Missouri proposes opening its small black bear population to trophy hunters
Missouri has proposed a hunting season on its small and still-recovering population of black bears, who were once nearly wiped out because of overhunting and logging, which decimated their habitat. The Missouri Department of Conservation estimates that there are now approximately 540 to 840 bears . . .
As slaughterhouses continue to spread coronavirus, plant-based foods are a safe, humane alternative
This week, the Washington Post and New York Times reported rampant coronavirus spread at meatpacking plants, and efforts by large meat producers to obscure the transmission rates. “As dozens of plants that closed because of outbreaks begin reopening, meat companies’ reluctance to disclose detailed case . . .
Missouri moves to shut down Horrible Hundred puppy mill for keeping dogs in filthy conditions
Just days after the release of our annual Horrible Hundred report, Missouri’s attorney general has sued to shut down one of the puppy mills named in it. The owners of Little Bit Ranch in Unionville, Missouri, failed to provide adequate veterinary care for their dogs . . .
Breaking news: U.S. will allow cruel trophy hunting practices to kill hibernating bears and wolf pups on Alaska’s federal lands
The Trump administration has just delivered a one-two punch to Alaska’s wildlife: it has announced that it will release a final National Park Service rule allowing some of the cruelest practices for killing black bears, wolves and other wildlife on national preserve lands in Alaska; . . .
Breaking news: Chinese provinces announce plans to buy out wildlife breeders, end trade in wild animals for food
Four Chinese provinces will offer farmers a government buy-out or other financial help to stop breeding wild animals like civets and cobras for food. This move is part of a continuing crackdown by China and its individual provinces and cities on the nation’s rampant wildlife . . .
Roadside zoos lure in visitors amidst the pandemic, at great risk to animals and people
Last week, the Oklahoma roadside zoo where Joe Exotic bred tiger cubs, ripped them from their mothers as soon as they were born, hit them so they would pose with visitors for photos, and disposed of many of them when they were no longer of . . .
Pennsylvania teen who tortured dying deer avoids prison sentence; case highlights need for mental health evaluations in animal cruelty instances
A Pennsylvania court this week allowed an 18-year-old to avoid prison time for a crime that shocked Americans when a viral video of it surfaced earlier this year: in the video, the young man and his friend were seen torturing a dying deer, kicking him . . .
The Endangered Species Act is in its own fight for survival; help us save and strengthen it
Imagine our world and its wildlife without the protections of the Endangered Species Act. Had it not been for this bedrock federal law, the beloved American bald eagle would most likely have gone the way of the dodo or the passenger pigeon. Gray wolves and . . .
BREAKING: HSUS, HSLF, HSI release policy plan on wildlife markets, factory farms, companion animals and more to avoid another global health crisis
The coronavirus pandemic has prompted the world to acknowledge the pressing need to change our relationship with animals. From the wildlife markets implicated in the origin of the novel coronavirus to the slaughterhouses that have become clusters for its spread, we now know only too . . .
Breaking news: USDA finalizes reforms for animals in puppy mills, roadside zoos and research labs, but will it enforce them?
In a long-awaited move, the U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced important reforms to tighten licensing requirements to prevent those who mistreat animals in their care from carrying on business as usual. All dealers and exhibitors, including puppy breeders and roadside zoos will now need . . .
BLM report to Congress on wild horses and burros falls short on fertility control
America’s wild horses and burros are in crisis and unless the Bureau of Land Management revamps its program to manage these animals in a non-lethal and sustainable manner, as Congress has directed it to do, the gridlock surrounding the program will continue to prevent progress. . . .
Dogs shot, starved and neglected: HSUS’s eighth Horrible Hundred report delves into the cruel world of puppy mills
Last year, a state inspector visiting Wendy Pets, a puppy mill in Seneca, Kansas, found 24 dogs had simply disappeared from the facility. When asked, a representative told the inspector he had “euthanized” the dogs by shooting them. Although he had been breeding dogs for . . .
