Last week, we completed the massive accomplishment of placing nearly 4,000 beagles with animal shelters and rescues across the country, where they can begin a new chapter of their lives: becoming beloved family members. The operation to remove these beagles from a breeding facility in Virginia that...
The Humane Society Veterinary Medical Alliance, an affiliate of the Humane Society of the United States, is the nation’s only organization for veterinary professionals that focuses solely on animal welfare. The HSVMA contributes to the work we do every day, by bringing the important veterinary voice...
As human development and activity increasingly encroach on wild habitats, one of the most challenging parts of protecting wild animals from suffering is figuring out solutions for coexistence. In this shrinking wild world, elephants have a particularly hard time—in part because their ranges are so...
Bullfighting, even when it masquerades as celebration or tradition, is nothing more that the most egregious cruelty to animals. Frightened bulls are forced into an arena with screaming people, pitted against matadors wielding spears, and then stabbed multiple times before they die a slow, agonizing...
This week, our team in Africa released a new documentary that highlights the threat to East Africa’s super tusker elephants from renewed trophy hunting in the region. It is estimated that fewer than 10 super tusker elephants remain in the Greater Amboseli ecosystem, with fewer than 50 left across the entire African continent. Their magnificent appearance puts them particularly in danger.
I am participating in round 3 of Spayathon™ for Puerto Rico, an initiative launched to change the landscape for animals of the island by providing high-quality, high-volume spay/neuter services to the pets here, all at no cost to their owners, caregivers and guardians. The energy here is infectious...
Not so long ago, for a golden retriever now known as Chewbacca (nicknamed Chewy), the whole world was the small, dirty space inside the four wire sides of his pen. The first five years of Chewy’s life were spent on a dog meat farm in South Korea. But Chewy was lucky. The farmer favored him and so...
Our Animal Rescue Team is on the ground in parts of Florida that were ravaged by Hurricane Michael. We are coordinating the movement of adoptable dogs and cats out of shelters affected by the storm and to shelters in other parts of the country, making room for animals who started to flow in before...
A dangerous bill in Iowa threatens to undo decades of progress for animals in the state, including dogs suffering in puppy mills and wild animals in traveling exhibits. The bill, SF 483, introduced by Sen. Dan Zumbach, ostensibly seeks to prevent cities and counties from enacting any local laws that...
The annual running of the bulls at Pamplona has just come to a close in Spain, where I am traveling for work. With the San Fermin festival now over, the world can once more take account of the scores of bulls chased, tormented and killed for the most frivolous entertainment and thrills. This year...
Last week, Delta Airlines announced it would ban pit-bull-type dogs from flying in the cabin as service and assistance animals. In doing so, the airline is overlooking the fact that there is no evidence that a particular breed of dog bites more than another. And it is creating a hurdle for people...
Each year, as winter settles in and temperatures drop dangerously low in parts of the country, we hear heartbreaking reports about companion animals left in the cold. Last month, in Clayton, Wisconsin, an extremely thin dog froze to death after being chained and left outside by his owner in bitter...
This past year has been a mixed one for animals under President Donald Trump. On the one hand we’ve seen federal agencies take steps to improve the fortunes of animals used in testing and the wild horses and burros on our public ranges, and also to end breed discrimination of companion animals. On...
