By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson The last horse slaughter plants in the United States closed years ago, and Congress has consistently voted to prohibit funding for horse slaughter inspections within U.S borders. Unfortunately, this does not prevent the inhumane transport of American equines to other...
The appropriations bill and accompanying coronavirus relief/stimulus package for fiscal year 2021 now advancing through Congress will bring critical and much-needed support to millions of Americans. We are also pleased to report that the package, which funds federal agencies, includes a number of...
By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson The federal government has filed a brief strongly defending a law that would expand the ban on cockfighting in the United States to Puerto Rico, Guam and other U.S. territories. Cockfighters seeking to overturn the ban have challenged it in federal court, claiming it...
Federal prosecutors have charged more than two dozen racehorse trainers, veterinarians and drug dealers in a “widespread, corrupt” scheme to dope horses to push them beyond their limits, increase profits and cheat the betting public. “This is the most far reaching prosecution of racehorse doping in...
Over the weekend, the 86th annual Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration concluded in Shelbyville, Tennessee, and we are determined that this be the last Celebration with abused walking horses on display. A rule finalized earlier this year by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and slated to take full effect in February 2025 gives us reason to hope our decades of work to end this practice will come to fruition. However, there are last-ditch efforts to block this essential rule through lawsuits and political pressure, which is why we must continue to press the issue. Members of the Humane Society of the United States’ Equine Protection team traveled to Tennessee to evaluate the condition of the horses at the show, and here, Keith Dane, senior director of Equine Protection, gives an account of what they saw.
For years, the government, through the Bureau of Land Management, has attempted to control wild horse and burro numbers by rounding the animals up and offering them for adoption. It was during one such roundup in the year 2000 that a flashy sorrel and white yearling was picked up in southern Oregon...
Update 5/8/23: A total of seven horses died at Churchill Downs in the days leading up to and on the day of the Kentucky Derby, and five horses were scratched. In light of these facts, it is shocking that the race was even run. Lives are on the line: The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act must be...
As mom to an animal-loving daughter, it warms my heart to see stories of children who are working to make the world a better place for animals. We have all seen these on social media or maybe in our own homes and neighborhoods – children who ask for donations to animal shelters instead of birthday...
By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson The number of horses dying at the Santa Anita racetrack in California since December 2018 has led to widespread concern in the horseracing world and beyond, and prompted California Gov. Gavin Newsom to call for closing the racetrack until the safety of the horses can...
By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson In recent years, major professional sports have taken crucial steps to rid themselves of illegal doping in order to create a more level playing field and to protect athletes from the adverse effects of performance-enhancing drugs. But there has been no such respite...