Humane Society of the United States
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What is the Humane Society of the United States?
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is a prominent nonprofit animal welfare and rights advocacy group, established in 1954. It boasts over 10 million members and has regional offices and representatives across the country. HSUS addresses animal welfare on a national level through lobbying, investigations, educational programs, and public awareness campaigns. HSUS has been instrumental in passing federal legislation such as the Humane Slaughter Act, the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act, and the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act. HSUS's activities include operating sanctuaries and providing disaster relief for animals.
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What does the Humane Society of the United States do?
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is a prominent nonprofit animal-welfare and animal rights advocacy group, established in 1954. It is one of the largest organizations globally, boasting over 10 million members, along with regional offices and field representatives across the United States. HSUS addresses animal welfare on a national level through lobbying, drafting legislation, conducting investigations, and public awareness campaigns. HSUS played a role in passing legislation such as the Humane Slaughter Act, the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act, and the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act. HSUS also functions as a disaster relief agency for animals.
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How does the Humane Society help animals?
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is a large animal-welfare organization with over 10 million members. HSUS was founded to advocate for animal welfare on a national level. Its activities include lobbying, drafting legislation, conducting investigations, and public-awareness campaigns. HSUS also educates and trains animal-control and animal-care professionals.
HSUS has been instrumental in passing federal legislation such as the Humane Slaughter Act, the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act, and the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act. As a disaster relief agency for animals, HSUS operates sanctuaries, rescue facilities, rehab centers, and mobile veterinary clinics. HSUS's training division, Humane Society University, provides courses, certificates, and workshops.
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What are some major campaigns or programs run by the Humane Society of the United States?
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is a prominent animal welfare organization that was founded in 1954. HSUS addresses animal welfare on a national level through strategies that include lobbying, drafting legislation, conducting undercover investigations, and public-awareness campaigns.
HSUS efforts led to the passage of the Humane Slaughter Act of 1958, the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act of 1966, and the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act of 2006. HSUS's undercover investigations have exposed animal abuse in industries and research facilities, including one at the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company in California that triggered a USDA recall of over 140 million pounds of beef.
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How is the Humane Society of the United States different from local animal shelters?
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is a national organization that focuses on animal welfare and animal rights advocacy. It was founded to advocate for animal welfare on a national level, using strategies and resources beyond the reach of local and state organizations.
Local animal shelters typically focus on direct care and placement of animals in their immediate community. HSUS, in contrast, works on a broader scale, engaging in lobbying, drafting legislation, conducting investigations, and running public awareness campaigns on issues like animal cruelty, factory farming, and wildlife protection.
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How can people support or get involved with the Humane Society of the United States?
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is a prominent animal welfare organization that relies on funding from bequests, contributions, foundation grants, and membership dues. You can support HSUS through donations, bequests, and foundation grants. You can also get involved by becoming a member. HSUS leverages these resources for activities such as lobbying, undercover investigations, and public awareness campaigns. Humane Society University, the society’s training division, provides academic courses, certificates, and workshops.
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Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), nonprofit animal-welfare and animal rights advocacy group founded in 1954. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is one of the largest such organizations in the world, with more than 10 million members and regional offices and field representatives throughout the country. Its international affiliate, Humane Society International, has offices in Asia, Australia, Europe, Costa Rica, and Canada. Headquarters of the HSUS are in Washington, D.C.
The HSUS was founded in 1954 by former members of the American Humane Society, an organization established in 1877 to promote the humane treatment of children and animals. The founders intended the new organization—based in the capital—to advocate for animal welfare on a national level, using strategies and resources beyond the reach of local and state organizations. Since its founding the HSUS’s activities have included lobbying and drafting of model legislation, conducting undercover investigations, educating and training animal-control and animal-care professionals, and mounting public-awareness campaigns on a variety of issues, including animal fighting and cruelty, factory farming, the fur trade, sports hunting, puppy mills, the use of chimpanzees in scientific and medical research, horse slaughter, pet care and adoption, the protection of animals in the wild, and the relation between religious values and animal welfare.
The HSUS is arguably the world’s most influential animal-welfare organization. Important pieces of federal legislation that were passed largely owing to the society’s efforts include the Humane Slaughter Act (also known as the Humane Methods of Animal Slaughter Act) of 1958, which protects food animals during slaughter; the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act of 1966, which (as amended several times) mandates the humane treatment of animals in research, commercial breeding and transportation, and public exhibition; and the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act of 2006, which requires that animals be taken into account in the disaster plans of local, state, and federal agencies. As the leading disaster relief agency for animals in the United States, the HSUS operates a variety of sanctuaries, rescue facilities, rehabilitation centres, and mobile veterinary clinics; the society also provides disaster relief for animals in other countries.
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The HSUS’s regular undercover investigations have exposed significant animal abuse in a number of industries and research facilities. In 2008 the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recalled more than 140 million pounds of beef (the largest meat recall in U.S. history to date) following an HSUS investigation at the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company in California.
Humane Society University, the society’s training division, provides academic courses, certificates, and workshops. In 2000 the HSUS launched the Humane Society Press, which publishes professional and scholarly books on animal-welfare topics. The society also produces several magazines and newsletters on a wide range of issues.
The HSUS is funded almost entirely by bequests, contributions, foundation grants, and membership dues. It receives a small amount of funding from the federal government to support specific programs. The society is governed by an independent board of directors whose members serve on a volunteer basis.