Farm Animals
USDA proposes disastrous plan to increase kill speeds at pig slaughterhouses
Slaughterhouses in the United States are allowed to kill more than 1,000 pigs per hour under current U.S. Department of Agriculture rules. Inside these facilities, employees handling the animals work under immense stress at breakneck speeds, performing repetitive motions in cold, slippery conditions, using dangerous . . .
Breaking news: USDA abandons rule on higher welfare standards for animals raised under organics label
Despite strong public support for the measure, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has killed a rule that established clear and meaningful protections and higher animal welfare standards for farm animals raised under the organics label. The USDA delayed implementation of the rule three times before . . .
California ballot measure would set a new precedent for farm animal welfare across the globe
In just six weeks, The HSUS and a coalition of leading farm animal protection organizations will deliver the signatures needed to launch a California ballot measure that The Guardian described as “History in the making.” That’s fitting, because the ballot and referendum process is a . . .
HSUS, HSI work with corporations, schools, and hospitals to add delicious plant-based options to menus
Whether through our successful campaigns to end the worst factory farming practices by law, or our corporate partnerships to eliminate the use of eggs and meat from caged animals, The HSUS and Humane Society International have together been a force in moving the needle for . . .
Bills in Iowa would force grocery stores to sell eggs from caged hens
The HSUS works year-round to secure the passage of animal protection bills in state legislatures, and to block bad ones advanced by lobbyists for Big Ag. Some lawmakers in Iowa have recently introduced two retrograde bills that seek to reverse the good work done by . . .
Breaking news: HSUS sues USDA for brazen maneuver to hurt farmers and nix federal farm animal welfare rule
Today, The HSUS is suing the U.S. Department of Agriculture for working to scuttle the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices Rule – one of the most important rules to ever come out of a federal agency, affecting the well-being of tens of millions of animals . . .
Smithfield makes more progress on gestation-crate-free pledge
Today, the world’s largest pig producer, Smithfield Foods, announced more progress in its movement away from confining mother pigs in tiny gestation crates, further acknowledging that animals built to move ought to be allowed to move. As a matter of historical import, our quest to . . .
California, again, ranks as the nation’s most humane state, while the Dakotas, Mississippi at bottom of list
According to our Humane State rankings for 2017, California remains the most humane state in the nation, comfortably ahead of number-two finisher Oregon and then Massachusetts, which has held the third position since 2016 when it approved a sweeping measure to restrict factory farming and . . .
Ohio’s long-awaited reforms for veal calves, dairy cows kick in
Today, we are celebrating the implementation of some major reforms for farm animals that went into effect yesterday in Ohio – a ban on keeping veal calves in crates so small that the animals cannot even turn around, and a ban on cutting off cows’ . . .
Federal action for animals mixed in 2017, as additional threats and opportunities loom
The HSUS pursues multi-channel reform efforts, and in 2017 we made extraordinary progress by pushing forward on a hundred fronts – in the federal courts, in protecting wolves, farm animals, and other creatures at risk of suffering or under threat; in legislatures throughout the world . . .
Circus wins, anti-fur policies lead list of top gains for animals in 2017
This was a year of extraordinary gains on a wide set of issues, showing the power and reach of The HSUS, Humane Society International, and our affiliates. But along with it came some terrible setbacks at the federal level – with Congress unwinding federal rules . . .
Big broiler reforms, anti-confinement policies across the world top 2017 farm animal victories
In 2017, The HSUS continued its campaign to bring about major transformational change in the food and agriculture sector, specifically by rolling out its Nine Billion Lives campaign to take out so much of the pain and misery from the conventional means of raising and . . .
