Current Docket | The Humane Society of the United States

Current Docket

Laws to protect animals are only as good as their enforcement. The Humane Society of the United States and its litigation partner organizations like the Fund for Animals are working in courts around the country to ensure that all animals get the legal protection they deserve.

ASPCA, The Fund for Animals, et al. v. Ringling Brothers, et al. (Circus elephants)
Witnesses and former circus employees have testified that elephants are subjected to abusive training methods in violation of the Endangered Species Act...more

Defenders of Wildlife et al. v. Norton (Florida black bears)
Florida's remaining 1,200 black bears have disappeared from more than 70% of their former range. Despite their plummeting numbers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refused to list the Florida black bear as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act...more

Defenders of Wildlife, et al. v. Hall, et al. (Rocky Mountain Wolf Delisting)
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to delist the northern Rocky Mountain population of gray wolves ...more

Defenders of Wildlife, The HSUS, et al. v. Gutierrez, et al. (Right whales)
The critically endangered North Atlantic right whale is the rarest of all large whale species. Even though federal agencies know the tiny population faces grave danger from ship strikes, they refused to enact emergency regulations to protect the whales...more

Dr. Ellen Levine, The HSUS, et al. v. Johanns (Poultry slaughter)
Each year, over 9 billion chickens, turkeys, and other birds raised for food are slaughtered without the protection of the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, simply because the U.S. Department of Agriculture doesn't recognize them as "livestock" ...more

Farm Sanctuary, The HSUS, et al. v. New Jersey Department of Agriculture (New Jersey farm animal regulations)
Current New Jersey regulations consider intensive farming practices as "humane," but the HSUS and a diverse coalition of organizations disagree...more

Glaser v. Hall (Rocky Mountain Wolf Killing Rule)
The HSUS and Other Groups Challenge Federal Wolf-Killing Rule...more

HSUS et al v. Brennan et al (Foie gras adulteration)
The New York state food law prohibits marketing animals and animals parts that are diseased. Ducks and their livers are intentionally afflicted with disease to produce the high-priced delicacy foie gras, and should not be on the market....more

HSUS v. HVFG, LLC (Foie gras factory farm pollution)
HSUS suit against major foie gras producer in New York for substantial Clean Water Act violations....more

Humane Society International v. Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha, Ltd. (Japanese whaling)
Japan continues to kill whales under a "scientific" loophole in the International Whaling Commission (IWC) treaty....more

In Re: AWI, The HSUS, et al. (Yellowstone bison slaughter)
A coalition of conservation, animal welfare and wildlife protection organizations, tribal groups and concerned citizens filed a legal petition to stop the unsustainable slaughter of genetically distinct populations of wild bison in Yellowstone National Park...more

In Re: The HSUS and The Fund for Animals (Wildlife penning)
Recent investigations conducted by several state wildlife agencies have documented the cruelty inherent in wildlife penning operations...more

In Re: The HSUS, et al. (Foie gras adulteration)
The Humane Society of the United States, Farm Sanctuary, Animal Legal Defense Fund, NYU Student Animal Legal Defense Fund, and several individuals filed a legal petition ...more

Johnna Seeton v. Pike Township Sportsmen's Association (Pennsylvania pigeon shoot)
Pigeons are used as live targets in shooting contests, resulting in serious injury and suffering...more

Keith Mohler v. Erdman Sportsmen's Association (Pennsylvania pigeon shoot)
Pigeons are killed by the thousands at shooting contests. Many more are wounded and suffer until they are "dispatched" or stuffed into barrels...more

LePage et al. v. Wizard of Claws, Inc. (Florida puppy mills)
State court class action seeking compensatory damages for all customers deceived and defrauded by Wizard of Claws and an injunction to prevent the store from selling any puppies. ...more

Louisville Kennel Club, Inc., et al. v. Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government
The Louisville Kennel Club, League of Kentucky Sportsmen and others have challenged the ability of the municipal government to regulate unaltered and dangerous dogs and to prohibit animal cruelty...more

Malloy v. Cooper, et al. (NC pigeon shoot)
Pigeons are wounded and killed by the thousands in an organized contest where participants travel from all over the country to compete in this cruel event...more

NRDC, The HSUS, et al. v. Gutierrez (Navy sonar)
A coalition of conservation and animal welfare organizations has expanded a lawsuit regarding the Navy's use of low-frequency sonar and its effect on whales. ...more

O'Sullivan v. City of San Diego (La Jolla seals)
The City of San Diego has been ordered to dredge a beach inhabited by harbor seals near La Jolla. The dredging will cause substantial harm to the seal populations and take away a popular spot for viewing wildlife...more

Rebecca Cary, The HSUS, et al. v. Hall (Endangered species canned hunting)
The Endangered Species Act is supposed to protect endangered or threatened animals but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is exempting three species of endangered antelopes, allowing them to be killed at canned hunts...more

The Fund for Animals v. Hall (Wildlife refuge hunting)
More and more of our National Wildlife Refuges are being opened to recreational hunting. A recent court victory may help change this...more

The Fund for Animals v. Pennsylvania Game Commission (Pennsylvania canned hunting)
Canned hunts are criticized by animal advocates and hunters alike for being unsporting. But the Pennsylvania Game Commission allows canned hunts on "game preserves"...more

The Fund for Animals, et al. v. Norton, et al. (Cormorants)
Cormorants and commercial fisherman compete for the same fish so the federal government is waging a lethal war against the birds....more

The HSUS et al. v. Empire State Development Corporation, New York State Public Authorities Control Board and Hudson Valley Foie Gras (Foie gras subsidies)
New York State gives hand-out of $420,000 of public money to finance cruel force feeding of ducks at Hudson Valley Foie Gras....more

The HSUS et al. v. Gutierrez et al. (Bonneville Dam Sea Lions)
The Humane Society of the United States, Wild Fish Conservancy, and two individual citizens filed suit...more

The HSUS et. al v. Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services (Puppy mills)
The HSUS filed a petition with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services re: requiring a veterinarian’s certification of good health prior to the sale of any puppy in Florida....more

The HSUS v. Amazon.com, Inc., et al. (Animal fighting materials)
Amazon.com is selling animal fighting videos and magazines in violation of federal law...more

The HSUS v. Andrew Marc et al. (Fur false advertising)
The HSUS has filed an FTC petition over falsely advertised and labeled fur garments....more

The HSUS v. Schafer et al. (Downed cattle)
The slaughter of downed cattle involves extreme animal cruelty and jeopardizes human health...more

The HSUS v. U.S. Department of Agriculture (Laboratory animal pain & distress)
Freedom of information is critical in monitoring how the government enforces animal welfare laws, but delays in releasing information are common....more

The HSUS v. United States Postal Service (Cockfighting magazines)
Lawsuit challenging the refusal by the U.S. Postal Service to implement the newly upgraded federal animal fighting statute by permitting the mailing of animal fighting publications....more

The HSUS, et al. v. Kempthorne, et al. (Great Lakes Wolf Delisting)
HSUS Files Suit to Protect Gray Wolves...more

The HSUS, The Fund For Animals, et al. v. Johanns (Horse slaughter)
In late 2005, Congress passed two bi-partisan amendments that would effectively end horse slaughter. Unfortunately, the agency charged with implementing the ban, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, sided with the slaughter industry to keep the slaughterhouses open....more

The Wilderness Society, The HSUS, et al. v. U.S. Forest Service, et al. (National forest habitat)
The Roadless Rule of 2001 was intended to preserve the last third of undeveloped forests to protect sensitive ecosystems and provide critical habitat for imperiled wildlife. The U.S. Forest Service implemented regulations that allow new roads into formerly pristine national forests...more

United States v. Robert J. Stevens (Dogfighting)
Federal appeals court accepted an HSUS brief in support of the U.S. in a constitutional defense of the Federal Depiction of Animal Cruelty statute....more

Will Anderson, The HSUS, et al v. Evans et al. (Makah whale hunt)
The Makah Indian Tribe has sought to revive its long-dormant whaling tradition, but at the expense of the local resident whale population....more