Author: By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson

Congress should act fast to protect animals in puppy mills, roadside zoos and research labs during coronavirus crisis

Animal Rights & Environment, Public Policy (Legal/Legislative), The Humane Society of the United States, Wildlife/Marine Mammals

With cities and states imposing quarantines and curfews, and businesses shuttering their doors and asking employees to stay home, animals in institutional settings are extremely vulnerable to neglect and/or abandonment. Photo by iStock.com

As the COVID-19 crisis escalates, we are asking Congress to act quickly on an important bill that would ensure that millions of animals held in research laboratories and enterprises like puppy mills and roadside zoos across the country are not forgotten. The Providing Responsible Emergency . . . 

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Missouri moves to close down a serial puppy mill offender

Animal Rights & Environment, Public Policy (Legal/Legislative), The Humane Society of the United States

Debra Ritter of Cornerstone Farms, aka Beginnings Ranch (pictured above), has been in our report for severe problems at her kennel, including injured and underweight dogs, dogs with missing fur and skin lesions, sick puppies and excessive feces and odor. Photo by Missouri Department of Agriculture

A notorious breeder in Missouri who has been featured five times in our annual Horrible Hundred report on problem puppy mills may be closing down her operation, even as the state’s attorney general is moving to take legal action against her for mistreating the dogs . . . 

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BREAKING NEWS: On Congress’s orders, USDA begins restoring inspection reports for puppy mills, roadside zoos and other facilities

Animal Rights & Environment, Public Policy (Legal/Legislative), The Humane Society of the United States

In December 2019, Congress enacted a provision in the FY20 appropriations bill, issuing a clear mandate to the USDA to reinstate full, searchable public access to all AWA and HPA records without redactions. Photo by Roman Samokhin/iStockphoto

Three years ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture inexplicably blacked out records of inspections at puppy mills, roadside zoos, facilities that do invasive research on animals, walking horse shows and other operations, leaving those who use—and potentially abuse—animals in their care with little or no . . . 

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Key House committee votes to reverse Trump administration’s harmful changes to Endangered Species Act

Animal Rights & Environment, Public Policy (Legal/Legislative), The Humane Society of the United States, Wildlife/Marine Mammals

The Trump administration’s changes would, among other things, make it easier for federal agencies to ignore the impact of government actions on species listed under the ESA, including African lions, grizzly bears and elephants. Photo by Don Getty

Last year, the Trump administration finalized regulations that gutted the Endangered Species Act, making it harder to grant and maintain federal protections for species that are fighting for survival. Today, the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee voted to reverse those dangerous changes by approving the . . . 

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Bill to end animal testing for cosmetics introduced in Congress with support from industry leaders

Animal Rights & Environment, Humane Economy, Humane Society International, Public Policy (Legal/Legislative), The Humane Society of the United States

The United States is one of the world’s largest cosmetics markets and this bill has the potential to spare the lives of thousands of mice, rabbits, rats and guinea pigs. Photo by Niderlander NiDerLander/iStock.com

The movement to end the testing of personal care and beauty products on animals has gained unprecedented momentum in recent years, with three U.S. states, 39 countries, and more than a thousand manufacturers abandoning this outdated and unnecessary practice. Today, Congress took an important step . . . 

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USDA moves to permanently hide animal welfare records at puppy mills, walking horse shows and other regulated businesses

Animal Rights & Environment, Public Policy (Legal/Legislative), The Humane Society of the United States

The proposal would further solidify the obfuscation that began when the administration purged all Animal Welfare Act and Horse Protection Act records from the USDA website, just a few weeks after President Trump took office in 2017. Photo by Meredith Lee/The HSUS

The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to permanently conceal crucial animal welfare records, including inspection reports and enforcement records of puppy mills and horse shows where Tennessee walking horses and other related breeds are vulnerable to the heinous practice of soring. Last month, the agency . . . 

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House votes to end shark fin sales in the U.S.

Animal Rights & Environment, Humane Society International, Public Policy (Legal/Legislative), The Humane Society of the United States, Wildlife/Marine Mammals

Sharks are now being killed 30 percent faster than they can reproduce. It is estimated that between 2000 and 2011, 16,815 metric tons of shark fins were traded worldwide. Photo by Ricardo Azoury/ostock

The U.S. House just said a decisive and resounding “no” to the terrible shark fin trade, in which fishermen cut the fins off sharks and dump them back into the waters to drown, be eaten alive by other fish, or bleed to death. House members . . . 

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