New CDC regulation will disrupt international animal rescue efforts and families returning to the US with pets

WASHINGTON (May 8, 2024)—Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a final rule that places restrictions on dogs brought into the United States from countries deemed by the CDC as low-risk or rabies-free countries in addition to high-risk rabies countries, making it harder for international rescue efforts to save vulnerable dogs and for families to travel back to the U.S. with their pets.

HSLF rejects Kristi Noem’s cynical account of killing her family dog

WASHINGTON (April 29, 2024)—South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem continues to dismiss accusations of cruelty in the wake of The Guardian’s report that her upcoming memoir includes passages telling how she ended the lives of her family’s 14-month-old puppy and a goat on their farm. Humane Society Legislative Fund president Sara Amundson responded to Governor Noem’s comments with the following statement:

The Humane Society of the United States urges the horse racing industry to embrace protective measures for horse safety

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 26, 2024)— As racing commences at Churchill Downs ahead of the 150th Kentucky Derby, the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society Legislative Fund call for change to address the devastating loss of horse life at each of the Triple Crown races last year and racing in general.

Nix the Prop 12 “Fix”

WASHINGTON (April 10, 2024)—As the National Pork Producers Council takes its anti-animal welfare case to Capitol Hill, the Humane Society Legislative Fund warns against inserting language into the Farm Bill that would invalidate California’s Proposition 12, a state law setting landmark prohibitions on the sale of food products from farm animals locked in cruel and extreme confinement, which the U.S. Supreme Court upheld as constitutional in May 2023.

Victory: U.S. restricts the import of live African elephants and trophies

WASHINGTON (March 29, 2024)—Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a final rule governing import permits for live African elephants and elephant hunting trophies. This action effectively bans elephant hunting trophy imports from certain countries that serve as major destinations for trophy hunters—a win for the conservation of the species listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

NIH abandons appeal of federal judge’s ruling that agency’s refusal to retire former research chimps to sanctuary was illegal

NIH abandons appeal of federal judge’s ruling that agency’s refusal to retire former research chimps to sanctuary was illegal

WASHINGTON (March 22, 2024)—Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit dismissed the National Institutes of Health’s appeal of a federal court ruling that the agency broke the law by withholding sanctuary retirement from federally owned chimpanzees formerly used in research. The appeal was dismissed at NIH’s request.