By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

The factory farming of mink for fur is cruel and unnecessary, and it certainly shouldn’t be subsidized by the United States government. Or any government.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service detected H5N1, avian influenza, on a mink fur farm in Salt Lake County, Utah. This marks the first detection of the contagious virus on a fur factory farm in the U.S.

8/6/26 update: The Senate Agriculture Committee did not pass a Farm Bill today, leaving the controversial Save Our Bacon Act out of the legislation as negotiations continue.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

Over the last several weeks, the Trump administration has followed through on its November 2025 declaration of war on the Endangered Species Act and other wildlife protection laws.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to change Endangered Species Act protections for grizzly bears in the Lower 48 states, while leaving open the door to a future proposal to delist the species from federal protections.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

“Harm” is not just a word. When it comes to the Trump administration’s wildlife policies, it’s the defining word.

For more than half a century, the Endangered Species Act has helped save wildlife in large part because it protects the habitats animals need to survive. Last week, the Trump administration issued a rule changing a regulatory interpretation of the word “harm” in the Endangered Species Act that has been essential to its function.