A series of advances for animals—from rescuing animals in crisis to bullhook bans to protecting whales around the world

Elephants are one of the many animals our victories this week will help -- and we couldn't do any of it without your continued support and action on behalf of animals. Photo by iStockphoto

I’ve said before that there’s no group like The HSUS—operating on a global scale, advocating for all animals, using every reasonable avenue and approach, and doing it with remarkable impact and force. Yesterday alone provides a great example, with progress on multiple fronts.

• I wrote in yesterday’s blog about an announcement from the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—the latest advance in a series of government actions, driven by the work of The HSUS, that have ended the use of chimps in invasive experiments and prompted their transfer to sanctuaries. NIH announced specific plans for the transfer of government-owned animals, starting with chimps housed at a military installation in New Mexico. The chimps now held at this and a variety of other sites will immediately start making their way to Chimp Haven in Louisiana. We were at the forefront of the actions that produced this result, and we’ll stay the course until all of the chimps involved are safe and in sanctuary.
• Yesterday, we conducted a raid on a large-scale cruelty case in Appalachia—in one of the southernmost counties in Ohio. With local law enforcement officials, including the dog wardens office, we partnered to rescue nearly 70 dogs. We’re treating them now at an emergency shelter.
• Also yesterday, the National Marine Fisheries Service released a rule requiring nations selling seafood to the U.S. to comply with higher standards for protecting whales, dolphins, and other marine mammals from being killed in commercial fisheries. Specifically, these importing nations will be required to meet standards equal to what is required of U.S. fishermen under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act. We’re optimistic about the effects this rule could have on the survival of imperiled marine life.
• Finally, the California State Senate gave final approval to a bill to ban the use of bullhooks in the handling of captive elephants. That bill now goes to the governor, Jerry Brown, and if he signs it, California will become the second state to ban these cruel implements used to strike and cause harm to elephants.

This striking series of gains occurred just yesterday. Earlier in the week, we filed a petition against 17 clothing retailers that we caught selling real fur as faux. And I reported on a separate intervention we did with local law enforcement agencies to rescue 120 animals from a horrid circumstance in Lincoln County, Montana.

The work of our organization never ends, but it’s heartening to see gains, made in so many different places on a wide range of issues. We succeed with your support, and with your continuing engagement. We’re grateful to you, we depend on your generosity, and we hope you know that The HSUS and its affiliates are working full-tilt to deliver on the promise of an early HSUS slogan, “working in every field of humane work, everywhere.”

Please consider making a donation to help us continue to protect animals everywhere.