Region: United States

Humane Society International / United States

WASHINGTON – For World Water Day on 22 March, Humane Society International is urging consumers to eat a more plant-based diet to help combat the significant contribution to water scarcity across the world. Water security is one of the biggest challenges facing our planet, so World Water Day is the ideal opportunity to tackle one of the biggest causes of water usage – meat, dairy and egg production.

Globally 2.1 billion people live without safe water and around 4 billion people – nearly two-thirds of the world’s population – experience severe water scarcity during at least one month of the year. According to the United Nations, 700 million people worldwide could be displaced by intense water scarcity by 2030.

With more than 83 billion animals reared and slaughtered globally for the food industry every year, industrial scale animal agriculture impacts our environment in enormously detrimental ways. It is not only one of the leading contributors to climate change and deforestation, but it also uses vast quantities of water. Research shows that switching to more plant-forward diets could cut our water footprint in half, so by changing our diet to reduce or replace meat, dairy and eggs with more water-friendly plant-based foods, we can all help to preserve the world’s water.

The Top 8 Reasons to Eat Plant-Based for World Water Day
1. Farming (animal and plant) accounts for about 70 percent of water used in the world today, up to 92 percent of freshwater, with nearly one-third of that related to animal farming and growing crops to feed to animals.
2. Most of the total volume of water used for animal agriculture (98 percent) refers to the water footprint of the feed for the animals. About one-third of the world’s grain and 80 percent of the world’s soya is fed to the animals we rear for food.
3. Intensive animal farming can cause serious water pollution such as eutrophication, an excessive amount of algae in the water caused by run-off of animal faeces and leftover feed, often leading to loss of fish and other aquatic wildlife.
4. 725.6L of freshwater are needed to produce 100g of protein from beef, whereas tofu requires eight times less freshwater (92.9L)
5. 96 percent of fish eaten in Europe comes from fresh-water fish farming, but the vast quantities of fish excrement and uneaten fish food that settles on the pond bed makes the perfect environment for the production of the greenhouse gas methane.
6. A meat-free diet can cut our water footprint in half! Studies show that a healthy meat-free diet reduces our water footprint by up to 55%.
7. The United Nations Environment Assembly says that plant-based burgers require between 75 – 99 per cent less water; 93 – 95 per cent less land; and generate 87 – 90 per cent fewer emissions than regular beef burgers.
8. “A vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth, not just greenhouse gases, but global acidification, eutrophication, land use and water use. It is far bigger than cutting down on your flights or buying an electric car,” said University of Oxford’s Joseph Poore, who led the most comprehensive analysis of the damage farming does to the planet.

Kitty Block, President of HSI, says: “With billions of people across the globe struggling to cope with severe water scarcity, we should all be looking to cut our water footprint. One of the most effective ways we can all conserve water is to reduce or replace meat and dairy with planet-friendly, plant-based products. The vast quantities of water used by animal agriculture to grow animal feed, hydrate billions of animals, disinfect abattoir equipment and process animal products is contributing to our planet’s water scarcity. In addition to the animal welfare and human health benefits of cutting meat, looking after the earth’s scarce resources is a compelling reason to eat plant-based for World Water Day.”

Other benefits come from reducing or replacing meat and dairy in our diet. Numerous studies indicate that a diet rich in plant-based foods has considerable health benefits. The World Health Organisation estimates that worldwide obesity has tripled since 1975, with more than 1.9 billion overweight adults, and 381 million children overweight or obese. Studies from direct to consumer wellness brand wellness Gold Bee show that people who eat fewer animal products have lower rates of obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis and cancer. Replacing meat, milk and eggs produced by industrial agriculture also benefits farm animals, billions of whom spend their entire lives in cages or crates, where they are unable to exercise, engage in their natural behaviours, and often cannot even turn around because of lack of space.

Media contacts:

  • HSI International Media Director Wendy Higgins, +44 (0) 7989 972 423 (mobile), whiggins@hsi.org
  • HSI in the United States: Nancy Hwa, 202-676-2337 (direct), 202-596-0808 (cell), nhwa@hsi.org

Humane Society International

The Lion's Share Fund team
The Lion’s Share team at the One Planet Summit in Nairobi/HSI

On March 14, 2019, The Lion’s Share Fund announced Humane Society International as its partner working on animal welfare projects around the world. The announcement was made at the One Planet Summit in Nairobi. Read the press release.

About The Lion’s Share Fund

The Lion’s Share is a unique initiative that aims to raise $100 million per year over the next three years for wildlife conservation and animal welfare by asking companies to contribute 0.5 per cent of their media spend every time animal imagery — whether real, animated or CGI — is used in their advertising campaigns. Ten percent of The Lion’s Share Fund will be invested in animal welfare projects.

Founders of The Lion’s Share include FINCH, Mars, Incorporated, Clemenger BBDO, Nielsen, and the United Nations Development Programme. Global outdoor advertising giant JCDecaux joined The Lion’s Share as another corporate partner at the One Planet Summit. For more information on the Lion’s Share Fund, visit www.thelionssharefund.com.

HSI’s involvement in The Lion’s Share

As the animal welfare partner in The Lion’s Share, Humane Society International will address dog and cat homelessness under the following framework:

  • Engaging communities to address the issue of street animals in neighborhoods with a high density of free-roaming dogs;
  • Expanding veterinary training to enhance skills for conducting high-quality, high-volume spay and neuter surgery where it is needed most, thereby reducing the global population of homeless animals;
  • Supporting actions to address the nexus between wildlife and domesticated animals, including disease transmission that threatens wildlife populations.

Examples of HSI programs that The Lion’s Share plans to support:

Bhutan — Spay/Neuter and Community Engagement: Since 2009, HSI has partnered with the Bhutanese government in a long-term dog management program to spay/neuter 70% of all free roaming animals. Having successfully achieved this goal, HSI will work with the Bhutan government to provide veterinary care and spay/neuter surgeries to privately owned pets, thereby completing the nation-wide dog management objective, improving the lives of pet dogs and promoting responsible pet ownership. Read about our recent work in Bhutan.

Bolivia — Spay/Neuter Clinics: Bolivia is one of the few countries in Latin America still struggling to manage the spread of rabies, with high street dog populations and few programs to humanely and effectively reduce populations. HSI worked with local veterinarians and government officials to establish a spay/neuter program nearly five years ago that has since expanded in scale and veterinary outreach. The HSI program will establish a training program specifically designed for government officials and veterinarians tasked with the reduction of rabies and the management of the dog and cat population in their cities.

Mauritius — Spay/Neuter and Community Engagement: An island-wide street dog culling was in place until HSI partnered with the government and started a humane pilot street dog management program in selected tourism areas, reaching 10,000 dogs over a year. With support from Lion’s Share, this program will be expanded in 2020 to all other regions of the island. Working closely with the local government, HSI will focus on community engagement to help improve the treatment of dogs and the human-animal bond, while at the same time providing critical spay/neuter services island-wide. Read about our recent work in Mauritius.

Vaccinations in Philippines: Philippines has one of the highest rates of rabies in the world, with a high-rate of free roaming dogs and high-density populations. In partnership with the national government, HSI started a mass rabies vaccination program in two of the highest rabies incidence cities in the country. To date, over 200,000 dogs have been vaccinated with a goal to reach at least 50,000 more. With Lion’s Share support, the program will be expanded beyond the two regions to reach all of the highest incidence areas of the country, helping hundreds of thousands of dogs and the communities where they live. Read about our recent work in the Philippines.

South Korea Adoption and Training Center: HSI is working to introduce an adoption and training center to offer a model for the care, sheltering and adoption of dogs in South Korea. HSI is focused on a solution to offer unwanted dogs in South Korea a second chance at a better life, and to build capacity in-country for a sustainable, healthy and well-cared for companion animal population modeled after successful rescue and shelter programs in other countries.

Humane Society International / United States

CINCINNATI—Today the Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE: PG) joins with the Humane Society International #BeCrueltyFree campaign, to ban animal testing for cosmetics in all major global beauty markets by 2023.

The #BeCrueltyFree campaign was launched in 2012 with the aim of extending the European Union’s legal precedent – banning cosmetics animal testing and the sale of newly animal tested cosmetics – to countries where this practice is still allowed or even mandated by law. P&G’s support for #BeCrueltyFree will include joint education and capacity-building programs for non-animal alternatives, continued development of new animal-free approaches to safety assessment and advocating for the legislative end of cosmetic animal testing in key global beauty markets.

Kitty Block, President of Humane Society International and the Humane Society of the United States, said: “This partnership represents an important milestone in our efforts to end animal testing for cosmetics worldwide through our #BeCrueltyFree campaign. By working together with forward-looking companies like Procter & Gamble, we can make this ambitious goal a reality.”

Kathy Fish, Chief Research, Development and Innovation Officer, Procter and Gamble, shared “We are pleased to partner with the Humane Society International in the quest to end cosmetic animal testing. I’m proud of the passion and expertise our researchers have contributed already to this goal. I know they will continue to be a force for good, providing leadership and advocacy to help achieve our shared vision.”

For over two decades, P&G, HSI, the HSUS and Humane Society Legislative Fund have collaborated on the development and regulatory uptake of animal-free test methods. The organizations expect that by bringing their complementary strengths together, they will reach the end goal more quickly. A key focus will be gaining acceptance of new methods by regulators and enrolling many companies and governments globally to adopt cruelty-free public policies and practices.

Dr. Harald Schlatter, P&G Corporate Communications and Animal Welfare Advocacy, added: “We’ve invested more than $420 million over forty years in developing non-animal test methods. Our researchers have led or co-designed at least twenty-five cruelty-free methods that have replaced animal testing of cosmetic products. HSI and the HSUS have been powerful partners in advancing these methods globally.”

Troy Seidle, HSI Vice President for Research & Toxicology, said: “Animal testing of cosmetics not only causes unnecessary animal suffering, but it also represents outdated science. For more than 20 years, we have collaborated with Procter & Gamble to advance the development and regulatory acceptance of non-animal testing approaches, but in order to finally move proposed cosmetic animal testing bans into law in the United States, Canada, Brazil, Chile, South Africa and other influential markets, we need the active support of major industry leaders such as P&G. With the power of P&G’s household brands, I’m confident we can achieve a legislative end to cosmetic animal testing globally within five years.”

Media contacts:

Procter & Gamble

Humane Society International

  • Canada: Christopher Paré, 438-402-0643, cpare@hsi.org
  • Europe/UK: Wendy Higgins, +44 (0) 7989 972 423 (mobile), whiggins@hsi.org
  • United States: Nancy Hwa, 202-676-2337 (direct), 202-596-0808 (cell), nhwa@hsi.org

Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society Legislative Fund

About Humane Society International

Humane Society International and its partner organizations together constitute one of the world’s largest animal protection organizations. For more than 25 years, HSI has been working for the protection of all animals through the use of science, advocacy, education and hands on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty worldwide – on the Web at hsi.org.

About the Humane Society of the United States

The Humane Society of the United States is the most effective animal protection organization, as rated by our peers. For more than 60 years, we have celebrated the protection of all animals and confronted all forms of cruelty. We and our affiliates are the nation’s largest provider of hands-on services for animals, caring for more than 100,000 animals each year, and we prevent cruelty to millions more through our advocacy campaigns. Read about our more than 60 years of transformational change for animals and people. HumaneSociety.org

About the Humane Society Legislative Fund

The Humane Society Legislative Fund is a social welfare organization incorporated under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code and formed in 2004 as a separate lobbying affiliate of The Humane Society of the United States. The HSLF works to pass animal protection laws at the state and federal level, to educate the public about animal protection issues, and to support humane candidates for office. Visit us on all our channels: on the web at hslf.org, on our blog at animalsandpolitics.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/humanelegislation and on Twitter at twitter.com/HSLegFund.

About Procter & Gamble

P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands.

The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International found imperiled wildlife parts for sale, possibly violating Nevada law, and canned lion hunts for sale in violation of SCI’s own rules

Humane Society International / United States

WASHINGTON – An undercover investigation by the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International revealed dozens of items made from imperiled wildlife for sale last week at the Safari Club International convention in Reno, Nevada. These items included elephant skin furniture, paintings on elephant ears, hippo skulls and teeth, and stingray skin belts. SCI is one of the world’s largest trophy hunting advocacy groups. Offering these items for sale likely violates Nevada state law on wildlife trafficking, and HSUS and HSI have reported their findings to enforcement authorities.

The investigation also found that canned lion hunts, the sale of which SCI banned at its conventions as of February 4, 2018, were easily available for purchase in Reno last week.

Kitty Block, acting president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States and president of Humane Society International, said: “The world’s leading trophy hunting industry group is apparently promoting, enabling, and profiting from the illegal wildlife trade and unethical hunting practices. Conservation laws and hunting ethics are thrown out the window by SCI when financial profit is involved, driving iconic wildlife such as African elephants toward extinction.

“Making money off the opportunity to kill these animals for bragging rights is something that most people around the world find appalling. It’s an elitist hobby of the 1 percent, and there is no place for trophy hunting in today’s world.”

As of January 1, 2018, it is unlawful for any person within the state of Nevada to “purchase, sell, offer for sale or possess with intent to sell any item that it, wholly, or partially, made of an animal part or byproduct derived from a shark fin, a lion of the species Panthera leo or any species of elephant, rhinoceros, tiger, leopard, cheetah, jaguar, pangolin, sea turtle, ray, mammoth, narwhal, walrus or hippopotamus.” Nev. Rev. Stat. § 597.905.

The investigators found more than a dozen convention vendors offering for sale and possessing with intent to sell wildlife products that appear to violate this law. The items include:

  • Paintings on elephant ears and skins;
  • An elephant skin bench;
  • Elephant leather boots, shoes, chaps, belts, and saddles;
  • Bracelets made from elephant hair;
  • An entire mammoth tusk;
  • Mammoth tusk carvings;
  • Stingray skin boots, shoes, belts and purses;
  • Boxes of hippo teeth;
  • A hippo skull table;
  • Hippo leather belts and boots;
  • Shark skin belts;
  • A knife with a handle made of narwhal tusk.

Investigators also found “canned” lion hunts for sale, in which customers can pay to shoot a captive-bred African lion in an enclosed area from which it cannot escape. Canned hunts are internationally scorned, and SCI claims that it does not allow such lion hunts to be sold at its conventions. Yet vendors, in an attempt to attract bookings of such hunts, showed investigators sample pictures of types of lions that may be killed, priced according to the age and size of the animal and his mane. One conference attendee told the investigators that he and his children participated in a canned hunt, killing “their” lion within 90 minutes. Canned hunt operators described baiting lions with meat, which they said they could do ahead of a trophy hunter’s arrival, to save time. One canned hunt operator told investigators if they wanted to kill a really big lion, he could special order one.

The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International are releasing their investigation while the Dallas Safari Club convention is underway in Dallas, Texas, with some of the same vendors that were at the SCI convention last week. While Texas does not have the same laws prohibiting the sale of wildlife products as Nevada, the Dallas Safari Club has stated that it too opposes captive bred lion hunting. At least six exhibitors selling canned lion hunts at the SCI convention are also at the DSC convention. These include De Klerk Safaris, whose representatives told investigators that they buy lions from breeders and could special order a really big lion, and Mabula Pro Safaris, whose representative told investigators that they are the biggest breeder of lions in South Africa.

The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International submitted its findings in writing to the Nevada Department of Wildlife on January 10, requesting investigation and enforcement of Nevada law. Any person who violates this law is guilty of a gross misdemeanor for the first offense, a category E felony for a second offense, and a category D felony for a third offense, in addition to civil penalties of up to $6,500.

Investigation Report HERE.

Photos/Video of the investigation HERE.

Media Contacts:

Rodi Rosensweig, 203-270-8929, RRosensweig@humanesociety.org

Nancy Hwa, 202-596-0808 (cell), nhwa@hsi.org

Convention opens in Reno, Nevada, on January 9

Humane Society International / United States

WASHINGTON —Thousands of wildlife trophy hunters from around the world will gather in Reno, Nevada, for the annual Safari Club International convention January 9 through 12 at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center. At the event, they will have access to nearly 900 exhibitors, including companies that sell the experience of killing the world’s most iconic animals — African elephants, lions and leopards, and North American cougars, bears and wolves, among others — for their heads, hides, and other body parts.

Kitty Block, acting president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States and president of Humane Society International, said, “The SCI convention is a huge gathering of people in the business of buying, selling and auctioning off dead animal parts and opportunities to slay wild animals for fun or bragging rights. SCI’s claim of concern for wildlife conservation is greatly undercut by its agenda of advocating and celebrating the killing of the planet’s most threatened species.”

Hundreds of hunts on every continent except Antarctica will be auctioned off at the convention to benefit SCI. In 2016, according to federal tax filings, the convention raised more than $7.7 million in net revenue for SCI. The annual convention is a major funding source for SCI’s operations and agenda to influence pro-trophy hunting government policy. SCI’s political action committee, the Hunter Defense Fund, works to elect pro-trophy hunting politicians.

The SCI Record Book belies its claim that it is a conservation organization, offering members the opportunity to compete to win nearly 50 awards for killing elephants, lions, leopards, rhinos, bears, wolves, antelopes and other animals. In 2015, the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International analyzed the SCI books and found that since 1959, SCI members have killed at least 2,007 African lions, 1,888 African leopards, 791 African elephants, and 572 rhinos, including 93 critically endangered black rhinos as of that publication date, with more animals killed since then. The most prolific trophy hunters are awarded the World Hunting Award ring, which some have called the “Super Bowl ring of hunting.”

Block added: “We urge everyone, including government decision-makers, to challenge the conservation claims made by SCI and call them out as an industry group with a product to sell that is not beneficial to anyone, least of all imperiled wildlife.”

The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International urge the public to speak out against trophy hunting.

PHOTOS HERE from 2016 SCI Convention

Media Contacts:

Rodi Rosensweig, 203-270-8929, RRosensweig@humanesociety.org

Nancy Hwa, 202-676-0808 (direct), 202-596-0808 (cell), nhwa@hsi.org

Humane Society International

Humane Society International / Global

Dog saved from dogfighting operation
Jay Kim/The HSUS

HSI and The Humane Society of the United States offer rewards for information about dogfighting in Costa Rica or the United States. Learn how to spot the signs of dogfighting.

Costa Rica

In Costa Rica, the Tip Line for Complaints Against Dogfighting (8625-6000) allows citizens to send videos, photos and messages by cell phone that will identify people or places involved in dogfighting activities.

Through the tip line, people can report any type of animal fighting activities, contribute to the eradication of breeding facilities, provide information on locations holding illegal fights, and ultimately help dismantle animal fighting rings.

If the information provided is accurate and ultimately leads to the seizure of abused dogs and/or the arrest of those involved animal fights, the informant will receive a reward of up to US $1,500 from HSI/Latin America.

United States

In the United States, The HSUS offers a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone involved in dogfighting. If you have information about illegal animal fighting in your area, you can call HSUS’s animal fighting tip line at 877-TIP-HSUS and your information will be kept confidential. Learn more.

Note: The HSUS also offers a reward for information about cockfighting, and about U.S. puppy mills (for the latter, call 1-877-MILL-TIP).

If you live in the United States, here are more ways to help.

Report it

If you have information about a potentially illegal dogfighting operation, here are the steps to take:

1. Call your local police department or animal control agency. Give them as many details as you can about the suspected animal fighting operation. You do not need to give your name to law enforcement to report your information. You can also call our tip lines.

Note: In order to qualify for the rewards program, this must be an open case. Additionally, law enforcement officers (including ACOs and humane officers) are not eligible for our rewards program.

2. Get a letter from law enforcement. If the suspected animal fighter is convicted, ask the law enforcement agency involved in the case to write a letter to HSI/The HSUS. The letter should state that your tip helped lead to the arrest and prosecution. The letter should be mailed, faxed, or emailed to:

Animal Fighting Reward Program
c/o Adam Parascandola
The Humane Society of the United States
1255 23rd Street, NW, Suite 450, Washington, DC 20037
Fax: 301-721-6414
aparascandola@humanesociety.org

3. Call us for more information. If you have questions about the reward program, please call us at 202-452-1100.

Spread the word

Order our animal fighting reward posters and display them prominently throughout your community or wherever you suspect illegal animal fighting occurs. To order posters in English (United States tip line), email crueltyresponse@humanesociety.org. For Spanish (Costa Rica tip line), email cdent@hsi.org. You can also download PDFs of our U.S./English and C.R./Spanish posters.

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