By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson Thousands of tigers, lions, leopards and other big cats are kept in private homes and poorly run exhibits across the United States. These wild and dangerous animals are forced to spend their lives in inhumane conditions, locked up in small cages that are as far from...
A bill that would ban the sale of dogs from large-scale commercial breeders at pet stores is making its way through the Pennsylvania state senate. If it passes, Pennsylvania would become the third state in under two years to end pet store sales of dogs from puppy mills -- facilities that breed dogs...
A bill that would prohibit public contact with big cats like tigers, lions and leopards and ban keeping these animals as pets has been reintroduced in the U.S. Senate. The Big Cat Public Safety Act, S. 1210, would end the suffering of animals like Elsa, a tiger cub kept as a “pet” and found outdoors...
By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson A bipartisan group of U.S. Representatives today introduced a bill to crack down on puppy mill cruelty by closing loopholes in the law that allow problem breeders with severe and multiple Animal Welfare Act violations to continue doing business as usual. The Welfare...
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced a final rule to stop a strange, persistent and deeply disturbing cruelty that has survived more than a half century’s legislative attempts to suppress it. In a huge win, the new rule bans the use on Tennessee walking and racking horses of devices and substances integral to soring, including tall, high-heel-like horseshoes (known as “stacks”) and chains that bang against a horse’s chemically sored ankles, all used to cause excruciating pain. The rule also assigns sole responsibility to the agency’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to screen, train and authorize inspectors, and creates an inspection system that relies on veterinarians, veterinary technicians or others employed by government agencies to enforce relevant laws and regulations. We believe that the rule puts the government on a much stronger footing to finally eliminate soring.
The U.S. Department of Justice just announced that Inotiv will pay more than $35 million, including an $11 million fine for violating the Animal Welfare Act, the largest in the Act’s history, because of violations that occurred at a facility that bred dogs for use in animal testing in Cumberland, Virginia. Inotiv is the parent company of Envigo RMS, which owned the breeding facility. As a result of these violations and a federal investigation, during 2022, our team removed more than 4,000 beagles in a monumental effort.
A major win for animals in Italy caps off a year of remarkable progress toward a fur-free future. Today, the Italian Senate Budget Committee approved an amendment that will shutter the country’s 10 remaining fur farms within six months and enact a permanent ban on fur farming throughout Italy. This...
Arizona today banned all wildlife killing contests for coyotes, bobcats, foxes and other animals, joining a growing number of states taking action to stop these gruesome events in which participants vie for cash and prizes for killing the most or heaviest animals within a specific time period. The...
Mink on two fur farms in Utah have tested positive for the coronavirus. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported today that “unusually large” numbers of animals had died at the two farms, which also reported positive cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, in people who had contact...
The Dutch parliament has voted to permanently shut down an estimated 128 mink fur farms in the wake of coronavirus outbreaks on 17 of these farms since April. If approved by the Dutch government, the decision would bring a welcome end to the cruel business of fur farming in the country—a business...
The bizarre saga of a former Oklahoma roadside zoo owner, whose menagerie of hundreds of dangerous exotic animals was exposed in a 2011 HSUS undercover investigation, reached a dramatic conclusion yesterday when a federal jury found him guilty on charges that included killing five tigers and hiring...
Breaking news: Mink on Wisconsin fur farm test positive for coronavirus, but U.S. inaction continues
Mink have tested positive for the coronavirus on a fur farm in Wisconsin, the largest fur producing U.S. state. The news broke today even as media reports confirmed thousands of mink have died of the disease on fur farms in Utah, the first state to report such infections on mink farms in August. The...
Nordstrom, one of the country’s largest luxury fashion retailers, will stop selling products made with fur and exotic animal skins at all of its U.S. locations by the end of next year. Nordstrom joins a growing number of retailers like Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s that have announced fur-free policies...
Saks Fifth Avenue, a North American retailer synonymous with luxury fashion, announced today that it will end sales of all fur products in its stores by the end of 2022. Saks follows in the footsteps of other major retailers, including Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom, all of which have adopted...