By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
Sharks have been around for 450 million years, outliving the dinosaurs and surviving mass extinctions. But now, out of the 500 or so species (that we know of), a third of all sharks and shark-like species are threatened with extinction due to human activity. Some of these species include the unique scalloped hammerhead shark, the common thresher shark, which uses a long tail to stun prey and the bespeckled whale shark, the world’s largest living fish.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
Update: We are delighted to report that the U.S. House passed the Big Cat Public Safety Act, H.R. 263, by a strong bipartisan vote of 278 to 134. Thank you for helping us achieve this win by advocating for the bill to your Representative.
Now it’s the U.S. Senate’s turn to act. Please help us keep the momentum going by contacting your two Senators right now and urging them to support the Big Cat Public Safety Act, S. 1210!
Today’s approval by the U.S. House of Representatives of a FY23 budget package, H.R. 8294, produced sweeping animal protection gains across a range of concerns. Countless animals will benefit from the additional protections and funds that the package directs. Getting those provisions into this draft federal budget and keeping them there is an absolute priority for us, and we could not be more excited at the results so far. That is why this cluster of six appropriations bills is such an important focus of our animal protection agenda in Congress.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
This week offered more proof that our deliberate focus on the appropriations process for specific programs in the federal government can produce great things for animals, much as the passage of stand-alone humane legislation does. It’s why we pursue an “all-of-government” approach that treats budget decisions as important drivers of change and reform.
America has a big cat crisis. Untold numbers of captive tigers, lions, leopards and other big cat species are kept in captivity throughout the nation, most of them in shoddy roadside zoos, private menageries or in private homes and yards as pets. Today, to confront this cruelty and halt the worst excesses of the industry that exploits these animals so mercilessly, the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources passed the Big Cat Public Safety Act, H.R. 263, by a vote of 25-17.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
When you’re a passionate animal welfare advocate, you might sometimes feel like a bit of an outsider.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
We learned last week about the outrageous killing of two iconic and rare “big tusker” male savanna elephants in an unpopulated corner of northern Botswana. “Big tusker” refers to an elephant with at least one tusk weighing 100 pounds but it effectively signifies an elephant who has survived for more than 50 years and whose knowledge and experience is irreplaceable to his herd.
