By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

In bear country, May is a month of rebirth. As temperatures warm, the bears who have been hibernating through the winter emerge. Mama bears will show their new babies the world for the first time and help them navigate their cubhood. Grizzly bears, in particular, spend so much time raising their young—four years or more—teaching them how to be a bear before they venture off on their own.

Just as these vulnerable animals are emerging into the wilderness, we are tracking threats emerging in the U.S. government that could strip them of their Endangered Species Act protections. For months, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has signaled it may soon move to delist grizzly bears.

And just this week, the House Appropriations Committee proposed a partisan federal funding bill for the Department of the Interior that, if passed, would direct the agency to delist grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide ecosystems and block our ability to fight back in court. This is in addition to a previously introduced bill, the Grizzly Bear State Management Act (H.R. 281/S. 316) that would remove endangered species protections from Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bears.

We need your help to stop this.

It is thanks only to the Endangered Species Act, a landmark environmental law that grizzly bears have slowly begun to recover their numbers from the devastating killing campaigns that brought them to the brink of extinction. Yet just around 2,000 individuals are left in the Lower 48; it’s critical that they retain these protections if they are to survive.

Miracle’s story

This year, in Grand Teton National Park, a young bear called Miracle is surviving solo. Miracle was originally a triplet. But after reportedly being separated from their mother, Bonita, in 2025, two of Miracle’s siblings were confirmed dead.

For a while, we did not know what had happened to the last cub—but then the aptly-named Miracle reappeared and was briefly reunited with Bonita before they entered separate dens for hibernation.

For grizzly bears, hibernating alone at such a young age is a risky move as the harsh winter takes a toll on their bodies—particularly when there is no snow to insulate their dens as occurred in the winter of 2025/2026. Many feared Miracle would not survive. But this little bear beat the odds. Spotted in the park once again this month, Miracle appears healthy and fit.

Miracle’s story is a reminder not only of the incredible odds grizzly bears face today, but that the reemergence of bears on the landscape is a true cause for celebration. After the species was almost wiped out because of hunting and habitat loss, each grizzly bear is an important, true “miracle” in their own right.

How you can help grizzly bears

Both 2024 and 2025 saw record-level mortalities for grizzly bears living in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, as bears have to roam further to find food when key sources dry up. It may also be difficult for bears to find food in the national parks and beyond this summer and fall after a tremendous drought in the Northern Rockies where all Lower 48 grizzly bears live. And yet, some are still calling for grizzly bears to be removed from Endangered Species Act protections so they can kill them for trophies.

You can speak up and tell the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that you value grizzly bears and want to see them protected:

Tell USFWS: Keep grizzly bears protected!

As bears struggle to exist in an increasingly human-dominated world, it’s more important than ever that we learn to coexist with them, too. Grizzly attacks on humans are exceedingly rare, and thousands—the vast majority—of encounters with these animals occur without incident.

That said, we can all take simple, commonsense precautions to coexist with bears. Experts at the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee regularly provide informative reminders about how to stay “bear safe.”

Here are some things you can do:

1. Know your bears. How to best respond to a bear encounter depends on the species, environment and overall context. Read up before stepping out.
2. Respect bears’ space. Just like humans enjoy personal space, bears do too. This is especially important when encountering a mother and her cubs as grizzly mama bears are protective by nature.
3. Take off the headphones. Staying aware of your surroundings is critical and headphones can interfere with that.
4. Travel in groups and make noise constantly. Hiking alone can be riskier in bear country. It’s best to go with a group of three or more people. Plus, bears are less likely to be surprised by a group of people than a single hiker.
5. Safely dispose of food in bear-proof containers and learn how to store foods safely while hiking or camping, such as hanging a bear bag. This helps keep you and other people in the area safe; human food is never appropriate for a bear.
6. Always carry bear spray and keep it accessible. When used properly, bear spray is 90% effective in stopping a bear attack, and far more efficacious than using a gun, according to several studies.
7. Consider your canine companions. Wildlife generally pose low risk to companion animals, but it never hurts to take an extra step to keep them safe outdoors. Use a leash (6 feet long or shorter) and equip your pups with a bright, high-visibility vest, bandana or collar when you venture out with them so they’re easy for you to spot and to distinguish from hunted species like coyotes. Make sure to educate yourself about the area you’re exploring.

Everyone can play a part in creating a more humane world, one that values and protects animals in their natural homes. Our actions matter to so many species, and as vulnerable grizzly bear mothers bring their young out of hibernation and into our wild landscapes, we have a responsibility to protect these families. 

Tell your legislators to vote NO on the Grizzly Bear State Management Act >>

Kitty Block is president and CEO of Humane World for Animals. 

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

In a recent memorandum of understanding, the Trump administration set the stage for the federal government’s renewed use of the M-44 cyanide bomb on lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management. This action, carried out discreetly and quietly, was outrageous to those of us who know what this diabolical device does to animals.

The M-44 is an ultra-deadly spring-loaded cylinder trap that uses a scented bait attractant to entice its victim to bite or tug at its head. Once triggered, the M-44 shoots a pellet of sodium cyanide into the animal’s mouth—causing terror, pain, distress, suffering, injury and death. Perhaps more than any other killing device, the M-44 epitomizes the utter callousness and cruelty of the federal government’s predator control activities, and its use is not merely beyond the pale. It is intolerable.

Over the years, as a weapon of choice for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services division, the M-44 has killed tens of thousands of wild animals. Although its primary targets are coyotes and foxes, the M-44 also kills animals it is not intended to harm including people’s pets—and it has poisoned or killed endangered wildlife species including wolves, grizzly bears and California condors. That’s not all. The M-44 is a clear and present danger to people, too, given its indiscriminate nature.

Those pushing for increased use of the M-44 have long benefited from the fact that our public policy discussions of killing methods for wildlife are notoriously underdeveloped in comparison with the animal welfare conversations that occur regarding animals in laboratories, animals used for food and companion animals.

Progress reversed, and animal welfare and public safety compromised

While the Biden administration’s record on wildlife issues was weak in many ways, it did get this one right. In 2023, it discontinued the use of the M-44 on the more than 245,000 million acres of land administered by the BLM. This prohibition arose from anticipated bans or use-limitations in a handful of states, including California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, as well as a 2017 incident in which an Idaho boy was injured and his pet dog killed after the accidental triggering of an M-44 on public land near their home.

For close to a decade, we’ve seen real momentum in the campaign to eliminate the use of the M-44. Now, that progress is being reversed by the Trump administration with its April 2026 memorandum of understanding between the BLM and the USDA. While the MOU doesn’t explicitly authorize or expand the M-44’s use, it does identify restricted-use pesticides, including the M-44, as tools that can be considered for use under existing laws and statutes, with the BLM evaluating proposals on a case-by-case basis.

Just a few weeks after the MOU’s release, language in the report that accompanied the FY2027 USDA appropriations bill directed the agency to fully integrate the M-44 into its wildlife damage management strategy. This makes the case quite clear. Between this appropriations language and the agency memo, the M-44 appears to be on its way back to routine use.

A failure of imagination and of policy

It is a shame that an administration that has so strongly embraced the need for a paradigm shift regarding the use of animals in research and testing would so thoughtlessly fail to embrace new ways of thinking about managing wildlife species including wild carnivores like coyotes. In the same way that the federal government has pressed for a multi-agency road map to replace animal tests with non-animal methods, it needs to develop and pursue a research and policy agenda to replace the worst wildlife killing methods with more humane and ecologically informed approaches.

This failure involves more than the government’s reliance on crude and ghastly killing tactics. It’s also the conspicuous failure over many years to implement conflict reduction frameworks that decisively engage ranchers, farmers, government officials and residents in areas where wild carnivores and domestic grazing animals are present. Nonlethal methods for wildlife conflict issues should be the default, and the use of diabolical killing tools the last resort.

That’s why, in the end, this involves a failure of will, too. The science of animal welfare has been a recognized discipline for more than half a century now. Our deepened understanding of animal behavior and animal sentience, and our changing attitudes about the relative humaneness of certain methods used for killing animals, should be at the heart of wildlife management policy.  But they aren’t, and the M-44 is the very embodiment of this heartlessness. It is a weapon of terror and extreme violence, and in the world we envision—the world we’re trying to create—there can be no place for it. 

Kitty Block is president and CEO of Humane World for Animals.

Laws are often the reflection of the values of a society, and that’s why we support the passage of laws that protect animals from cruelty. In a nation like the U.S., state and local laws are frequently as important as federal laws, and they play a fundamental role in our efforts to secure the highest level of protection possible for animals at risk.

Sometimes these legislative campaigns take years. In Iowa, our campaigners have been working for eight years to update Iowa’s animal cruelty laws. This was a campaign with many challenges, and we helped to assemble a broad coalition of supporters in pursuit of this upgrade. Here, Leighann Lassiter, program director with our companion animals team, and Preston Moore, Iowa state director, tell the story of how a new law recognizing the seriousness of extreme animal cruelty finally passed.

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With Governor Kim Reynolds’ signature on a new law in Iowa, the state has joined the other 49 in the U.S. that make intentional animal torture a felony on the first offense. The law includes elevated penalties if the individual involved has already been convicted for animal abuse, neglect or torture, injury to or interference with a police service dog, bestiality or involvement in animal fighting.

This has been nearly a decade in the making. And it could not come at a better time, because Iowa is a hot spot for social, political and cultural debates over animals, and the need for laws to protect them. In some respects, the presence and political engagement of these interests make our work in the state on other issues more difficult to navigate.

But not impossible—and we believed that a felony upgrade for egregious individual acts of cruelty was an issue that would stir the conscience of Iowa voters. Iowa was the only state where extreme animal cruelty was not an automatic felony on the first offense. We knew early on that legislators needed to hear from the people they represent—not just from lobbyists in the hallways of the State Capitol. So, we launched a major media and grassroots outreach campaign to show, without question, that Iowans care deeply about protecting animals.

Such a campaign requires advertising, extensive digital outreach through text and email campaigns, phone banking and on-the-ground mobilization.

Polling done by Humane World Action Fund told the story loud and clear: Iowans agreed that animal cruelty should be a felony. Those numbers didn’t just sit in a report—they became the foundation of our advocacy. They gave lawmakers the political courage to move forward, knowing their constituents had their backs. Humane World Action Fund plays a unique role in the animal protection movement by supporting or opposing candidates on the ballot. Voters care deeply about animal protection issues, and Humane World Action Fund is there with resources to help them hold elected officials accountable.

The bill passed the Iowa House unanimously early in the session. The strong bipartisan support in the lower chamber set a clear tone. The bill also advanced unanimously through the Senate subcommittee and the full Agriculture Committee. On paper, it looked like a straightforward path to passage.

But then, things stalled out in the Senate. A small group of senators dug in and opposed the bill. The legislative calendar filled up with a raft of legislative priorities—property tax reform, budget negotiations and other issues—and we realized we had to do more.

That’s when we went all in.

We followed up with one of our largest-ever Humane Lobby Days. Seventy-five advocates from across the state showed up at the Capitol, and they made the most of the day—seeing one of our 2026 Trailblazer in Animal Welfare Award recipients honored, meeting with the lieutenant governor, and recognizing law enforcement leaders who had spoken out in support.

On April 15 we co-hosted a coalition press conference outside the Statehouse. It was a turning point in our public messaging. We stopped politely asking lawmakers to pledge their support and started stating the obvious: “We have the votes.”

The legislature’s original adjournment date of April 21 came and went with no movement on our bill. We kept the pressure on. Extensive phone banking, text messages, public outreach, media interviews, guest columns, targeted newspaper ads and more kept the issue visible everywhere—even on screens inside the Capitol.

Advocates flooded the Senate switchboard daily. Shelters, rescues, veterinarians and law enforcement officers continued making their voices heard through pop-up lobby days and direct outreach. Conservative activists applied constituent pressure from within Republican circles. Democrats all pledged support for the bill.

The narrative flipped. What had been a stalled bill suddenly became a must-pass piece of legislation.

In the final week of Iowa’s legislative session, the Senate passed the bill unanimously, with some minor amendments. The very next day, the House concurred unanimously. Just like that, it was done.

This bill passed into law because a broad, determined coalition of animal welfare organizations stood shoulder to shoulder with law enforcement officers and their state associations. Members of the veterinary community lent their expertise and credibility. Domestic violence and child advocates reminded everyone that animal abuse is often a warning sign of violence inside the home. The bill’s sponsors and other champions for animals in the House and Senate negotiated bill language and urged their colleagues to vote yes. And tens of thousands of everyday Iowans—Republicans, Democrats and independents—made their voices heard.

Whenever and wherever we advocate for bills that become laws protecting animals, we strengthen our ability to secure other measures. And such power is essential in a society where animals are vulnerable and entirely at our mercy.

Do you want to get involved in public policy work in your state? Become a humane policy volunteer.

Leighann Lassiter is program director for the animal cruelty campaign at Humane World for Animals. Preston Moore is Iowa state director at Humane World Action Fund. 

When it comes to appropriations—the annual multi-layered system Congress uses to allocate funding and provide direction for federal agencies—we’re driven, because it’s one of the most valuable channels for securing animal protection gains. This is particularly true for the USDA-FDA appropriations bill, which governs spending for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, two agencies with critical influence over the fate of animals.

In the fiscal year 2027 USDA-FDA package, we succeeded in our efforts to maintain funding for USDA’s enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act at $37.25 million, the same as FY26. The appropriations committee also directed USDA to provide updates on its AWA enforcement efforts and the agency’s recommendations for improving requirements and standards, and to strengthen collaboration on enforcement efforts with the Department of Justice.

In addition, the package offers crucial direction for ongoing commitments to non-animal testing methods at the FDA.

To secure the gains reported below, we successfully marshalled strong bipartisan support. A total of 194 Representatives, led by Reps. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), advocated for many of these priorities, alongside parallel requests from 44 Senators led by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).

The good elements focused on USDA in the package included:

• The defund language that annually prohibits funding for USDA to inspect horse slaughter plants, which prevents such plants from operating on U.S. soil.
• Language that encourages USDA to continue to provide means for the public to search for AWA compliance and enforcement data and specific information on inspection report findings.
• $1.5 million for the Protecting Animals with Shelter (PAWS) grant program that helps more domestic violence shelters build kennel space or organize pet fostering arrangements for survivors leaving abusive situations with their companion animals.
• Language that encourages USDA to increase its efforts to investigate and prevent animal fighting on the grounds that it is cruel, illegal and can spread diseases including highly pathogenic avian influenza.
• Language directing training for inspectors on humane handling of animals at slaughter facilities, including on the slaughter lines.
• Inclusion of the Bring Animals Relief and Kibble (BARK) Act, to waive liability for donors of pet food and supplies, along with the receiving organizations, to incentivize pet retailers and others to donate millions of pounds of usable pet food and supplies to shelters and families with pets.
• Language that directs USDA to review federally licensed Class A dog breeders that have relinquished a similar state license in the past two years, and if the agency finds that such breeders no longer qualify, to revoke their federal licenses.

We were certainly pleased to see the package contained language directing FDA to update its regulations within one year for non-animal methods and to clarify (where applicable) that animal tests are not required.

Bad news comes with the territory in any funding budget for USDA, and this year’s House committee report includes some problematic provisions:

• Language that lays the groundwork for further adulteration of the rules designed to protect horses from soring under the Horse Protection Act.
• Language encouraging USDA to work “collaboratively” with licensees on identified AWA infractions, instead of applying and enforcing the law.
• Language directing USDA to fully integrate M-44s into its wildlife damage management strategy. These spring-loaded cyanide devices used to kill coyotes, foxes and other species deemed pests are cruel and threaten pets, people and endangered wildlife.

The results were mixed on a few matters on which we pressed for action.

• We sought bill language to phase out elephants’ use in overnight traveling performances. Instead, the committee included report language expressing the need for safe and humane care of elephants and directing USDA to provide information on traveling elephant exhibitions, inspection standards, and agency resources allocated to elephant welfare.
• We opposed the inclusion of the Pet Food Uniform Regulatory Reform (PURR) Act in the package because of our concern that this measure would designate FDA as the sole regulatory authority over pet food ingredients, labeling and marketing for dogs and cats. The bill as written would undermine state-enacted pet food labeling laws that benefit spay/neuter programs. While report language was included directing that spay/neuter programs cannot be impacted, if bill language shielding such programs is not incorporated, we believe the PURR Act should be removed from the final package.
• As supporters of the veterinary loan repayment program that creates incentives for veterinarians to work in underserved areas, we were pleased the committee agreed to maintain its current funding level of $10 million. However, we were disappointed the committee did not encourage our view that the USDA should extend these benefits to veterinarians who serve the needs of companion animals as well as farm animals in rural and underserved areas.

In recent months we have been waging battles of tremendous consequence for animals. These include our fights to turn back persistent attacks on Proposition 12 and related state-level laws concerning animal welfare and public health, and to stop a concentrated assault on Endangered Species Act protections. But even in the midst of those intense campaigns, there are other challenges we must meet, including the ones that arise during the appropriations process. The fights we wage in that arena don’t get nearly as much attention, but they are no less important to our animal protection agenda and no less vital to the safety and well-being of animals. 

Senate must not repeat the House’s faulty mistake on animal welfare policies as Farm Bill heads to the upper chamber

WASHINGTON (April 30, 2026)—In a vote largely on partisan lines, the U.S. House of Representatives overlooked serious flaws in the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 and voted 224 to 200 to pass legislation full of harmful provisions impacting animals, communities, families and the environment. Humane World for Animals and Humane World Action Fund, formerly called the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society Legislative Fund, offer the following statements for media reporting on the Farm Bill.

Sara Amundson, president, Humane World Action Fund, said:

“This Farm Bill became a largely partisan vehicle for a narrow set of corporate interests determined to roll back basic protections for animals and strip states of their right to set humane standards for products sold within their borders. However, three Republicans voted against final passage, and the language gutting 15 state laws on all sides of the political spectrum—from Arizona to Ohio to Florida—was a factor for a few of them. These states have already acted to limit the cruel confinement of farm animals because voters believe animals should at least be able to turn around, extend their limbs and lie down comfortably. Those who voted for this bill chose willingly to ignore that emerging consensus and instead sided with a handful of Big Pork producers trying to rewrite the rules after losing time and time again at the ballot box and in the courts. This Farm Bill isn’t about helping farmers or feeding families, it’s about preserving a cruel industrial system most Americans reject. We will press the Senate to take a different path on their Farm Bill so that it protects animals, respects states’ authority and upholds the will of voters.”

Kitty Block, president and CEO, Humane World for Animals, said:

“This was a defining vote for our long-standing work to ensure that animal welfare laws aren’t decided by a handful of powerful industries behind closed doors. While the House ultimately passed this Farm Bill, we’re grateful to the bipartisan group of members—and the thousands of advocates, farmers and businesses—who stood up to oppose provisions that are out of step with their constituents’ values, the evolving marketplace and our basic standards of decency for animals. Their leadership made clear that there is significant and growing resistance to rolling back state animal welfare and public health laws. We will carry that momentum into the Senate and continue fighting for a Farm Bill that rejects any attempt to strip states of their power to protect animals.”

For more than a decade, Humane World for Animals and Humane World Action Fund have led work in more than a dozen states across the country to end the cruel confinement of farm animals, and the enactment of California’s Proposition 12 is one of our most notable achievements. We helped draft the initiative, build the campaign that secured its overwhelming approval by millions of voters in 2018 and defend its constitutionality at every level of the court system, including a successful defense before the U.S. Supreme Court in May 2023.

This vote outcome on the Farm Bill in the House also jeopardizes critical protections for animals across multiple fronts that were blocked from consideration including advancing stronger standards for dogs in breeding facilities and improving enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act. It also endangers progress toward ending horse slaughter, blocking taxpayer support for the mink industry and expanding pathways for animals used in research to be retired into safe environments.

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Media Contact: Liz Bartolomeo; ebartolomeo@humaneworld.org, 240-472-0475

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

Update 04/30/26: The U.S. House of Representatives voted 224-200, largely on party lines, to pass the House Farm Bill which includes the Save Our Bacon Act. There’s still time to stop this dangerous bill as the House will need to work with the U.S. Senate on a final version of the Farm Bill. You can help by urging your federal legislators to OPPOSE a Farm Bill that includes any language that restricts state farm animal laws.

The U.S. House of Representatives is debating and voting on a huge legislative package, the Farm Bill, that could decide the basic quality of life for millions of pigs and other animals, and set dangerous limits on what state laws can do for animal welfare.

The absurdly named Save Our Bacon Act that’s part of this Farm Bill would override state laws that protect farm animals from extreme confinement (not ban bacon)—laws that voters, legislators and supportive farmers and producers have already put in place.

There’s still time for you to urge your representative to protect state animal protection laws.

Earlier this month, a bipartisan amendment was filed that would have struck Save Our Bacon from the Farm Bill. But given House Agriculture Chairman GT Thompson's continued flogging for Big Pork, it was blocked from advancing for a vote before the full House of Representatives. This was a naked power grab by the backward-facing segment of the pork industry to shut out the more than 200 members of Congress, Republican and Democrat, who firmly oppose the Save Our Bacon Act and did their best to stop Thompson’s power play.

Remember: More than 7.5 million Californians voted for Proposition 12 nearly a decade ago; the Supreme Court upheld Proposition 12 in 2023; and the market has already moved away from the extreme confinement of farm animals.

In past Farm Bill deliberations, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle opposed attempts to override state animal protection and public health laws.

Protect Prop 12 >>

Across the U.S., 15 states from Arizona to Ohio to Florida have enacted laws to limit the cruel confinement of farm animals. These measures reflect what most people believe:

• Animals should be able to stand up, turn around and lie down comfortably.
• States have the right to set health, safety and animal welfare standards for products sold within their borders.
• A few Big Pork producers and their trade associations should not be able to rewrite the rules when voters rejected their practices.

The SOB Act would undermine the growing consensus that animals raised for food are deserving of our compassion and humane consideration. At its core, this push to destroy humane legislation isn’t about helping farmers or feeding families. It’s about protecting industrial-scale pork producers that rely on intensive confinement systems most Americans oppose.

The future of animal welfare in the U.S. shouldn’t be decided by a handful of powerful industry lobbyists behind closed doors. It should reflect our shared values of compassion, fairness and accountability. This is a critical moment in the history of farm animal protection. And it’s one where individual voices really can make a difference.

Tell your representative to oppose the Farm Bill that undermines state animal protection laws. 

Kitty Block is president and CEO of Humane World for Animals.

Humane World Action Fund vows to block harmful Farm Bill provisions targeting animal welfare as fight continues

WASHINGTON (April 29, 2026)—Humane World Action Fund, formerly called Humane Society Legislative Fund, issued the following statement on the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 not advancing in the House.

Sara Amundson, president of Humane World Action Fund, said:

“The House Farm Bill proved to be a twisted collection of handouts to Big Ag. Ultimately, the bill collapsed under the weight of its own controversial poison pills through provisions that were bad for animals, families, communities and the environment, and lawmakers were right not to move the bill forward. While this package is stalled in the House, the fight is far from over. We will work to ensure that this bad bill with harmful provisions targeting state animal welfare laws, undermining international animal rescue, and subsidizing cruelty does not become law. Our focus now is clear: protect the progress states have made, defend farmers who’ve already adapted, and make sure Big Pork and other special interests do not roll back humane standards.”

More than 200 bipartisan members of both chambers are already on record in their opposition to the Save Our Bacon Act, and in past Farm Bills, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle opposed controversial attempts to override state animal protection and public health laws. More than 7.5 million Californians voted for Proposition 12 nearly a decade ago, the Supreme Court upheld it in 2023, and the market has already adapted.

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Media Contact: Liz Bartolomeo; ebartolomeo@humaneaction.org, 240-472-0475

By Sara Amundson and Kitty Block

In August 2025, at a dog breeding operation in Missouri, a husky mix named Masterpiece got sick with diarrhea and appeared weak. The owner of the facility, who is licensed under the U.S. Department of Agriculture, simply killed him.

In response, the USDA suspended the breeder’s license in January for just 21 days. Now the license is active again.

This is the kind of ongoing cruelty and indifference toward animals we are constantly fighting. Every year we issue our Horrible Hundred report to expose puppy mills across the U.S. Our new report speaks for Masterpiece and all the other dogs who are suffering—or even dying—at the hands of a wholly legal and licensed industry permitted to sell its dogs to pet stores and online.

This year’s report included more than 20 breeders who have sold puppies to Petland—the only national chain of pet stores in the U.S. that still sells puppies—and have repeatedly been exposed for cruelty. Many other breeders in the report put their puppies up for sale on social media and on websites, such as Puppies.com, GreenfieldPuppies.com and LancasterPuppies.com, to families who don’t even meet their puppy in person prior to purchase.

These states have high numbers of puppy mills.

For the 14th year in a row, Missouri has the highest number of bad breeders in the report. Missouri is followed by Wisconsin, New York, Pennsylvania, Kansas and Ohio. These higher numbers generally indicate the states have a glut of commercial breeders but can also indicate an enforcement program that needs more funding and support. States with a stronger enforcement program often produce more documentation than states with no enforcement.

Our Stop Puppy Mills team scours state, federal, court and other records to bring these stories to light so that the public can understand the truth behind puppy mills.

At a licensed Missouri puppy mill, Hidden Valley Farms, which sold puppies to Petland, a dog named May May was found staggering; others were thin, and a French bulldog named Pebbles was found alive but “unresponsive.” We know the sad fate of Masterpiece, but so often it is impossible to know what happens to the dogs in the puppy mill system—the reports offer only fragments of their stories.

The Horrible Hundred report helps to give a voice to dogs who can’t speak for themselves.

For 14 years, we have published our Horrible Hundred report not to “name and shame” breeders but to shine a light on a pervasive and systemic cruelty to dogs. What puppy mill dogs are forced to endure most dog lovers would agree is unacceptable.

The details attest to the urgent need for stronger laws and enforcement efforts to address inhumane commercial dog breeders across the country: Underweight mother dogs with their ribs showing. Dogs in bitterly cold temperatures with only frozen water to drink. A lethargic puppy who was injected with a medication formulated for farm animals instead of being taken to a veterinarian.

Here are some specific details we uncovered and feature in the new report:

• Authorities reported a Pennsylvania breeder, Chester View Kennel, for suspected animal cruelty after the breeder used tight “rubber ligature[s]” in an attempt to “dock” puppies’ tails, but the breeder appears to be operating as of April 2026.
• A dog was found dead of apparent hypothermia at a breeding kennel in Nebraska, Sandhills Dachshunds, in December 2025.
• A dog at Happy Canine Kennel in Wisconsin had such a severe injury to his eye that the eye had to be surgically removed.
• An inspector visiting Bow Wow Mound Kennels in Kansas was so overcome by strong odors that their eyes, nose and throat had a burning sensation and they had to flee the building to use an inhaler; the kennel had sold puppies to Petland.

The public has a right to know what happens at puppy mills.

This is the status quo: Behind closed doors at puppy mills, mother dogs are forced to breed and birth litter after litter until their bodies are exhausted. Their pups are treated as commodities to feed an industry that takes advantage of people’s love for animals. Some pups from puppy mills suffer from lifelong health or behavioral problems, stemming from the deprivation of their early puppyhood. Most of the puppy mills in the Horrible Hundred report are state or federally licensed, and many sell dogs to pet stores like Petland.

The Horrible Hundred report is making a difference.

In past years, after our Horrible Hundred report has come out, some of the largest puppy mills that appeared in these reports closed and/or were significantly fined or criminally charged. These and other closures brought the total of animals rescued from Horrible Hundred breeders over the years to more than 3,330.

We continue to press authorities to take stronger action against repeat offenders and to enact tougher policies to prevent poor conditions at commercial pet breeders from escalating into animal cruelty.

You can also make a difference for dogs.

Eight states and over 520 localities prohibit the sale of puppy mill puppies in pet shops, and we’re working with several other states and cities on enacting this policy as we write this. This crucial work is a blow to cruel puppy mills, but it doesn’t replace the need to crack down on the mills themselves. That’s why we are pushing for federal solutions, too.

There are two bills that would better the lives of dogs at puppy mills in the U.S. The Puppy Protection Act would improve the quality of life of dogs in USDA-licensed breeding facilities by requiring stronger standards of care including increased enclosure sizes, solid flooring, exercise, feeding twice per day, socialization, increased veterinary care and protection from extreme temperatures. It would also impose breeding limits and ensure that breeders make reasonable efforts to rehome retired dogs instead of discarding or killing them.

Pass the Puppy Protection Act >>

The Better Collaboration, Accountability, and Regulatory Enforcement (CARE) for Animals Act would amend the Animal Welfare Act to enhance the enforcement capacities of the U.S. Department of Justice and reinforce multi-agency collaboration between the DOJ and the USDA. This will make it easier to shut down problematic breeders licensed under the USDA for good.

Pass the Better CARE for Animals Act >>

We can end the cruelty of this industry but we must all come together to raise awareness of the plight of puppy mill dogs and call on lawmakers to take action. You can also share this information with your family and friends, urging them to never buy a dog or cat from a pet store or online. Together, we can create a world in which dogs are treated as companions, not commodities. 

Kitty Block is president and CEO of Humane World for Animals.

WASHINGTON (April 27, 2026)—Humane World Action Fund, formerly called Humane Society Legislation Fund, announced its endorsement of Brian Fitzpatrick for Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District. As the nation’s leading political animal advocacy organization, Humane World Action Fund endorses candidates based on their demonstrated commitment to animal protection, evaluating each candidate only on their record and positions on animal welfare issues.

“As co-chair of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus and a committed leader on animal protection issues, Brian Fitzpatrick has shown remarkable leadership in the US Congress and with federal agencies alike,” said Sara Amundson, president of Humane World Action Fund. “As a former FBI agent, he understands the criminal activity underlying everything from dog fighting to violations of the Animal Welfare Act and the costs it presents to a more humane society. He's championing the Puppy Protection Act and the Better CARE for Animals Act to strengthen Animal Welfare Act standards and enforcement. We urge voters in Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District to reelect Brian Fitzpatrick to Congress.”

Rep. Fitzpatrick is a co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Animal Protection Caucus, which works to promote animal protection initiatives to other members of Congress. He earned a perfect score of 100+ on Humane World Action Fund’s 2025 Humane Scorecard.

“Cruelty, violence, and hatred have no place in our society—against anyone or anything. That principle has always guided my work, and Humane World Action Fund has long stood at the forefront of the effort to protect animals from abuse, neglect, and cruelty. Over the years, we have worked in close partnership to strengthen federal animal welfare laws, raise standards, close dangerous gaps in protection, and ensure that accountability is more than an aspiration. I am deeply grateful for their trust, their partnership, and the honor of their endorsement. My heartfelt thanks to Sara Amundson, Kitty Block, and the entire Humane World Action Fund team for their leadership, conviction, and steadfast devotion to this cause,” said Congressman Fitzpatrick.

Pro-animal actions taken by Rep. Fitzpatrick in the 119th Congress include:

• Sponsoring the Puppy Protection Act (H.R. 2253) to address serious gaps in welfare standards for tens of thousands of breeding dogs and puppies at large-scale breeding operations licensed by the USDA.
• Cosponsoring the Better Collaboration, Accountability, and Regulatory Enforcement (CARE) for Animals Act (H.R. 3112), which would strengthen collaboration between the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to ensure sufficient enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) and help deter violations.
• Cosponsoring the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act (H.R. 1661) to prohibit the reopening of horse slaughter plants in the U.S. and the export of American horses to slaughter for human consumption.
• Voting against the misleadingly named Pet and Livestock Protection Act, which would force the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in the lower 48 states and block judicial review of the action, leaving wolves vulnerable to an onslaught of trophy hunting and recreational trapping.
• Co-signing a letter to the Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee which asked for provisions in the FY2026 funding bill for enforcement of the AWA, Horse Protection Act (HPA), Humane Methods of Slaughter Act and federal animal fighting law, as well as for programs to promote alternatives to animal testing, to provide shelter for domestic violence survivors with pets through the Protecting Animals With Shelter (PAWS) grant program, and to assist veterinarians working in designated veterinary shortage areas.
• Co-signing a letter to the Agriculture Appropriations subcommittee that asked for a provision to permanently defund USDA horse slaughter inspections and thus prevent horse slaughter plants from ever operating in the U.S.

View a running list of 2026 endorsements made by Humane World Action Fund at humaneaction.org/endorsements.

Media Contact: Liz Bartolomeo; ebartolomeo@humaneaction.org, 240-472-0475

WASHINGTON (April 27, 2026)—Humane World Action Fund, formerly called Humane Society Legislation Fund, announced its endorsement of Guy Reschenthaler for Pennsylvania's 14th Congressional District. As the nation’s leading political animal advocacy organization, Humane World Action Fund endorses candidates based on their demonstrated commitment to animal protection, evaluating each candidate only on their record and positions on animal welfare issues.

“Beginning in the Pennsylvania legislature and now within leadership in the US Congress, Guy Reschenthaler's championing of key animal protection measures reflects America’s deep love of animals. He's leading the Better CARE for Animals Act and the Puppy Protection Act to crack down on abuses of dogs in puppy mills and laboratories” said Sara Amundson, president of Humane World Action Fund. “His actions in Congress helped advance humane policies and protect animals from cruelty and exploitation. We urge voters in Pennsylvania’s 14th Congressional District to send Rep. Reschenthaler back to Congress.”

Rep. Reschenthaler is a member of the bipartisan Congressional Animal Protection Caucus, which works to promote animal protection initiatives to other members of Congress.

Pro-animal actions taken by Rep. Reschenthaler in the 119th Congress include:

• Co-leading the Better Collaboration, Accountability, and Regulatory Enforcement (CARE) for Animals Act (H.R. 3112), which would strengthen collaboration between the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to ensure sufficient enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) and help deter violations.
• Co-leading the Puppy Protection Act (H.R. 2253) to address serious gaps in welfare standards for tens of thousands of breeding dogs and puppies at large-scale breeding operations licensed by the USDA.

View a running list of 2026 endorsements made by Humane World Action Fund at humaneaction.org/endorsements.

Media Contact: Liz Bartolomeo; ebartolomeo@humaneaction.org, 240-472-0475