The following statements of policy have been prepared by the professional staff of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and were approved by its Board of Directors on October 22, 2005. These statements express the values and positions of the HSUS on a wide range of issues involving human...
If a simple conversation could help spare the lives of thousands of animals, would you start it? That’s what Julie Knopp asks new animal advocates who want to change their communities. The answer, she says, is almost always an emphatic yes. Two years ago, Knopp said yes to her own opportunity—and...
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...
What are captive hunts? Captive hunting operations—also referred to as "shooting preserves," "canned hunts," or "game ranches"—are private trophy hunting facilities that offer their customers the opportunity to kill exotic and native animals trapped within enclosures. Some facilities have even...
Healthy oceans are vital to the animals who call them home and to the overall well-being of our planet. Here are a few things you can do to help. Stop trashing the ocean You probably wouldn't dream of dumping your trash in the ocean. But did you know that over-fertilizing your lawn could have an...
Want to see more butterflies, birds and other creatures in your yard? Bring in a few native trees and see what happens! Amazing and beautiful beings themselves, trees multi-task like crazy, providing many essentials of life—food, cover, shelter and nest sites—for creatures large and small. A tree to...
Today, the New York City Council, by a vote of 43 to 6 and with the support of Mayor Bill de Blasio, passed Int. No. 1233-A banning the use of wild animals in circuses in New York City. Sponsored and championed for 11 years by City Councilmember Rosie Mendez and supported by Health Committee Chair...
She embodied all the magic and the misery of modern parrots. Sofia popped off her perch, climbed up my arm, and leaned into my face. A Moluccan cockatoo, among the world’s most stunning birds, Sofia’s most distinctive feature is her huge round head—big, white, and inviting as a fluffy pillow. She...
If you had driven by the idyllic-looking suburban home near Albany, New York, you would have never known that six African exotic cats had, for more than a decade, been living in the dark basement. In the wild, servals, often referred to as reed cats, typically live near water. The largely solitary...
The white Bengal tiger paces back and forth, back and forth in a squat cage on the edge of the show ring. The cage is little longer than the tiger's body. The clock ticks down to the start of three scheduled performances at this fair in Pennsylvania. Potted palms and wooden masks decorate the ring...
In advance of the release of Disney/Pixar’s Finding Dory, animal protection and conservation groups today urged consumers not to buy fish like Dory, a blue tang, or other wild-caught fish as pets for home aquariums. While many freshwater fish can be bred in captivity, most saltwater fish offered for...
EDITOR'S NOTE: After this article appeared in the Jan/Feb issue of All Animals, the White House announced that Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke will leave his position at the end of the year. As a draw for tourists from around the world, the wolves in Denali National Park are worth millions of dollars...
Atiya Wells was 22 when a walk in a park changed her view of the world. Growing up, she thought of natural areas as places for family cookouts, “not really seeing the forest for the trees,” she says. But on a date with her then-boyfriend-now-husband, Kieron, she ventured beyond the picnic areas of a...
Fertility control: Essential to American wild burros and mustangs While wild burros are legally viewed in the same light as the American mustang, protected as a living symbol of the American West, the wild horses often seem to receive most of the public's attention. But burros have played a critical...
Robert Redford, Ed Harris, Elle Fanning, Ian Somerhalder and countless other equine enthusiasts joined The HSUS, HSLF, Return to Freedom and the ASPCA to draw attention to the threat posed to wild horses and burros. (See letter and list of fifty plus signatures from actors, singers, screenwriters...
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...
Danielle Tepper had always loved dolphins. When she went on vacation to Hawaii, she knew she had to see them firsthand. Tepper—now senior editor at the Humane Society of the United States—wanted to do it ethically, so she avoided captive dolphin attractions. Instead, she booked an excursion to swim...
When Sharon Young visited manatees in a warm spring off Florida’s Homosassa River in the late 1990s, she followed the guide’s instructions: Observe and don’t approach or get in the manatees’ way. Like most of us, Young—who now works as the HSUS marine wildlife protection field director—is fascinated...