By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
The COVID relief package Congress just passed includes a number of provisions that will improve surveillance and inspection of trades where animals often endure acute suffering and that also tend to be hotbeds for disease spread.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
Grizzly 399, often called the world’s most famous grizzly bear, has a fan base of wildlife watchers that numbers in the hundreds of thousands. Each year, dozens of paparazzi attempt to record her every waking moment, from the time she emerges from her den in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in the spring until the time she goes back into hibernation in the late fall. She even has two entire books devoted to her.
By Brad Pyle
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
A no-holds-barred carnage of wolves in Wisconsin last week, which ended with trophy hunters killing nearly twice the sanctioned quota of animals in just under 60 hours, offers a terrible glimpse into just what lies ahead for these beloved native American carnivores unless the Biden administration moves swiftly to restore their federal protections.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
Update (3/6/2021): The Senate has just passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and it includes almost all of the provisions we supported and pushed for that would benefit animals. Next, the House is expected to vote on the Senate-passed package, following which the bill heads to President Biden who has confirmed he will sign it.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
The devastation wrought by the recent deep freeze in Texas is a stark reminder of the urgent need for disaster planning that includes tens of thousands of animals in puppy mills, roadside zoos and other enterprises. Today, to address that need, Representatives Dina Titus, D-Nev., and Rodney Davis, R-Ill., joined by more than 115 cosponsors, have reintroduced a bill to mandate preparedness planning by entities regulated under the Animal Welfare Act.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
The freeze in Texas this month turned up a surprise for authorities in Bexar County as they scrambled to get people and pets out of harm’s way: a tiger cub wearing a harness and living as a “pet” outdoors. A neighbor had reported what sounded like a crying tiger. When they came upon Elsa—as the sheriff’s office named the cub after a character in the movie “Frozen”—she was freezing in the Arctic temperatures.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
Update (3/15/2021): The Senate has voted to confirm Rep. Deb Haaland to lead the Department of Interior by a vote of 51-40.
