Archive for January, 2015
The Fur, Feathers, and Scales of Justice: Scoring the Highs and Lows of Attorneys General on Animal Protection
Last week, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring burnished his pro-animal record when he established an Animal Law unit in an attorney general’s office. The unit will serve as a resource for local law enforcement and state agencies on animal fighting and animal cruelty prosecutions, providing . . .
Exposing ‘Kill Buyers’ Who Feed the Horse Slaughter Pipeline
Two high profile cases this month involving “kill buyers,” who buy horses at auction to send them to slaughter, have brought the bloody, predatory business of horse slaughter out into the light of day. They’ve also shown the kill buyer for what he truly is . . .
GoDaddy Nixes Super Bowl Spot After Advocates Tell Company to GoSendYourAdtotheMoon
On Tuesday, GoDaddy pulled an ad scheduled for Super Bowl Sunday broadcast after expressing surprise that the spot featuring an online puppy seller sparked such an immediate backlash in social media. The ad is just the latest false note on animal issues from GoDaddy, whose . . .
Finding Balance in the Wolf Wars
Today, The HSUS and 21 other organizations – from the Detroit Zoo to the Center for Biological Diversity and the Wisconsin Federated Humane Societies to the Sault Sainte Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians – petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to downlist wolves from . . .
The Times Continues Focus on Factory Farm Cruelty, While Journal Makes Light of Routine Abuses
Today’s editorial pages at the nation’s biggest newspapers are a tale of two starkly different worldviews. One, The New York Times, slams the hideous government-financed cruelties documented at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in Nebraska. The other, The Wall Street Journal, slams California voters . . .
Top Guns at National Sheriffs’ Association and FBI Say No to Animal Cruelty
Yesterday, it was my great privilege to attend the National Sheriffs’ Association conference in Washington, D.C. and to present an HSUS Humane Law Enforcement Award to Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey in front of sheriffs throughout the nation. It was Director Comey who in . . .
HSUS Undercover Investigations at Roadside Zoos in Virginia, Oklahoma Reveal Severe Abuse
Today, The HSUS released results of its investigations into two shoddy roadside zoos – the Natural Bridge Zoo in Natural Bridge, Virginia, and Tiger Safari in Tuttle, Oklahoma, both of which breed tigers for two-bit photo shoots with paying customers. The cruelty, neglect, and suffering . . .
The U.S. Meat Animal Research Center and the Agro-Industrial Complex
The front page of yesterday’s New York Times revealed a house of horrors at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, situated on the plains of western Nebraska. In a superb but deeply disturbing piece of investigative, long-form journalism, Times reporter Michael Moss told the story . . .
State of the Animal Union
President Obama’s second term in office has been a fruitful one for animals, but a number of key reforms await final approval and deep problems remain when it comes to animal welfare. Today’s front page news story in the New York Times concerning a house of . . .
Creating a Stronger Force for Animal Protection
Yesterday, I took some supporters on a tour of the remarkable Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch outside of Dallas, and it reminded me that it’s been 10 years since the facility became part of our organizational family because of a corporate combination between The Humane . . .
States Make Strides in Passing Animal Protection Laws
Each year, as legislative sessions get under way across the country, The HSUS issues a report card concerning animal protection laws in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. In it, we examine how the states are performing on policies related to . . .
Moby: Why Does My Heart Feel So Good About Animals?
I sat down for a discussion with musician and animal advocate Moby at our HSUS Los Angeles office last week, during my tour of California to celebrate and encourage the robust implementation of two groundbreaking farm animal protection laws – Prop 2 and AB 1437. . . .
