Greyhound racing is on the wane—it's now illegal in more than 42 states. We can eliminate greyhound racing through education, compassion and action. Greyhounds are at a disadvantage even before they are born. Thousands are bred annually (many more than are needed to race) in an attempt to create the...
On a recent cold and rainy Friday, Victoria, a striking 11-year-old German Shepherd, sat in a wagon, draped in a purple blanket, outside the steps of the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Victoria’s story was a telling one: she was a puppy mill breeding dog who spent nearly a...
Greyhound racing is a bleak and sordid enterprise for the animals. The dogs are confined 20-23 hours a day in stacked, warehouse-style metal cages barely large enough for them to turn around in, and death rates on the tracks are high. In Florida alone, one dog, on an average, dies every three days...
Tomorrow, citizens in California and Florida will vote on critical animal protection measures with profound and lasting implications for humane work. In California, a virtual army of Humane Society of the United States staff members and volunteers are making the case for a ballot measure that would...
California has once again topped our 2018 Humane State rankings list, after overwhelmingly passing the strongest farm animal protection law in the world, and by enacting a law that bans the sale of cosmetics tested on animals -- the first U.S. state to do so. Oregon, which has some of the strongest...
On Dec. 31, Florida's greyhound racetracks closed for good as a result of a ballot measure we helped pass with our partner groups in 2018. That win brought down what was once the stronghold of this "sport" and effectively sounded the death knell for greyhound racing in the United States. The work...
With a historic law we helped pass that bans greyhound racing in Florida about to take effect at the beginning of 2021, the last three remaining racetracks in the state have announced the dates for their final races in December. It would not be a stretch to say that once the dogs cross the finish...
For more than a decade, our Animal Protection Litigation team, a talented group of attorneys who use the law to advance the cause of animal protection, has been one of our most effective divisions. Each year, they file lawsuits and legal petitions to support our advocacy campaigns, draft numerous...
In 2019, we made big strides for companion animals in puppy mills, dog meat trade, research and more
Each year, our campaigns work on a multitude of issues related to improving the lives of companion animals, including dogs, cats and horses. In 2019, we made incredible gains on this front, culminating with the signing of the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act into law in November. The...
With less than three months to go until Election Day, the Protect Dogs-Yes on 13 campaign in Florida is at full throttle, mobilizing public support to phase out greyhound racing in what amounts to the industry’s last redoubt. Attorneys for the state are fighting off “Hail Mary” litigation brought by...
At the Humane Society of the United States, we take on the toughest fights for all animals, and we do our best to live up to an early mission statement of our founders: Every field of humane work – everywhere. From working with state and federal lawmakers to ensure maximum protections for animals...
Last week, Ohioans showed up at the polls to defend a core tenet of democracy that is vitally important to the animal protection movement: the ballot measure. On Issue 1—the proposal to raise the threshold for amending the Constitution of the State of Ohio from 50% to a 60% supermajority—the no vote...