What is captive hunting? Captive hunting operations—also referred to as "shooting preserves," "canned hunts" or "game ranches"—allow trophy hunters to shoot animals who are fenced in. The animals are often semi-tame—some have even been hand raised or bottle fed by humans. Operators often offer...

Black Beauty Ranch offers a fresh start to the domestic and exotic animals who roam its 1,400 acres. Whether they were rescued from roadside zoos, research laboratories or the exotic pet trade, some struggle to acclimate to life as wild animals. While providing the necessities that support their...

Longtime Trust friend Fred Ziegler became the first founding member of the Humane Stewardship Alliance, pledging to follow humane stewardship principles in managing his nearly 2900 acres in Tennessee. With three streams and 1.5 miles of frontage along one of North America’s most biologically rich...

For more than half a century, the Humane Society of the United States and the Humane Society Legislative Fund have campaigned for the safety and preservation of wild horses and burros on our western rangelands. There is room for debate on how best to manage wild horses and burros on public lands...

Somewhere toward the end of the last ice age, we formed an alliance with wolves: Maybe the ancestors of dogs got food scraps while our own ancestors gained protection from predators and other humans. These social species eventually collaborated on a vast scale, possibly even hunting woolly mammoths...

My husband and I were contemplating whether to hike the 3-mile trail in Utah’s Zion National Park that September day. I’d read that this trail was our best chance to spot bighorn sheep, but after a week of exploring the five national parks in the state, our bodies were tired—and it was already late...

We’re delighted to welcome the Unexpected Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey’s Pinelands region to the Humane Stewardship Alliance. With 767 acres of swamps, bogs, forests, fields and lakes, this new HSA member’s land supports an impressive array of woodland warblers and other songbirds, several owl...

Today, the New York state legislature passed a bill that ends inhumane wildlife killing contests, in which participants compete to kill the most, the heaviest and the smallest animals for cash and prizes. In 2018 and 2020, the Humane Society of the United States released undercover investigations...

The Humane Society of the United States and the Humane Society Legislative Fund are noted champions for the protection and well-being of the nation’s wild horses and burros, and we have strong policy and practical commitments to the humane management of their herds on America’s Western ranges. We...

What is immunocontraception? Immunocontraception is a birth control method that uses the body's immune response to prevent pregnancy. Why is the Humane Society of the United States sponsoring research in immunocontraception? The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) believes that...

A shocking undercover investigation recently conducted in Iowa by the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International found what can only be described as a massive garbage bin of the trophy hunting industry. A four-day event where thousands of animals – including at least 557...

One of the Humane Stewardship Alliance’s newest members is the 264-acre Taft Gardens & Nature Preserve in Ojai, California. A bit northwest of LA and Lake Casitas, Ojai is nestled in the foothills of the beautiful Topatopa Mountains. This hidden gem includes both exotic gardens and extensive natural...

Conflicts between humans and wildlife are increasing as human populations and urbanization continue to expand globally. A number of additional factors increase the likelihood of human-wildlife interactions and those include wild animals adapting to and flourishing in urban areas, rural areas...

Pop quiz: What’s the best way to help butterflies in your backyard? If you answered “Plant butterfly bush,” you’re in good company. A recent survey of my gardening friends elicited the same response from more than a few. It’s easy to understand why: Aside from its self-reinforcing moniker, the plant...

Many Marches ago, as I mindlessly contorted myself to pull a deep-rooted weed from the garden patch, my thoughts turned longingly to the smell of fresh basil that would eventually grace what I saw as a still-barren vegetable graveyard. This spot was not so lifeless as it appeared, I would soon learn...

In an effort to promote and advance humane, sustainable approaches to resolving conflicts between humans and wildlife, for years, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has collaborated with researchers, NGOs and academic institutions, as well as federal, state and local agencies to help...

Fertility control: Essential to American wild burros and mustangs While wild burros are legally viewed in the same light as the American mustang, protected as a living symbol of the American West, the wild horses often seem to receive most of the public's attention. But burros have played a critical...