Wildlife/Marine Mammals
Breaking news: Mink on Wisconsin fur farm test positive for coronavirus, but U.S. inaction continues
Mink have tested positive for the coronavirus on a fur farm in Wisconsin, the largest fur producing U.S. state. The news broke today even as media reports confirmed thousands of mink have died of the disease on fur farms in Utah, the first state to . . .
Breaking news: Israel prepares to ban the fur trade; first country to do so
Israel yesterday announced it intends to ban the fur trade. If successful, it would be the first nation to end the buying and selling of a cruel commodity that has fallen out of favor in the fashion industry and with consumers. Israel’s ban would make . . .
Breaking news: New Jersey proposes plan to end black bear trophy hunting
New Jersey’s governor wants no more black bear trophy hunts in the state on his watch. The New Jersey Fish and Game Council today proposed an amendment to the state’s 2021 bear management plan that would effectively suspend the annual black bear trophy hunt after . . .
Bills introduced in Congress to end U.S. trade in live wild animals for food
The coronavirus pandemic has revealed the terrible consequences of keeping live wild animals in cruel, unhealthy and unsuitable confinement in wildlife markets that slaughter and sell them for food. Bills introduced in Congress this week would position the United States as a global leader in . . .
Breaking news: Nordstrom to stop selling products made with fur and exotic animal skins
Nordstrom, one of the country’s largest luxury fashion retailers, will stop selling products made with fur and exotic animal skins at all of its U.S. locations by the end of next year. Nordstrom joins a growing number of retailers like Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s that have . . .
China urged to protect rhinos by ending trophy imports
In 2016, China made a historic decision to ban the trade in ivory and other elephant body parts, claiming a spot on the frontlines of the global war to end the trafficking of threatened species. But China is still the world’s second largest importer (after . . .
200-plus wild animals removed from notorious Indiana roadside zoo
An Indiana roadside zoo whose owner’s federal license was revoked for numerous violations of the Animal Welfare Act, including beating a leopard to death with a baseball bat and swinging monkeys around by their tails, has closed its doors. The animals are being moved to . . .
A U.S. Senator attacks states’ efforts to end ivory trafficking, but progress continues on many fronts
Since 2017, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan has introduced a bill that would undermine America’s war on ivory trafficking by hindering the ability of states to create laws fighting this illegal trade. The full Senate did not consider the bill the last time, and more Americans . . .
Breaking news: Washington becomes seventh U.S. state to outlaw wildlife killing contests
Washington has just outlawed wildlife killing contests—the seventh state to do so in the past six years. The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission voted 7-2 this morning to pass a rule ending these gruesome spectacles where participants kill large numbers of wild animals simply for . . .
California leads the charge to protect mountain lions but other states backslide
California, which took the pioneering move of banning mountain lion trophy hunting three decades ago, is still standing strong for these iconic animals. This week, California lawmakers passed groundbreaking legislation to ban the use of certain rodenticides that have been held responsible for the illness . . .
USFWS director says federal protections for wolves will be removed by end of year
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the federal agency tasked with protecting American wildlife, is getting closer to allowing trophy hunters and cattle ranchers to open season on the gray wolf, one of our nation’s most iconic—as well as most persecuted—animals. USFWS director Aurelia Skipwith . . .
HSUS, other groups sue feds for opening Alaska’s wildlife to cruel trophy hunting methods
In June, the federal government finalized a rule to appease trophy hunters by allowing some of the cruelest of killing methods on 20 million acres of Alaska’s national preserves. Today, the Humane Society of the United States, along with a coalition of conservation and animal . . .
