By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

In recent weeks, even as slaughterhouses have emerged as hotspots for the coronavirus pandemic, the Trump administration has been quietly issuing record numbers of waivers for them to kill animals at higher speeds. Now, a coalition of animal welfare groups, workers groups and consumer organizations is asking Congressional leaders to impose a moratorium on such indiscriminate line speed increases, which make slaughterhouses even more dangerous for workers and further increase animal suffering.

By Brad Pyle

Our legislatures, elections officials, and courts must find ways to protect the rights of American voters to have their voices heard in the upcoming election season and through the ballot and referendum process. Political participation is the lifeblood of American democracy and there is no measure too small that we could take in its defense and reinforcement.

With Joe Biden the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee for the White House, we felt it timely to review his record on animal protection for the benefit of our friends and supporters. Biden has a long and positive legacy on our concerns, and it is a useful reminder to candidates for office at all levels that we expect stronger and better commitments from them all in the coming election.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

Like an alarm bell in the night, COVID-19 has cut through the uneasy silence of the world’s failure to address pandemic illness tied to the trade, transport and consumption of wildlife. The notion that we could have prevented COVID-19 by taking decisive steps to curb that trade a decade or two ago should and will haunt us for generations. Still, it is not too late to act, and it is more urgent than ever that we do so.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

The nation’s most authoritative voice on infectious diseases today sounded a stern warning about the dangers of the wildlife trade and its relationship to pandemic diseases like COVID-19.

In an interview with Fox News, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci called for the global community to pressure China and other nations to close down their wildlife markets, where live animals are sold and slaughtered for food.