fur farms, this time in northern China, the source of most of the world’s fur. What we see is what we’ve come to expect with fur farm investigations: foxes, raccoon dogs and mink pacing their cages frantically, a repetitive behavior associated with mental decline, and filthy, feces-encrusted cages packed so close together that the risk of zoonotic disease spread was nearly palpable.

On the runways at the just-ended New York Fashion Week, there was pink tulle and tattered denim, black mesh and purple fringe, handmade kente cloth and 3D-printed metallic apparel. The Area brand used the opportunity to debut its faux fur gowns with imitation bones and puffer jackets printed to look...

This year for Thanksgiving, I’m in Texas at our expansive animal sanctuary, Black Beauty Ranch. Founded in 1979, Black Beauty Ranch is home to nearly 650 rescued animals. Some came from slaughterhouses or research laboratories or cases of extreme neglect. Others came from  roadside zoos or were...