It's been a year of one-two punches against the industry in our battle to knock out cockfighting. Two states--Arkansas and Kansas--passed laws to make cockfighting a felony, and other states enacted tougher penalties. HSUS and HSLF are on the march in the remaining states where cockfighting is still treated like...

Congress took two steps in recent days on animal issues, as part of its larger bills related to the Department of Defense and military spending. 

I wrote back in July about legislation introduced by Senators Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) and Representatives

There's no question that we as a society need to do more to help homeless dogs and cats find loving families, and we are even seeing the issue of pet adoption enter the public policy arena. In California, for example, Assemblyman Cameron Smyth (R-Santa Clarita) introduced a bill...

Virginia state Sen. Ken Cuccinelli may be one of the only elected officials in the country running for statewide office who is an apologist for staged animal fighting and has the record to prove it. He's running this November for attorney general in Virginia, yet he's soft on dogfighting and...

I met 14-year-old San Diego student Ben Byrom last year, when he was volunteering for the campaign to pass Proposition 2 and ban inhumane factory farming practices. Ben was too young to circulate petitions himself  because he wasn't a registered voter, but he helped his parents gather signatures...

Politico's Erika Lovley reported yesterday on a new study conducted by researchers at Stanford University and the University of Chicago, indicating that women in Congress tend to be more effective than male lawmakers. The study examined the performance of House members over two decades, and found that on...

The economic downturn is having ripple effects in nearly every part of American life, but the impact on animal shelters has been especially acute. Struggling families are relinquishing more dogs and cats to shelters, as they find they can no longer afford the costs of pet care, or they are...

How many times have you heard about a cruel or abusive practice involving animals, and wondered, "How can that be legal? Isn't there a law against that?"

Now, the Humane Society Legislative Fund has an opportunity for you to take your idea and help shape future public...

When Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell signed a bill yesterday -- surrounded by dogs and dog lovers -- to curb some of the worst puppy mill abuses, he knew he was taking a major step forward for man's best friend. What he probably didn't know was that his humane...

When mourning dove hunting season begins next week--in most states except Iowa and Michigan which have resisted the entreaties of the gun lobby, and nearly all of the Northeast where the gentle songbirds have long been protected--hunters will once again discharge enormous amounts of toxic lead shot into...

I wrote last year about California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's misguided plan to add a sales tax to veterinary services as part of a larger set of proposals to deal with the state's multi-billion dollar budget shortfall. Thanks to the work of HSUS, the California Veterinary Medical Association, and...

I spent yesterday at the Liberation Christian Center in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago's South Side, where Michael Vick spoke to at-risk youth and urged them not to get involved in dog-fighting. When the Michael Vick case broke two years ago and brought a new level of attention...

Congressional town hall meetings are erupting in violence over the health care issue. A lobbying firm for the coal industry forged letters supposedly from local groups unhappy with climate change legislation. It seems that grassroots lobbying is getting a bad rap these days.

But that...

This fall, for the first time in more than 15 years, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a major animal protection case. The high court will decide whether to uphold a 1999 federal law that bans the commercial sale of videos depicting extreme and illegal acts...

It's been a good week for marine life. The House of Representatives emphatically passed two bills to protect sea otters and turtles. A New York Times editorial called for an end to the cruel and wasteful practice of cutting the fins off sharks in American waters,...

The Hill, a "must read" newspaper for Washington policy makers, this week published a special edition on animal welfare for the first time in its 15 years of publication. It could not have been more timely, as hundreds of animal advocates from around the country descended on Capitol...

Legislation can move slowly in Congress, but there are several wildlife protection bills moving with the speed and grace of a cheetah. Thanks largely to the leadership of House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife Subcommittee Chairwoman Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam),...

The bond between people and animals is a strong one -- and can even be a healing one. Pets are good for our emotional and physical health, and studies show that having a pet can lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Caring for a companion animal provides a sense...

The U.S. House of Representatives this morning passed H.R. 1018, the Restore Our American Mustangs Act, by a vote of 239-185. This legislation championed by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.) and Representatives Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Ed...

When California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 2 last November, banning the extreme confinement of animals on industrial factory farms, they sent the message loud and clear that all animals deserve humane treatment -- including animals raised for food.