Did your Members of Congress make the grade? Hot off the press – final 2019 Humane Scorecard
The final 2019 Humane Scorecard is now online, and we invite you to check it out and see how your federal legislators stood on a range of key issues last year. Please also share this scorecard with family, friends, and fellow advocates and help spread the word!
BREAKING NEWS: Dept of Transportation moves to end breed discrimination on airlines
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
The Department of Transportation today announced its plan to issue new regulations that would prohibit airlines from banning certain breeds of service dogs. This represents a much-needed move toward ending discriminatory policies by individual airlines that cause unnecessary and cruel hardships for customers with disabilities and their animals.
Momentous 1st session of the 116th Congress sets the stage for our 2020 agenda
In the wake of one of our most effective years ever, we’re gearing up for the second session of the 116th Congress. During a time in which legislators are grappling with some of our nation’s most divisive issues, the American people have shown that animal protection remains one of our greatest bipartisan values.
Cockfighting ban in U.S. territories takes effect tomorrow, despite resistance in Guam, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
Tomorrow, a hard-won federal law goes into effect to close a loophole that allowed cockfighters to continue operating in U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. We’ve strongly supported this law because it seeks to end a cruel practice that results in severe suffering and death for countless birds each year.
Update: Trump signs omnibus funding package with wins for horses and burros, companion animals, animals in research and more
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
President Trump has signed into law the omnibus appropriations package with major victories for animals, including horses and burros, companion animals, marine mammals and animals in zoos and research facilities.
BREAKING NEWS: CDC ties Petland to outbreaks of superbug illnesses in 13 states
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
Petland is once again in the news for all the wrong reasons, this time in connection with a multistate outbreak of a superbug that has sickened 30 people in 13 states.
Urgent alert: Help us stop the USDA's latest attempt to protect puppy millers, horse sorers
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
BREAKING NEWS: Congress has reached a deal to fund the government and it’s good news for animals!
There are various approaches the HSLF team uses to bring about changes for animals, and one of our best tools is to pursue bill and report language in the annual appropriations bills that Congress must enact each year to fund the federal government and its agencies. We’ve been hard at work on this all year long—and it paid off in significant wins. We are thrilled to report that the U.S.
HSLF and HSUS deliver big wins for animals in 2019: Our banner year in the nation's capital
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
Given the highly polarized atmosphere in Washington, DC, these days, our crucial bipartisan wins for animals in 2019 give great cause for celebration. Thanks to the support and engagement of countless Americans, we hit our marks this year. We succeeded in getting one of our highest priorities, a landmark federal anti-cruelty bill, signed into law. And that’s not all. Read on to learn about some of the other achievements you helped to make possible.