Handouts to hunters, fishers, loggers, miners, & the oil and gas extraction industries BLOOMINGTON, Minnesota––U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt on October 29, 2020 announced that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is removing gray wolves from Endangered Species Act protection throughout the Lower 48 states. The wolf delisting is widely seen as a blatant […]
NYC pet store fined $3.9 million; probe finds “rescues” are the new “puppy millers”
Nebraska deputy ombudsman reports extensive non-enforcement of anti-“puppy mill” law NEW YORK, N.Y.; LINCOLN, Nebraska––A $3.9 million fine levied against the owners of the long closed Chelsea Kennel Club pet store in New York City grabbed the headlines on October 16, 2020, but a more meaningful action against abusive dog suppliers came quietly on […]
David Wills, ex-Humane Society of the U.S. vice president, gets life in prison
Life sentence rendered after case was before the courts for five years CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas––David Keith Wills, 68, former Michigan Humane Society executive director and vice president for investigations at the Humane Society of the U.S., was on September 22, 2020 formally sentenced to serve life in federal; prison. Wills was convicted on October 8, […]
Kamala Harris: long record on animal issues, including pit bull attacks
Prosecuted two dog attack fatalities, enforced pit bull sterilization ordinance, but favors adoptions of fighting dogs SAN FRANCISCO––U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, named vice presidential running mate to Democratic Party presidential nominee Joe Biden on August 11, 2020, brings to the election campaign both a strong record on animal protection and a mixed record in […]
Are animal charity donors at risk from the Blackbaud data security breach?
Consequences of the data security failure are still just coming to light CHARLESTON, South Carolina––How many animal charity donors’ personal information may be at risk from a four-month security breach at the fundraising, data management, and financial services firm Blackbaud? The number may be in the tens of thousands, or even the millions, but even […]
Amazon et al may sell foie gras to Californians despite state ban, rules judge
2004 law prohibits sale but not purchase of product from tortured waterfowl LOS ANGELES, California––Foie gras, an oily spread made from the diseased livers of force-fed ducks and geese, may be legally purchased by Californians, but a 2004 state law prohibits selling it within California, Los Angeles U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson ruled on […]
Horse racing fails to win, place, or show in Georgia, despite HSUS support
Why is the Humane Society of the U.S. helping horse racing to expand into new territory? ATLANTA, Georgia––Again the perennial horse racing industry attempt to legalize pari-mutuel betting and introduce thoroughbred racing to Georgia failed during the 2020 state legislative session, closed on July 3. Opposition to legalizing pari-mutuel betting came chiefly from religious groups […]
Scotland to stop shooting seals to save salmon farm profits––but not until 2021
50-year effort by Scottish seal defenders––but Humane Society of the U.S. blasts out media releases claiming credit DUMBARTON, Scotland––Culminating a half century of effort by the Save Our Seals Fund, and Animal Concern Scotland, led for decades by John Robins of both organizations, the Scottish Parliament on June 17, 2020 ratified a new Animals & Wildlife […]
“That touch of mink” & COVID-19: Dutch outbreak hints mink may be host
Fur farming to end in The Netherlands by 2024 WAGENINGEN, The Netherlands––The discovery that ranched mink can become infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus may lend momentum to the Dutch national plan to phase out mink farming entirely by 2024. Concern that mink themselves might become a COVID-19 reservoir may also dampen Chinese enthusiasm for rebuilding […]
Add to COVID-19 toll expanded hunting on U.S. Wildlife Refuges
Trump administration appointees open more federal refuges to hunting than last three administrations combined WASHINGTON D.C.––Opponents of hunting might imagine that Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service chief Aurelia Skipwith waited until the public was distracted by soaring daily death tolls from the COVID-19 global pandemic to announce the biggest-ever […]