Animals and Politics

Wildlife, In the News / Aug 17, 2020

Breaking news: Coronavirus outbreak reported at two Utah mink fur farms

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

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Elections / Aug 11, 2020

Biden picks Kamala Harris, an animal champion, as his running mate

From the animal protection policy perspective, Joe Biden has made a very strong pick for his running mate in the 2020 presidential election. Senator Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) has an outstanding record of supporting animal protection, and her selection bodes well for our own efforts to secure a strong animal welfare platform from candidates for office at all levels. Among other things, she’s achieved a score of “100” every year on the Humane Scorecard since being elected to the U.S. Senate.

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Wildlife, Action Alerts, Federal Legislation / Aug 11, 2020

Shaking it up for sharks in 2020

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

We’ve never cared for the cheap, lurid television programming tied to Shark Week, preferring to join with other groups and media outlets in a celebration of this apex species found in all of the world’s oceans and even sometimes in rivers. Sharks are part of an incredibly diverse taxon, a cluster of nearly 500 related species in urgent need of our attention and energy. We must do all that we can to better protect these vitally important marine creatures, and there’s still time to make a difference.

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Wildlife / Aug 10, 2020

Celebrating lions – and protecting them – across the globe

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

Today, on World Lion Day, we celebrate lions as an iconic wild cat species, and we recommit to our campaigns to halt their exploitation and destruction in the United States and abroad. We are giving it all we’ve got.

In the wild, of course, this iconic species is among the most imperiled of all with as few as 20,000 left in range nations.

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Wildlife / Aug 07, 2020

HSLF, HSUS, conservation groups petition the government to protect North Atlantic right whales

With fewer than 400 individuals remaining on the planet, North Atlantic right whales are critically endangered. Originally decimated by commercial whalers, right whales began a slow recovery after passage of the Endangered Species Act in the 1970s. Now, sadly, they are once again on the decline as a result of human action—or inaction. Right whales move along the busy east coast of the United States and Canada, which places them quite literally in the path of danger.

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Animals in Research, Equines, Farm Animals, Pets & Cruelty, Wildlife, Elections, Federal Legislation / Aug 05, 2020

Virtually the best conference ever: registration open for Taking Action for Animals Online 2020

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

The fundamental purpose of our marquee advocacy training event, Taking Action for Animals Online, occurring on September 19 and 20, is to support greater political and social engagement by those who care about animals. COVID-19 hasn’t changed a thing in that regard, and TAFA 2020 features one of the strongest speaker and topic rosters in years, with nearly two dozen exciting sessions.

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Pets & Cruelty, Federal Legislation, In the News / Aug 04, 2020

Attorney for USVI speaks out on animal fighting as HSUS plans trainings on Guam and in USVI

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

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Animals in Research, Farm Animals, Wildlife, Federal Legislation / Jul 31, 2020

House passes second funding package with welcome news for chimpanzees, right whales and farm animals

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

The U.S. House has just approved additional help for animals, including right whales, chimpanzees and farm animals, as it continues the process of appropriating funds for federal agencies and departments for FY2021.

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Animals in Research, Federal Legislation / Jul 29, 2020

Industry support for Humane Cosmetics Act grows, with 900 companies supporting an end to animal testing

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

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Farm Animals, Federal Legislation / Jul 28, 2020

Bills introduced in Congress to stop faster speeds at slaughterhouses

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

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Equines, Pets & Cruelty, Wildlife, Federal Legislation, In the News / Jul 24, 2020

Breaking news: U.S. House approves key animal reforms, including combating wildlife trafficking, preventing cruel hunting practices and enforcing animal cruelty laws

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

The U.S. House today approved many key animal protection reforms, including measures designed to rein in horse soring, combat wildlife trafficking and help enforce animal cruelty laws, as part of Congress's annual appropriations process. Members also prohibited the use of federal funds for implementing cruel hunting practices on public lands in Alaska, and rejected an attempt to ensure the import of endangered elephant and lion trophies into the United States can continue.

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Pets & Cruelty, Federal Legislation, In the News / Jul 20, 2020