Archive for 2019
BREAKING NEWS: NIH reneges on promise, will not send 44 research chimpanzees to sanctuary
By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson In a stunning about-face on its own promise, the National Institutes of Health today announced it will not send 44 chimpanzees, now held by the Alamogordo primate laboratory in New Mexico, to sanctuary. Just last October, NIH Director Francis . . .
ProTECT Act introduced in Congress to ban trophy hunting horror show
By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson President Trump has called trophy hunting a “horror show,” but on his watch, the Department of the Interior has dismantled regulations to protect wildlife and made it easier to import trophies of endangered and threatened animals. We have been . . .
BREAKING NEWS: U.S. House passes the PACT Act, cracking down on extreme animal cruelty
By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson The U.S. House has just voted overwhelmingly to crack down on some of the worst and most malicious acts of animal cruelty, including crushing, burning, drowning, suffocating and impaling live animals and sexually exploiting them. The watershed vote takes . . .
BREAKING NEWS: Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s ditch fur
In a landmark announcement that brings us closer than ever to the demise of fur, Macy’s Inc. — the parent company of the iconic American department stores Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s — says it will go fur-free by the end of 2020. This includes permanently closing . . .
Illegal government advisory panel touts ‘benefits’ of trophy hunting
By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson It may be hard to believe that a group of celebrity and professional trophy hunters, a director of the National Rifle Association, and the president of the world’s largest trophy hunting group are advising our government on wildlife conservation. . . .
Shocking HSI investigation reveals terror, suffering of foxes and mink on Finland’s fur farms
Every day, we are making groundbreaking advances in our fight against fur. Major fashion houses and retailers, from Gucci to Burlington, have gone fur-free and just last weekend, California became the first U.S. state to ban fur sales. But today, in a sad reminder of . . .
Snakes in India, dingoes in Australia, elephants in South Africa: HSI works globally to resolve human-wildlife conflicts
A 12-year-old student, on his way home from school in India, is bitten by a snake. He doesn’t realize what’s happened but collapses soon after and dies later that day at a hospital. Meanwhile, in Romania, conflicts with brown bears are increasing due to habitat . . .
Breaking news: California leads the nation by banning fur sales, bobcat trophy hunting
By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson Moments ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom made history by signing into law two landmark bills: one banning the sale and production of all new fur products in California, and another prohibiting the trophy hunting of bobcats in his state. California, . . .
Breaking news: European court upholds strong protections for wolves
Europe’s highest court has ruled that wolves in the European Union cannot be hunted, except in the rarest cases where member countries can prove there is no other option to end human-wolf conflict. The European Court of Justice ruling followed a challenge to a decision . . .
South Dakota will allow trophy hunters to kill 30 percent of its mountain lions
South Dakota has a notorious history of mismanaging its mountain lion population and playing into the hands of trophy hunters. In past years, the Mount Rushmore state has repeatedly increased its hunting quota for the animals, despite evidence that its lion population is on the . . .
Breaking news: Department of Justice defends federal cockfighting ban in Puerto Rico, Guam
By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson The federal government has filed a brief strongly defending a law that would expand the ban on cockfighting in the United States to Puerto Rico, Guam and other U.S. territories. Cockfighters seeking to overturn the ban have challenged it . . .
HSVMA links veterinary professionals to animal welfare needs and programs
The Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association, an affiliate of the Humane Society of the United States, is the nation’s only organization for veterinary professionals that focuses solely on animal welfare. The HSVMA contributes to the work we do every day, by bringing the important veterinary . . .
