Humane Society International works around the globe in more than 50 countries to drive transformational change for animals – protecting street animals, stopping wildlife abuse, tackling the dog meat trade, eliminating painful animal testing, responding to natural disasters, and confronting cruelty to animals in all its forms – on factory farms, on fur farms, on the high seas, or in the bull ring. Whole industries have been built on animal suffering, and billions of animals endure wretched lives on factory farms and in other settings. When it comes to food production, people across the world increasingly recognise that industrial, intensive-confinement farming methods are inherently cruel, and corporations around the world are listening. Hundreds of leading food and hospitality companies have committed to go cage – and crate – free, helping to drive the elimination of some of the worst kinds of systematic animal cruelty in the sector.
At the same time, through our plant-based culinary programmes, we train chefs in some of the largest institutions in the world, to put more plants on plates. Our work is helping school districts, universities, corporate cafeterias and other institutions in countries like Brazil, Canada, South Africa, the UK and Viet Nam. Those efforts combined with our US arm’s work in America have resulted in the transition of tens of millions of meals a year to 100 percent plant-based, which is good news for animals, the environment and human health.
Our legislative efforts have produced national bans on animal testing of cosmetics in countries around the world, and our promotion of cutting-edge 21st century non-animal research methods has propelled the shift away from outdated approaches involving animas in biomedical research too.
When disasters strike, Humane Society International deploys teams of veterinarians and field responders to provide on-the-ground animal rescue, relief and evacuation services in collaboration with local, regional, national and international groups. From volcanic eruptions in Guatemala, to earthquakes in Nepal or floods in Kerala, India, HSI provides emergency aid to dogs, cats, chickens, goats, horses and other animals in need.
Across Asia, millions of animals suffer for the dog and cat meat trade. Our hands-on rescue, combined with public campaigning and policy outreach, is helping to close in on this brutal trade. We’re working in partnership with dog farmers in South Korea to close their operations and support their transition to more humane and profitable businesses. In collaboration with local groups, we’re also tackling the trade in China, Indonesia and Viet Nam.
The world’s wild species are under pressure like never before, from habitat destruction and climate change as well as from human exploitation and abuse. HSI’s campaigns seek to end the trade in elephant ivory and rhino horn and to bring a stop to shark finning, commercial whaling, the fur trade, seal slaughter and so much more. Hundreds of thousands of wild mammals, including endangered or threatened species, are also slain by trophy hunters each year. HSI’s campaigns raise public awareness, seek to end corporate and public policy support of trophy hunters’ interests, and strive to improve legal protections.