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...
Undercover video footage from a recent visit by the Humane Society of the United States at Bill Meadows’ Tiger Safari in Tuttle, Oklahoma, led to a U.S. Department of Agriculture citation for causing animals trauma and stress. The inspection report was made public last week. In March 2021 an HSUS...
You don’t forget the images: the olive ridley sea turtle, a plastic straw lodged in his nose. The Rubenesque sea lion, neck cinched tight by a thick plastic packing strap. The Cuvier’s beaked whale, stomach split open to reveal more than 80 pounds of plastic waste—snack bags, rope, rice sacks...
TEXAS—In May 2021, the headline-making search for a missing pet tiger named India was underway in Houston. Once he was found by authorities, the nine-month-old, 134-pound cub was transported to his forever home at Black Beauty Ranch in Murchison, Texas. This month marks India’s one year anniversary...
MARYLAND—Today the Maryland legislature passed a bill that would ban the sale of parts and products made from imperiled wildlife species. The legislation is now headed to Gov. Larry Hogan for his signature. The bill (HB 52/SB 381) prohibits the trade in Maryland of products made from 15 at-risk...
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...
An approximately 6-month-old, 60-pound tiger named Elsa is settling into her new home at Black Beauty Ranch in Murchison, Texas. Elsa was someone’s “pet” and wearing a harness when she was rescued in freezing temperatures by Bexar County authorities. They placed her at a local wildlife...
Danielle Tepper had always loved dolphins. When she went on vacation to Hawaii, she knew she had to see them firsthand. Tepper—now a 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...
While Joseph Maldonado-Passage (“Joe Exotic”), Kevin “Doc” Antle and others featured in the Netflix series “Tiger King” are now household names, the Humane Society of the United States has been working for years to stop the horrific treatment of animals at these—and many other similarly cruel...