By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
In the U.S., the State of the Union address gives the president an opportunity to speak to a joint session of Congress about the nation’s condition, sharing legislative and regulatory proposals and communicating and reinforcing priorities. In recent years, we’ve used this time to spell out our own priorities and to reflect upon the U.S. government’s performance on animal protection issues.
It’s my privilege to share our Humane Scorecard for the first session of the 119th Congress. The scorecard tracks key co-sponsorships, votes and other animal-friendly actions by federal lawmakers. It’s an accountability tool we use to cultivate greater awareness among legislators as well as incentives for their future commitment. Please look to see how your senators and congressional representative scored; the scorecard is something you can share with others who care about animals, too.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s announcement last week that it will suspend until December 31, 2026, the implementation of regulatory reforms designed to protect horses from soring conceals a bitter truth. In further stalling its enforcement of a final rule to prevent a stone-cold cruelty, the agency has abdicated its responsibility to protect horses under the Horse Protection Act, as directed by Congress. The announcement itself is proof.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
There’s some good news for animals in the funding packages for the U.S. Department of Interior and the U.S. Department of Justice that passed the Senate last week and were just signed into law.
These wins are the result of animal advocates—both us and our allies—who never wavered in the view that the protection of animals matters, and that it’s something that the American people want. Here are the animal welfare wins in the FY2026 funding packages:
Gray wolves and grizzly bears saved
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
Note: This blog is part of a series on ways we tackle the root causes of animal cruelty to create a more humane world for animals. For this post, Sara Amundson, president of Humane World Action Fund, joins me to tell the story of how we confront animal cruelty and suffering at the roots by changing laws and government regulations.
“Why isn’t this illegal?”
We have posted the preview version of our annual Humane Scorecard to help you assess the position of federal legislators on our priority measures. If you do not see your senators and your representative listed as co-sponsors of key bills, we hope you’ll reach out, asking them to promptly co-sponsor them. In addition to holding elected officials accountable for their votes, the scorecard creates incentives for federal legislators to assert leadership on humane issues and take the pro-animal position on a range of actions.
