Black Beauty Ranch’s most famous unofficial resident lurks out of sight in the mud at the bottom of a horse pasture pond. He weighs perhaps 150 pounds, with a spiked shell like a plated dinosaur’s and a massive jaw. To catch food, he lies in wait, opening his mouth wide to reveal a worm-like...

Goblin might not have lasted much longer at Tim’s Reptiles and Exotics in Pulaski County, Kentucky. The sulcata tortoise was one of about 150 animals rescued in September from nightmarish conditions at the pet store when local police arrested the store operator on 19 counts of animal cruelty...

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...

One of the Humane Stewardship Alliance’s newest members—Nirvana Ridge Wildlife Refuge—is a 170-acre property in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Here, Karen Lamb, Refuge founder and a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, provides safe habitat for wildlife and essential care for orphaned, sick...

WARNING: This page contains graphic content. In the spring of 2020, an HSUS investigator noticed something unusual: Just as some annual in-person killing contests for coyotes, foxes, bobcats and other animals were being canceled because of COVID-19, groups devoted to online killing contests were...

Colorado’s mountain lions, bobcats and lynx are under threat from trophy hunting and need protection now.

The term “roadkill” was coined in the 1940s, according to Merriam-Webster, entering the lexicon alongside “DDT” and other harbingers of a dystopian technological age that runs roughshod over the natural world. In the 1990s, the word became a cheeky insult when a rival called then-House Speaker Newt...

A raccoon in the chimney, a groundhog under the shed, a skunk under the back porch … when confronted with wildlife living up-close in their own homes or backyards, well-meaning but harried homeowners often resort to what they see as the most humane solution—live-trapping the animal and then setting...

Walk into a roadside restaurant after a long day on the highway, and you can practically taste your meal before sitting down. The familiar smells of fresh-baked pie and salty fries need little introduction en route to your belly. That sensory experience is similar for wildlife coming upon lush...

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...

It starts out mildly enough: Heading to work on the subway, you realize you forgot your wallet. No big deal, you think. I’ll borrow money to get home. Soon the lights go out and the train hurtles toward the sky, speeding through the atmosphere. Time passes—it’s hard to tell how long. The subway is...

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...

Turtles may seem like low-maintenance pets, but those about to rush out and bring one home should consider that they require years (sometimes decades) of specialized care. Turtles can also transmit disease. Like all wildlife, these reptiles belong in their natural habitats. Adopt, don't shop Small...

We zigzag from tree to tree, seeking refuge under the leaf umbrellas. Drizzle turns to deluge as we dash beneath a tall canopy to plot our escape. The sky booms. My dad takes my hand, and I look up to see if he shares my sense of foreboding. But he’s smiling at me, his eyes twinkling. He says...

WASHINGTON - The Humane Society of the United States released today the results of a disturbing undercover investigation into two wildlife killing contests in Frederick County and in Waldorf, Maryland. Investigators documented the judging portions of the events, with participants lining up rows of...

The suspect creeping up near my front fence was a tough character—broad-leafed and thick-stemmed and threatening to invade my property and swallow it whole if I didn’t act fast. There was no hesitation that summer morning as I headed to work: Off with his head! It was a decision made all too easy by...

Wherever you are in the U.S., a coyote may be taking up residence less than a mile away. If you live in the city, you’re more likely than your rural cousins to encounter raccoons. And regardless of geography, you probably share your home with dozens of species of insects and spiders. These facts...

Named for their stubby tails, bobcats are so elusive that most people would be lucky to catch a glimpse of one in their lifetime. The bobcat is 10 times smaller than a cougar but two times larger than a housecat, and often confused with both. Because of their smaller size, solitary nature and...