By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

Grizzly bears in the lower 48 states should retain their current protections under the Endangered Species Act, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the primary federal agency that makes decisions on the conservation of wildlife species. This is encouraging news for these native carnivores who have been under attack from trophy hunting interests in the states they live in, and who need all the help they can get to survive.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

Animals are on a winning streak. Over just the last two days, we’ve had four terrific victories in U.S. federal courts that pave the way for progress for millions of animals. These include wildlife in the United States and overseas most often targeted by trophy hunters, animals in the fur industry, and farm animals confined in cruel cages on factory farms.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

Maryland will soon become the fifth U.S. state to say no to cosmetics testing on animals.

State lawmakers last night voted to prohibit new tests on animals for cosmetics and all sales of newly-animal-tested cosmetics beginning July 2022. The Senate and House versions of the bills passed the Maryland Senate unanimously last night and they passed the House with a large majority, demonstrating the clear support in the state for ending such cruel testing.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

The U.S. government is spending millions of taxpayer dollars to fund experiments on dogs, a new report we are releasing today shows.

It is estimated that there are more than 58,000 dogs being used in U.S. public, private and federal research and testing facilities each year. Some of these dogs—an average of 660 each year—are deliberately not given any drugs or any other help to relieve their pain and distress.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

Virginia’s Gov. Ralph Northam has just signed into law bills that would ban new cosmetics animal testing and sales of animal-tested cosmetics in his state.

Virginia joins three U.S. states that already have similar laws on their books. In 2018 California became the first state to prohibit the sale of animal-tested cosmetics followed by Nevada and Illinois in 2019.