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Tag: Companion Animals

The United States needs a federal anti-cruelty statute

Animal Rights & Environment, The Humane Society of the United States

The nation is waking up to cruelty as an indicator of social pathology. First offenders typically start on animals, and then turn their violent instincts to people.

The nation is waking up to cruelty as an indicator of social pathology. First offenders typically start on animals, and then turn their violent instincts to people. Photo by iStockphoto

I’ll get to that matter, but some background first. In 2014, South Dakota became the 50th state to adopt felony-level penalties for malicious cruelty. That action puts an exclamation point on the notion that opposition to the worst forms of cruelty is a universal value in the United States and that people who commit such . . . 

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Lawmakers target dog meat trade in the United States

Animal Rights & Environment, The Humane Society of the United States

Ending dog-meat eating, and shuttering thousands of dog meat farms, is a top priority for Humane Society International. Estimates suggest that butchers kill 30 million dogs a year across Asia. Above, a dog on a dog meat farm in South Korea.

Ending dog-meat eating, and shuttering thousands of dog meat farms, is a top priority for Humane Society International. Estimates suggest that butchers kill 30 million dogs a year across Asia. Above, a dog on a dog meat farm in South Korea. Photo by Jean Chung/For HSI

If we are going to ask the rest of the world to end the era of dog- and cat-meat consumption, we have to establish a bright-line legal standard against the practice in the United States. We took one big step toward achieving that goal today by working with some of our strongest congressional allies. U.S. . . . 

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Stateside shelters help attack mass euthanasia, other animal problems in Puerto Rico

Animal Rights & Environment, The Humane Society of the United States

The stateside partners in the Sister Shelter Project will visit shelters in Puerto Rico to lift them up and professionalize their operations. Above, a rescued cat at Canita Sanctuary in Guayama, Puerto Rico.

The stateside partners in the Sister Shelter Project will visit shelters in Puerto Rico to lift them up and professionalize their operations. Above, a rescued cat at Canita Sanctuary in Guayama, Puerto Rico. Photo by Dennis M. Rivera Pichardo/AP Images for The HSUS

We launched our Humane Puerto Rico program two years ago because animals are in crisis in this long-neglected, populous part of the United States. One fact, among all others, stared us in the face: some shelters in the Commonwealth had a euthanasia rate of 95 percent. There was a broad recognition that if an animal . . . 

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Guatemala passes omnibus anti-cruelty law, striking blow against wide range of practices

Animal Rights & Environment, The Humane Society of the United States

This landmark animal welfare law approved today by Guatemala’s Congress will, for the first time, penalize animal cruelty and its perpetrators, and implement strong protections for animals across a spectrum of other fronts.

This landmark animal welfare law approved today by Guatemala’s Congress will, for the first time, penalize animal cruelty and its perpetrators, and implement strong protections for animals across a spectrum of other fronts. Photo by Swoan Parker/For HSI

Guatemala, Central America’s biggest and most populous nation with more than 15 million people, has adopted one of the world’s most comprehensive anti-cruelty laws – an omnibus measure that, in addition to its basic anti-cruelty provisions, creates protections for wildlife, companion animals, animals used in research, and animals used in circuses. It bans animal testing . . . 

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USDA bends to massive national campaign to restore animal care inspection reports

Animal Rights & Environment, The Humane Society of the United States

The USDA must restore all reports for the 9,000 or so licensed and registered facilities that use animals, including commercial dog breeding operators. Above, a dog at a puppy mill.

The USDA must restore all reports for the 9,000 or so licensed and registered facilities that use animals, including commercial dog breeding operators. Above, a dog at a puppy mill. Photo by Brandon Wade/AP Images for The HSUS

Nobody much likes what the U.S. Department of Agriculture did two weeks ago in purging thousands of inspection reports for the animal facilities and horse shows under its authority, and pledging not to post new reports on a go-forward basis. USA Today panned the action hard yesterday. Today, the Des Moines Register said it was . . . 

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The HSUS challenges USDA over mass removal of animal welfare records

Animal Rights & Environment, The Humane Society of the United States

Seven states bar the sale of puppies from mills with a history of gross violations of the Animal Welfare Act. The USDA's action leaves regulated dog sellers in those states with no practical way to comply with laws, and state and local law enforcement with almost no ability to enforce them.

Seven states bar the sale of puppies from mills with a history of gross violations of the Animal Welfare Act. The USDA’s action leaves regulated dog sellers in those states with no practical way to comply with laws, and state and local law enforcement with almost no ability to enforce them. Photo by Meredith Lee/The HSUS

There’s an outpouring of anger and mistrust about the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s abrupt decision late last week to delete from its website inspection reports on thousands of commercial dog breeding operators, Tennessee walking horse show participants, roadside zoos, animal research labs, and other facilities regulated under the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA) and Horse . . . 

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An open letter – looking back, and charging ahead in 2017

Animal Rights & Environment, The Humane Society of the United States

When opportunities for progress present themselves, and they will, we will seize them. Make no mistake about that. Our work is bipartisan. Our work is not blue-state or red-state regional. Our work is urgent and it is everywhere.

When opportunities for progress present themselves, and they will, we will seize them. Make no mistake about that. Our work is bipartisan. Our work is not blue-state or red-state regional. Our work is urgent and it is everywhere. Photo by Alamy

Dear Friends: Let’s start the New Year with thanks. Thanks to all of us. Whatever you did as part of the movement to help animals in the year just past, be proud. It was a challenging year. And so many, many people did so much, providing so much support and encouragement. For some, the compassionate . . . 

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Rolling Stone crushes puppy mill trade

Animal Rights & Environment, The Humane Society of the United States

For his article Rolling Stone reporter Paul Solotaroff piggybacked on a puppy mill raid that the HSUS Animal Rescue Team carried out with the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina. Above, a dog in a crate at the puppy mill.

For his article Rolling Stone reporter Paul Solotaroff piggybacked on a puppy mill raid that the HSUS Animal Rescue Team carried out with the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina. Above, a dog in a crate at the puppy mill. Photo by Meredith Lee/The HSUS

Of the entire dizzying array of animal cruelty concerns, there’s not one more top of mind for the American public than puppy mills. It’s a term we’ve all been hearing for decades and we’ve lamented the presence of the industry for at least as long. Yet, amazingly, there’s still so much confusion about puppy mills, . . . 

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California, Oregon lead on animal welfare policies, while Mississippi and the Dakotas have the lowest ranks

Animal Rights & Environment, The Humane Society of the United States

Massachusetts came in at third place for passing the nation’s most comprehensive farm animal protection measure that phases out the cruel confinement of veal calves, breeding sows, and laying hens, and restricts the sale of those products in the state.

Massachusetts came in at third place for passing the nation’s most comprehensive farm animal protection measure that phases out the cruel confinement of veal calves, breeding sows, and laying hens, and restricts the sale of those products in the state. Photo by iStockphoto

Each year, The HSUS releases its Humane State rankings based on a wide set of animal welfare policies — covering a total of 93 policy ideas, from protecting farm animals to prohibiting bear and cougar hunting to regulating puppy mills. This year again, California occupies the top spot and handily so. It fortified its outstanding . . . 

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Top 10 victories for all animals in 2016

Animal Rights & Environment, The Humane Society of the United States

In a pathbreaking announcement for captive marine mammals, SeaWorld, in cooperation with The HSUS, announced in March that it would end all breeding of its orcas and it won’t obtain additional orcas from other sources.

In a pathbreaking announcement for captive marine mammals, SeaWorld, in cooperation with The HSUS, announced in March that it would end all breeding of its orcas and it won’t obtain additional orcas from other sources. Photo by iStockphoto

We’re operating in a time of punctuated change for animals. It hardly means that we’ve been on a glide path to reform. And it doesn’t mean that we haven’t had setbacks or that we don’t have immense challenges ahead. But what it does mean is that The HSUS’s strategic, focused action, brandishing, and using many . . . 

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