We recently shared news concerning the U.S. House of Representatives’ Appropriations Committee’s FY2026 funding bill for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration. The U.S. Senate’s Appropriations Committee has now followed suit, advancing its own version on a 27-0 vote.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
No political stunt will bring down the cost of eggs, which is still badly affected by an avian flu epidemic that has decimated the hens in the egg industry across the U.S. and caused severe market shortages. And yet, in a lawsuit filed last night, the U.S. Department of Justice has tried to resurrect—without warrant and without real facts—a long-ago settled legal fight over California’s cage-free egg laws that have been supported by voters, farmers and advocates for animal welfare and other causes across the board.
The 2025 Colorado state legislative session, which adjourned in May, brought key victories for companion animals, animals used in laboratory research and testing, and threatened and endangered wildlife. As we celebrate this progress, we ask our readers in Colorado—did your lawmakers choose to support these protections for animals? And if not, what can we do to engage them in the future?
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
More than 94.9 billion land animals are kept and killed for food worldwide. This is staggering. And it’s a number that has continued to rise in recent years.
Fighting to change the lives of all these billions of animals—who are essentially born or hatched into the world just to suffer before they are killed—is an issue many people find overwhelming. And fighting to prevent more animals being born just to suffer and feed this cruel system seems like a goal too out of reach.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
A decade ago, an American trophy hunter shot an African lion just outside Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park with an arrow. Like many hunters before and after him, he was seeking a trophy, a part of his kill that he could lawfully import back home to the United States. He could hang it on his wall, and have a story to tell, too. To his family. To his friends. To fellow hunters at Safari Club International conventions.
Right now, Congress is acting on its FY 2026 appropriations bills to provide funding and direction to federal agencies, and we are campaigning hard to help the countless millions of animals whose fate depends on this process.
On Tuesday, hundreds of thousands of Virginians headed to the polls and participated in the commonwealth’s primary elections. We at Humane World Action Fund, formerly known as the Humane Society Legislative Fund, were thrilled to see all our endorsed candidates advance to the general election. Now, we have less than 150 days to rally around pro-animal champions in Virginia.
With New Jersey’s June 10 primary elections behind us, we are delighted to report that some familiar names will grace the general election ballot in November, and we cannot help but conclude that pro-animal voters helped to make the difference. In the pivotal New Jersey governor’s race, voters chose Democrat Mikie Sherrill and Republican Jack Ciattarelli to run in November’s gubernatorial election. Both have been supporters of our humane agenda during their careers.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
Pangolins are sometimes called the “guardians of the forest” because they hold termite destruction at bay. Yet they are also the world’s most trafficked mammal, and so they bear the burden of being something of an ambassador species in the wider campaign against wildlife trafficking.
The 2025 Maryland Humane Scorecard is now available online and highlights the progress being made on animal protection in the state. From leading the charge on tamping down on cockfighting to increasing access to veterinary care, sitting lawmakers took action to protect all of Maryland’s animals.
