WASHINGTON— In a long-awaited victory for sharks across the globe, the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act passed the U.S. Senate Thursday night by a vote of 83-11 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 7776). This critical measure prohibits the commercial trade of shark fins and...

WARNING: This page contains graphic content. What are wildlife killing contests? While contests like dogfighting and cockfighting have been condemned in the U.S. as barbaric and cruel, wildlife killing contests still happen regularly in almost all of the 42 U.S. states they are legal in. Killing...

WASHINGTON—Today, in a win for wildlife protection and conservation, a federal district court restored comprehensive Endangered Species Act regulatory protections to hundreds of species and the places they call home. The Services filed a voluntary remand motion in December 2021 in response to a...

WASHINGTON—In response to a lawsuit by conservation and animal protection groups, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed today to a deadline of November 2024 for deciding if giraffes warrant protection under the Endangered Species Act. The Center for Biological Diversity, Humane Society...

WASHINGTON—In response to a lawsuit by animal protection and conservation groups, today the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finally agreed to a June 2027 deadline to determine if leopards warrant increased protection under the Endangered Species Act. Increased safeguards would ensure closer scrutiny...

Flying back and forth over Cape Cod Bay, a survey plane spotted a half dozen of the world’s rarest creatures: North Atlantic right whales. Such sightings are good news. The species hovers near extinction—by one estimate, fewer than 360 remain. Each time researchers locate a whale, they take pictures...

Four conservation and animal protection groups sued the Trump administration today over its secretive new policy of approving elephant and lion trophy imports behind closed doors. The lawsuit targets a U.S. Fish and Wildlife decision, outlined in a March 1 memo, to shut the public and scientists out...

WASHINGTON—Today animal protection and conservation groups sent a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to respond to a legal petition to protect the common hippopotamus under the Endangered Species Act. The Fish and Wildlife Service was required to respond to the...

WASHINGTON—Animal protection and conservation groups sent notice today of their intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for missing its deadline to decide whether the common hippopotamus should be protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The deadline results from a 2022 petition...

The public display industry keeps many species of marine mammals captive in concrete tanks, especially whales and dolphins. The Humane Society of the United States believes that these animals are best seen in their natural coastal and ocean environments instead of being held captive simply to...

WASHINGTON—Today, 202 veterinarians sent a letter to the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary expressing support for the Save America’s Forgotten Equines Act, H.R. 3355/S. 2732, federal legislation to permanently prohibit the slaughter of...

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...

It was the shot heard around the world. An American trophy hunter shot and severely injured Cecil with an arrow after he was lured outside Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe with elephant carcass bait. About 10 hours later, the hunting party tracked him down. A second arrow ended Cecil’s life. The...

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

To thrive, horses require healthy amounts of food and water, adequate shelter and competent care. Horse owners must commit a great deal of time, energy, skill and money to ensuring their horses have everything they need to live a happy, healthy life of thirty years or more. Any time a horse changes...