Churchill Downs and other major horse industry operations take important step, but it’s no substitute for the comprehensive reform of the Horseracing Integrity Act.
 

By Wayne Pacelle

The horse racing industry is showing flashes that it may be serious about weaning itself… read more

Congress takes aim at multi-billion-dollar trade in wildlife parts
By Penny Eastman and Wayne Pacelle
From ivory tusks to bear ball bladders to rhino horn to pangolin scales, wildlife trafficking involves the killing of wild animals for commercial sale of their parts and other products…. read more

Rash of horse deaths at Santa Anita signals fundamental problems for industry
By Wayne Pacelle
More than a few in the horse racing world think the rules about the responsible treatment of animals don’t apply to them or to their industry. Doping horses on race day to enhance performance,… read more

The intentional injuring of their feet and legs of Walking horses is a continuing disgrace
Note:  Today, U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Mark Warner (D-VA) reintroduced the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act  with five additional Republicans and five additional Democrats as original… read more

Key committee conducts hearing on four major animal protection bills
By Penny Eastman

In 2017 and 2018, House Republican committee chairmen – such as Bob Goodlatte of Judiciary and Rob Bishop of Natural Resources – refused to conduct hearings on even a single animal welfare bill assigned… read more

Botswana is hurtling toward a dreadful and dangerous back-tracking on its national wildlife protection policy. The country’s president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, is considering the idea of repealing or weakening the southern African nation’s landmark and foresighted 2014 policy of forbidding the killing… read more

In an industry where there are still too many low-grade tracks that cause in-competition injuries or are the last stop for poor-performing horses on their way to slaughter plants in Mexico and Canada, California’s Santa Anita Track is held up as one of the best venues in the trade. It hosts the… read more

Subtle and straightforward efforts to thwart protections for wolves, Walking horses, and roosters
There has been unmistakable progress in the field of animal protection, especially in recent years. We’ve outlawed cockfighting and dogfighting and made it a felony at the federal level too. The… read more

Body-Count Killers Disgrace Animal Protectors and Hunters Alike
Some of the names of the events sound playful at first: Fur Bang!, Critter Gitter, Santa Slay, Fox Frenzy.

Others are more literal and diabolical sounding: Crow Shoot, Coyote Carnage.

These are Wildlife Killing Contests… read more

Attempts to bar vegan food processors from displaying the words “milk” or “meat” on their products are just the latest examples
Sir Isaac Newton’s Third Law says that “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

What’s true in… read more