By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
Mink have tested positive for the coronavirus on a fur farm in Wisconsin, the largest fur producing U.S. state. The news broke today even as media reports confirmed thousands of mink have died of the disease on fur farms in Utah, the first state to report such infections on mink farms in August.
Today, the Humane Society Legislative Fund endorses Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Kamala Harris in their bid to lead the nation. Biden and Harris have established themselves as good faith actors in sponsoring and supporting animal protection legislation and policies through the years, and it’s easy to endorse them straight up on the basis of their records.
Yesterday was a big day on Capitol Hill for animals with the Preventing Future Pandemics Act (H.R. 8433/S. 4749) introduced in the House and the Senate, and the Puppy Protection Act (S. 4757) introduced in the Senate.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
The U.S. House has just voted to protect racehorses from dangerous but widespread practices within the racing industry, including the rampant use of performance-enhancing drugs and poor attention to racetrack safety.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
It was a heartbreaking incident, by any measure. In August, authorities found more than a dozen dogs, mostly French Bulldogs, stranded for three days in their crates inside a warehouse at Chicago's O'Hare airport. They had no food and water and the crates, witnesses say, were caked in feces and urine. One dog had already died, another was seriously sick with parvovirus.
We’ve just posted the preview version of the Humane Society Legislative Fund 2020 Humane Scorecard, and we hope you’ll take a look. It’s a snapshot of each federal legislator’s record on animal issues for the second session of the 116th Congress. We’re rolling out the preview now since early voting is already underway in a number of states.
As part of our fundamental mission, we encourage members and supporters to advocate for animal protection legislation and related matters by contacting elected officials. But we also count on you to stand up for animals by casting your ballot in elections at the federal, state, and local levels. We know, and we’ve tried to show you, that it really makes a difference when animal welfare is on the line.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
An Indiana roadside zoo whose owner’s federal license was revoked for numerous violations of the Animal Welfare Act, including beating a leopard to death with a baseball bat and swinging monkeys around by their tails, has closed its doors. The animals are being moved to facilities where they will hopefully receive better care.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
Since 2017, U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan has introduced a bill that would undermine America’s war on ivory trafficking by hindering the ability of states to create laws fighting this illegal trade. The full Senate did not consider the bill the last time, and more Americans than ever before now emphatically oppose ivory trafficking, but Sen. Sullivan apparently failed to get the message.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
The first wolf pups in several years have been born on Isle Royale in Michigan, the National Park Service reported this week.
