The results are in! Our final 2023 Humane Scorecard is now available, providing a snapshot of where federal legislators stood on our core priorities for the first session of the 118th Congress.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
As the New Year dawns, we rightly celebrate the dozens of humane laws taking effect in 2024, signs of a better day for animals everywhere. Those laws address a range of animal protection concerns including pet store sales of puppies from puppy mills, the use of animals in toxicity testing, direct contact with dangerous wild animals, and humane standards for dogs living outdoors.
Proposition 12 fully implemented
The law sets higher standards for treatment of farm animals
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
The fight for public policy gains for animals at the federal level is not for the faint of heart nor the weak of spirit. Every day, in every congressional session, it’s an all-out battle to secure humane laws and regulations. Whatever we achieve, we achieve against determined opposition, including special interest groups with deep pockets, and 2023 was no exception. This was a banner year for rulemaking and key legislative work that made a difference.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
It is the height of absurdity that, in 2023, animals continue to be born to be killed and skinned for a coat trim or a pom-pom on a hat. But we are heartened that with each year we see monumental progress toward our vision: a world in which not a single animal is killed just for fashion.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
May 11, 2023, stands out as historic for animal protection: On that day, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision upholding California’s Proposition 12, the nation’s strongest farm animal protection law, a move that rejected the pork industry’s challenge to the law.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
Wild animals face a chilling multitude of threats. At a time when so many are vulnerable to the unprecedented impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss and ongoing human encroachment on shrinking habitats, imperiled animals continue to be killed for nothing more than a trophy, a prize, a pelt or a trinket. Others suffer at the hands of traffickers and breeders who want to lock them in cages for entertainment.