By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
The original “Tiger King” Netflix series was a pandemic phenomenon with a train-wreck fascination for millions of viewers and a whole cast of unsavory characters. But the sideshow weirdness of the personalities involved kept many viewers from focusing on the big cat industry’s epidemic of cruelty.
By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson
We begin our work in 2022 encouraged by the knowledge that a handful of significant animal protection laws at the state level have now taken effect across the country. That makes for a great start to a year in which we hope to extend the reach of our campaigns to help all animals.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
Every year that passes sees hundreds of thousands of wild animals in the U.S. and around the world killed by trophy hunters, whose main motivation is to display whole animals or their body parts for bragging rights. Given all the threats facing wild animals, including habitat loss, environmental devastation and climate change, it is astounding that such a practice still exists today, which is why protecting animals from trophy hunting in the U.S. and around the world is a top priority for us.
On the surface, perhaps, the most important legislative packages approved in the U.S. Congress and signed into law this year—the American Rescue Plan Act (focused on COVID-19 relief) and the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—may not have seemed relevant to the mission of animal protection. But the truth is that both contained sweeping gains for us, and this was no accident.
By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson
By Kitty Block and Sara Amundson
There are few among us who have not been saddened by the demoralizing sight of animals along our roads who have died in vehicle collisions. For anyone who has had this experience or had the heartbreaking misfortune to be involved in such an accident, there’s great news in the $1.3 trillion infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act signed into law a few days ago by President Biden.
Accountability is the watchword of our efforts to secure the passage of animal-friendly federal legislation. We are accountable to our supporters as well as to the animals we seek to defend, and we never forget who we’re working for. This means that we also work continuously to hold elected officials accountable for their track records wherever the interests of animals are concerned.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
African leopards are magnificently powerful animals who can take down prey animals ten times their size. But despite their strength, leopards are no match for trophy hunters, who go to great lengths to lure the animals to their deaths and bring back their body parts as trophies.
By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block
