This month marks two years since Russia invaded Ukraine. Since then, the war has displaced more than 11 million people, including 5 million inside the country. Human and animal lives and safety are so often inextricably intertwined; some families refuse to evacuate without their cherished pets, who provide love, comfort and a sense of normality to their lives. And many have faced hardship in providing for themselves and their companion animals as their lives were suddenly upended.
The U.S. House has just passed a bill to prohibit public contact with big cats like tigers, lions and leopards as well as ban the possession of these animals as pets. The measure, which now awaits action in the Senate, has the potential to stop the endless cycle of breeding tiger cubs by those who...
The United Nations’ Committee on the Rights of the Child has formally recognized the damage that witnessing violence, including violence to animals, can cause to children. The U.N. declared that children have a right to be protected from exposure to that violence. This is an important moment for our...
Our goal in supporting passage of the Better Collaboration, Accountability, and Regulatory Enforcement (CARE) for Animals Act is to strengthen multi-agency collaboration in enforcement of the federal Animal Welfare Act. Recent footage from an investigation at a Long Island, New York captive wildlife...
President Trump has just signed into law the omnibus appropriations package with major victories for animals, including horses and burros, companion animals, marine mammals and animals in zoos and research facilities. The package, comprised of two bills (H.R. 1865 and H.R. 1158) funding all federal...
Responsibility for animals’ welfare rests with us all, including the federal government. Our work spans a range of federal agencies, all of which can do something to support the prevention of animal cruelty and suffering. A whole-of-government approach is consistent with the growth of our movement...
Last fall, our Animal Rescue Team worked with authorities in Virginia to help remove 110 cats from a U.S. Department of Agriculture-licensed dog and cat dealer as part of an alleged cruelty situation. Since March 2023 alone, the USDA had documented more than 50 Animal Welfare Act violations at the facility, including serious ones such as failure to provide proper veterinary care, the housing of incompatible cats together and keeping animals in small enclosures that did not meet the minimum requirements set by the Animal Welfare Act. The breeder had been in our 2023 Horrible Hundred report (an annual list of problem breeders in the U.S.) for inadequate veterinary care and visibly ailing animals. The Virginia Attorney General’s office served a warrant, and we assisted in helping them seize the animals remaining at the breeder.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has suspended the license of the roadside zoo where self-styled “Tiger King” Joe Exotic bred, held captive and mistreated hundreds of tigers and other wild animals for two decades. Soon after news of the suspension—which is for a period of 21 days—leaked out, Jeff...
Update: The USDA has announced the first confirmed case of coronavirus infection in a dog (a German shepherd) in New York state. Officials said one of the dog’s owners tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, and another showed symptoms prior to the dog showing signs of...
It’s official: a long-fought-for piece of legislation in Rhode Island to protect hens abused for eggs just became law. The measure phases out the extreme confinement of egg-laying hens and mandates that the birds be housed in cage-free facilities. Rhode Island joins six other states that have passed...
One of the ways we make a difference for animals is by working on the state and local levels to secure the passage of laws that prevent cruel and inhumane practices that threaten animals—from puppies born in massive puppy mills to coyotes and foxes at risk of coming into the scope of a trophy hunter...
COVID-19 has made the past year and a half challenging, difficult and painful for so many individuals and institutions across the world. The animal sheltering and rescue community is no exception. Last summer, as the pandemic worsened across the U.S., shelters responded by growing programs to keep...
It’s a gruesome topic that no one really likes to talk about but last week the methods for “depopulating”—killing—hundreds of thousands of pigs and chickens during a natural or manmade disaster, such as a pandemic like COVID-19, were front and center at a meeting of the American Veterinary Medical...