Advancing the cause through many channels, including the courts
Journalist Marc Gunther’s detailed profile of The HSUS and me in the current issue of the Chronicle of Philanthropy highlights our aggressive yet mainstream approach to driving transformational change for animals over the last decade. The HSUS and its affiliates have fortified the legal framework . . .
Daniel in the lying den
In March, the HSUS Animal Rescue Team freed about 300 animals from the horrors of an Arkansas puppy mill, which confined living dogs among their dead and decomposing kin. Inside a dilapidated shed filled with trash and used equipment, our team found Daniel, a little . . .
If you dig tortoises, this program is for you
A year ago, I would not have imagined I’d spend this Thanksgiving holiday with a shovel in hand, covered in powdery dirt, and digging 10 feet deep into the ground to find 15- to 30-pound gopher tortoises in central Florida. It’s a bit of a . . .
Happy Thanksgiving to all and happy birthday to The HSUS
Yesterday was the 62nd anniversary of The HSUS’s incorporation. The organization, founded in 1954, has changed the political, cultural, and economic landscape for animals in the United States and abroad. We’ve got so much more work to do, but this holiday is a good time . . .
Wolf-killing plans stir in lame-duck session of Congress
Nobody eats wolves. If you’re a meat eater, it’s one thing to hunt deer or some other wild animals and consume them. It’s another matter to go on a head-hunting exercise, or just kill for the thrill of it. In the lame-duck session of Congress, . . .
Silver State comes in last place on exotic pet ownership
Earlier this month, a woman on the run from authorities in Texas fled to Nevada with her collection of tigers, monkeys, a fox, and a skunk — and her 14-year-old daughter who was living under the same roof as the wild animals. A California couple, . . .
Delisting a disaster for grizzlies
The Obama Administration has done a lot of things right, but it’s not been good to grizzly bears. It’s worked to delist these big bruins from the Endangered Species Act, even though the time is not ripe to do so. Special interest groups – including . . .
Federal appeals court tosses challenge to landmark California farm animal protection law
On the heels of the resounding affirmation of Question 3 by voters in Massachusetts – which stops not just extreme confinement of farm animals but also the sale of animal products from factory farms that employ those methods – the nation’s biggest federal appellate court . . .
Puppy mill cruelty rears its head in Iowa
A photo this week of George W. and Laura Bush’s new puppy, adopted from the SPCA of Texas, reminds us that our previous Republican president and his wife are avowed animal lovers. Their compassion also reminds us that so many tens of millions of us . . .
Obama should put a ribbon on anti-soring rule before Inauguration Day
The incoming Trump team, along with leaders from the Republican majorities in the House and Senate, have signaled to the Obama team that they want to see new rulemaking actions frozen. This is a bit of a ritual during any transfer of partisan power in . . .
Some important, diverse international
gains for us
Humane Society International, which works around the world on issues ranging from fighting wildlife trafficking to ending the dog meat trade and abuse of farm animals, is celebrating a number of victories in recent days: Vietnam destroys two tons of ivory and rhino horn Vietnam . . .
Battling for bobcats in Illinois and throughout the nation
This week, Illinois reopened its first bobcat hunt in more than 40 years. In the days to come, many of these small but beautiful creatures – only slightly larger than the average housecat – will be chased down by packs of dogs, shot with guns . . .
