Wildlife, In the News  /  

Trump Jr.'s argali trophy hunt in Mongolia cost American taxpayers $77,000

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

We’ve just learned that Donald Trump Jr.’s trophy hunting trip to Mongolia, where he hunted an argali sheep—an animal listed as "threatened" under the U.S. Endangered Species Act—cost American taxpayers a whopping $77,000.

Wildlife, Action Alerts, Federal Legislation  /  

Unless we act fast, our oceans could lose some of their most precious inhabitants

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

Equines, Farm Animals, Pets & Cruelty, Wildlife, Elections, Federal Legislation  /  

Good riddance to Steve King: Iowa primary voters dump U.S. congressman who supported horse slaughter, dogfighting and factory farming

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

Wildlife, Action Alerts  /  

Court gives Joe Exotic’s zoo to Carole Baskin of Big Cat Rescue; but no reprieve for the animals

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

In yet another twist in the continuing saga of Joe Exotic, a court has awarded his roadside zoo in Wynnewood, Oklahoma, to the leader of a big cat sanctuary whom he once hired a hitman to kill.

Elections  /  

Breaking news: Steve King defeated, dethroned, and done

Steve King’s (R-Iowa) cruel tenure in the U.S. Congress will finally come to an end. Yesterday, Iowa Republican voters chose Iowa State Senator Randy Feenstra to represent their party in the General Election—ensuring that Steve King will not return to Washington D.C. as a congressman in 2021. At the time we published this, Feenstra had earned 45 percent of the vote, besting King’s 36 percent. We at the Humane Society Legislative Fund could not be happier. King has been terrible for animals, to be sure.

Elections  /  

Are we finally done with Steve King?

The 2020 Election could very well spell the end of Rep. Steve King’s (R-Iowa) political career, and as far as we’re concerned, it could not come a moment too soon. When it comes to animal welfare, King is a genuine outlier, and that’s why we’ve made him the focus of the HSLF’s first 2020 election season advertisement. And because of his erratic and contentious public positions, he’s facing serious challengers, who have raised more funds than he has, and seems increasingly vulnerable this year.

Wildlife, In the News  /  

Breaking news: U.S. will allow cruel trophy hunting practices to kill hibernating bears and wolf pups on Alaska's federal lands

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

The Trump administration has just delivered a one-two punch to Alaska’s wildlife: it has announced that it will release a final National Park Service rule allowing some of the cruelest practices for killing black bears, wolves and other wildlife on national preserve lands in Alaska; and it has announced it will propose overturning Obama-era protections for brown bears and other animals on two million acres of public lands in the state's Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.

Wildlife, Action Alerts, Federal Legislation  /  

The Endangered Species Act is in its own fight for survival; help us save and strengthen it

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

Imagine our world and its wildlife without the protections of the Endangered Species Act. Had it not been for this bedrock federal law, the beloved American bald eagle would most likely have gone the way of the dodo or the passenger pigeon. Gray wolves and grizzly bears would be no more than relics hanging on the walls of trophy hunters. And the humpback whale would only be found in history books.

Animals in Research, Farm Animals, Pets & Cruelty, Wildlife, Federal Legislation, In the News  /  

BREAKING: HSUS, HSLF, HSI release policy plan on wildlife markets, factory farms, companion animals and more to avoid another global health crisis

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

The coronavirus pandemic has prompted the world to acknowledge the pressing need to change our relationship with animals. From the wildlife markets implicated in the origin of the novel coronavirus to the slaughterhouses that have become clusters for its spread, we now know only too well that our uncaring attitudes and indifferent practices toward animals can have grave consequences for human health.

Pets & Cruelty  /  

Breaking news: USDA finalizes reforms for animals in puppy mills, roadside zoos and research labs, but will it enforce them?

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

In a long-awaited move, the U.S. Department of Agriculture today announced important reforms to tighten licensing requirements to prevent those who mistreat animals in their care from carrying on business as usual. 

Equines, Wildlife, Federal Legislation  /  

BLM report to Congress on wild horses and burros falls short on fertility control

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block