By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
A scandal in the pork industry is suggesting the true motives behind the attack on voter-supported farmed animal welfare laws: In a settlement of a federal class-action lawsuit, disclosed in late September, Tyson Foods agreed to pay $85 million to address allegations of price-fixing in the pork market, the largest-ever settlement of its kind.
Lawmakers at the state and federal levels can change the lives of animals for better or worse – and we have the power to decide who fills those elected seats of power. Humane World Action Fund is releasing its first-ever Arizona Humane Scorecard to help animal advocates evaluate their current representatives’ track record on animal protection.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
Every year, people flock to places like Yellowstone National Park just to try to catch a glimpse of wolves in the wild. Wolves have long symbolized the powerful allure of our wild spaces—but more than that: As a keystone species, wolves are drivers of balanced ecosystems and a powerful reminder that wild animals are part of complex social structures and have deep bonds with their families—just as we do.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
Earlier this year, a 51-year-old chimp named Montessa arrived at Chimp Haven, a lush 200-acre sanctuary in Louisiana. For three decades she had undergone painful and invasive experiments in a federal laboratory. Her moment of freedom, which she shared with 20 other retired chimpanzees who finally relocated with her, was decades in the making.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
One court after another has shot down the pork industry’s repeated challenges to the legality of our game-changing farm animal welfare laws. The most recent resounding win for animals comes from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, which has upheld a Massachusetts law that bans the cruel confinement of egg-laying hens, breeding pigs and calves raised for veal.
By Kathleen Conlee
For more than two decades, Kathleen Conlee, our vice president of Animal Research Issues in the U.S., has been working to end the use of animals in testing and research. But before she became an advocate for animal protection, she worked at a breeding facility that supplied primates to laboratories for research and testing. In this guest blog, I’ve invited her to tell us more about how this shaped her perspective and what life is like for animals inside these places.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
At midnight last night, the U.S. federal government shut down because Congress failed to pass funding legislation for the government in the new fiscal year, which begins October 1. When a shutdown occurs, “non-essential” federal workers are furloughed, which means they are placed on temporary leave in accordance with agency contingency plans. Some workers remain to continue operations deemed “essential,” typically working without pay until the federal government reopens.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
Over the weekend, a roadside zoo in Hugo, Oklahoma, announced on Facebook that its owner and operator, Ryan Easley, had been killed by a tiger. Growler Pines Tiger Preserve’s post stated: “This tragedy is a painful reminder of both the beauty and unpredictability of the natural world.”
This is a tragedy that never should have happened. Our sympathy goes out to Easley’s loved ones who now grapple with the grief of loss.
