Wildlife/Marine Mammals
Utah allegedly didn’t disclose mink fur farm worker’s death due to COVID. Sweden suspends mink farming
One more nation, Sweden, announced today that it will suspend all mink fur farming this year to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and its mutations. Sweden’s announcement contrasted starkly with a media report in the United States this week, based on an open records . . .
HSUS, allies sue Trump administration for delisting wolves
In October last year, the Trump administration stripped federal protections for wolves, giving state managers in the lower 48 states the ability to greenlight trophy hunting and trapping seasons on these animals. Today, we and our allies sued the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over . . .
Gorillas at zoo in San Diego test positive for coronavirus
Gorillas at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park have tested positive for the coronavirus in the first known cases of its transmission to non-human primates. The animals are believed to have contracted the virus from an asymptomatic zookeeper. This is distressing news on many levels. . . .
House members reintroduce bill to ban cub petting, keeping big cats as pets
A bill that would prohibit public contact with big cats like tigers, lions and leopards and ban the possession of these animals as pets was swiftly reintroduced in the U.S. House today, suggesting that the measure is poised for early action in Congress. The Big . . .
In its final days, Trump administration launches lame-duck attack on migratory birds
The Trump administration, in its final days, is attempting to undo crucial, century-old protections for migratory birds as a handout to the construction and oil and gas industries. A new rule published this week by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would exempt industries from . . .
Greyhound racing has ended in Florida. 49 states say animal torture is a felony. In 2021, we will continue to win more battles for animals on the state and local levels
On Dec. 31, Florida’s greyhound racetracks closed for good as a result of a ballot measure we helped pass with our partner groups in 2018. That win brought down what was once the stronghold of this “sport” and effectively sounded the death knell for greyhound . . .
As pandemic continues and spotlight shines on animal-human transmission, House members reintroduce bill to end U.S. trade in wild animals for food and other products
Update (1/25/2021): A Senate version of the Preventing Future Pandemics Act was introduced today by Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Cory Booker, D-N.J. The House version, introduced earlier this month, now has 50 cosponsors. With the coronavirus pandemic still raging, the urgency around preventing similar . . .
Fostering human-wildlife coexistence, species by species and place by place, worldwide
Compassionate coexistence. It’s such a simple and worthy goal, yet it’s one of the areas in which the human aspiration to do right by wildlife still falls well short of what animals deserve. That’s why building global capacity and commitment for humane and effective approaches . . .
Proposed U.S. rule on critically endangered right whales is too weak to bring real change
The National Marine Fisheries Service today released a proposed rule intended to reduce the risk of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales getting entangled in heavy ropes used in fishing gear such as that used for catching lobsters and crabs. Unfortunately, this long-anticipated rule falls . . .
In 2020, more corporations, governments moved to end cosmetics testing on animals
Hundreds of beauty companies around the globe—including our market leading partners Unilever, L’Oréal, Procter & Gamble, Avon, Lush and a growing number of cosmetic ingredient suppliers—now support an end to cosmetics animal testing. Forty countries have passed laws to ban or limit such tests, as . . .
In 2020, we brought food, essential services to hundreds of thousands of animals and people affected globally by the pandemic
The global pandemic posed immense challenges to the animal protection community this year. Around the world, people—and the animals who depend on them—reeled from the impact of illness, death, closures, job losses and difficulty in accessing the most basic services. We stepped in to try . . .
Mink living in the wild near Utah fur farm tests positive for coronavirus, increasing urgency to end fur farming
A mink living in the wild near an infected Utah fur farm has tested positive for the coronavirus, providing yet another pressing reason why the United States needs to end all mink fur farming without further delay. While it is not clear if the infected . . .
