Wild animals face a chilling multitude of threats. At a time when so many are vulnerable to the unprecedented impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss and ongoing human encroachment on shrinking habitats, imperiled animals continue to be killed for nothing more than a trophy, a prize, a pelt or a trinket. Others suffer at the hands of traffickers and breeders who want to lock them in cages for entertainment.

Today, Canada took a historic step forward in defense of imperiled wild animals, announcing landmark regulations that ban trade in elephant ivory and rhino horn, as well as imports of hunting trophies containing these parts.

The Trump administration’s course on wildlife policy, riddled with handouts to trophy hunters, took another wrong turn last week with the hiring of Anna Seidman, a litigator for Safari Club International, to head a key office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The SCI is one of the world’s...

Today, we are joining with allies to demand that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service prohibit the import of any lion trophies from South Africa. Our demand comes in the wake of news from South Africa indicating that Skye, a male lion who was considered a pride leader, has apparently been killed by an...

Some threats facing animals can seem so gargantuan as to be just part of the status quo—but we are determined to change the systemic injustices that harm countless animals. In addition to fighting cruel trophy hunting practices that cause egregious suffering for target animals, we’ve been pushing for reform that could save the lives of countless animals killed accidentally because of the use of lead ammunition.

The annual Taking Action for Animals Conference, organized by the Humane Society of the United States with the Humane Society Legislative Fund and other supportive organizations, concluded today with hundreds of participants lobbying their members of Congress on Capitol Hill and discussing important...

Just recently, I had the pleasure of meeting virtually with our organization’s summer intern cohort and the opportunity to meet several interns in person at our Taking Action for Animals conference. I look forward to these meetings in every internship cycle, and so do the senior colleagues who...

Last week, a trophy hunter killed a mountain lion in Nebraska and posted a photo of himself on social media with the dead animal, a one-and-a-half-year-old male. While most Americans would find this unnecessary killing of a majestic native carnivore horrifying by itself, the facts behind this...

Vietnam is one of the world’s largest consumers of rhino horn for use in traditional medicine. The demand there has helped push this distinctive animal to the brink of extinction. The animals are killed for their horns and a small number remain alive and suffer in agony after the horns are hacked...

New Jersey is poised to allow trophy hunters to kill the state’s beloved black bears starting next month using barbaric methods like baiting the animals with piles of rotting sugary food. The plan would also allow hunters to chase bears off state lands, where bear hunting is not allowed, and onto...

While many of our Humane Society International colleagues are responding to the crisis in Ukraine, they continue to advance the vital priority campaigns that are the main focus of their work. In the United Kingdom, that includes the recent passage of “sentience” legislation that requires government...

New York State is standing tall for giraffes. The state’s lawmakers recently passed a bill that would designate giraffes as a vulnerable species and ban trafficking in their body parts, thus leading the way toward saving this beleaguered species that is fast heading toward extinction. The bill...

Scientists have long cautioned against the indiscriminate hunting of wolves because of the harmful effects it can have on the natural balance of an ecosystem. But this has not stopped states or the federal government from conducting a war on these beautiful native carnivores. The latest salvo is a...

Public disapproval of trophy hunting and the havoc trophy hunters wreak on the world’s endangered and threatened wildlife is on the rise, both here in the United States and around the globe. We recently saw a striking example of this in play when a Norwegian company with offices in the United States...

The New Yorker broke a story yesterday about the head of the National Rifle Association, Wayne LaPierre, attempting to kill an endangered elephant in Botswana. The newly released footage exemplifies the blithe depravity of trophy hunting. The video shows LaPierre’s botched attempt to kill an African...

Every day, I share on this blog news about the progress we are making for animals. I am grateful to the thousands of readers who like, share, comment on the posts, support us with your donations and take action to make the world a better place for animals. Today, I want to share with you the blogs...

By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson President Trump has called trophy hunting a “horror show,” but on his watch, the Department of the Interior has dismantled regulations to protect wildlife and made it easier to import trophies of endangered and threatened animals. We have been encouraging members of...

The killing of Cecil the lion five years this week ago by an American trophy hunter in Zimbabwe triggered worldwide outrage. Father of a pride, lured with an elephant carcass, wounded by an arrow, he suffered for hours before being killed by gunshot. As it turned out, this was a shot heard around...

By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson For years now, trophy hunters have spun a web of lies to tie their ruthless killing of some of the world’s most at-risk animals to fake conservation benefits. A recent exchange in the prestigious Science magazine has laid bare links some scientists have with the...

The Senate Committee on Appropriations today released a package of 12 appropriations bills for fiscal year 2021, and it is a mixed bag for animals. The House has already approved its appropriations bills, which fund federal government agencies, and they include significant protections for animals...