In the News

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

The Trump administration has just delivered a one-two punch to Alaska’s wildlife: it has announced that it will release a final National Park Service rule allowing some of the cruelest practices for killing black bears, wolves and other wildlife on national preserve lands in Alaska; and it has announced it will propose overturning Obama-era protections for brown bears and other animals on two million acres of public lands in the state's Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

The coronavirus pandemic has prompted the world to acknowledge the pressing need to change our relationship with animals. From the wildlife markets implicated in the origin of the novel coronavirus to the slaughterhouses that have become clusters for its spread, we now know only too well that our uncaring attitudes and indifferent practices toward animals can have grave consequences for human health.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

The World Health Organization is calling on nations to end wildlife markets because of the high risk they pose for the spread of pathogens like the coronavirus that can jump from animals to humans.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

Like an alarm bell in the night, COVID-19 has cut through the uneasy silence of the world’s failure to address pandemic illness tied to the trade, transport and consumption of wildlife. The notion that we could have prevented COVID-19 by taking decisive steps to curb that trade a decade or two ago should and will haunt us for generations. Still, it is not too late to act, and it is more urgent than ever that we do so.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

The nation’s most authoritative voice on infectious diseases today sounded a stern warning about the dangers of the wildlife trade and its relationship to pandemic diseases like COVID-19.

In an interview with Fox News, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci called for the global community to pressure China and other nations to close down their wildlife markets, where live animals are sold and slaughtered for food.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

With hundreds of millions of people required to stay indoors during the coronavirus pandemic, the media is reporting an alarming increase in domestic violence incidents the world over. This includes the United States where calls to help lines have jumped dramatically.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

The killing last week of Takaya, the lone wolf of Canada’s Discovery Island whose story of survival and resilience captivated people around the globe, is a grim reminder of the uphill battle wolves face in the modern world.

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

The $2 trillion emergency stimulus bill that cleared Congress today carries important prospective benefits for the animal care and services sector. These include a temporary expansion of charitable deduction provisions, opportunities for business continuity loans to cover payroll, paid leave, health-insurance premiums, facilities costs, and debt service, and increased tax incentives for corporate giving.