From endangered animals torn from their natural homes to protected species boxed up for profit, wildlife trafficking turns living beings into cargo. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is warning traffickers that exploiting endangered animals can carry prison terms of up to 15 years and fines as high as Dh2 million, or about $545,000 USD, according […]

The post UAE Imposes 15-Year Jail Terms for Wildlife Trafficking appeared first on Lady Freethinker.

PETITION TARGET: Bonneville County Prosecuting Attorney Randy Neal and Idaho Falls Police Department Tonto, a gentle 22-year-old horse was reportedly shot through the leg and left with catastrophic injuries so severe that his grieving family had to make the heartbreaking decision to have him euthanized, according to Local News 8. Tonto had been part of […]

The post SIGN: Justice for Beloved Horse Brutally Shot in His Pasture appeared first on Lady Freethinker.

PETITION TARGET: Putnam County District Attorney Robert V. Tendy, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, and Putnam County SPCA Law Enforcement Division Two roosters and two white doves were found near a New York reservoir with their heads cut off and their bodies reportedly drained of blood, according to News 12 and CBS6 Albany. A […]

The post SIGN: Justice for Birds Found Decapitated & Mutilated Near New York Reservoir appeared first on Lady Freethinker.

Across Spain, caregivers are filling food bowls, arranging sterilization appointments, rushing sick animals to veterinarians, and trying to keep abandoned dogs and community cats safe. Now, nearly €4 million in new government funding could help make that daily, lifesaving work stronger and more sustainable, according to Spain’s Ministry of Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and 2030 […]

The post Spain Commits Almost 4 Million Euros to Animal Welfare appeared first on Lady Freethinker.

Dogs and cats in Sulawesi, Indonesia, have been stolen from homes, trafficked across provinces, packed into cages, and slaughtered in brutal live-animal markets and slaughterhouses. But across the island, real change is taking hold. Lady Freethinker’s PROJECT Sulawesi is helping dismantle the systems that allow this cruelty to continue by targeting the trade at its […]

The post LFT Helps Make Historic Progress in Stopping Sulawesi’s Dog & Cat Meat Trade appeared first on Lady Freethinker.

PETITION TARGET: U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and U.S. Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Grassley A 1-month-old kitten was reportedly grabbed and thrown from a fourth-floor balcony into busy traffic during an argument at a Florida apartment, according to the Twelfth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office. In that same incident, officers also found […]

The post SIGN: Require Department of Justice to Study Link Between Animal Cruelty and Violence Against People appeared first on Lady Freethinker.

PETITION TARGET: Delaware Lawmakers A frightened dog limps into a veterinary exam room with untreated wounds. A cat arrives weak from neglect. An animal’s body may tell a heartbreaking story of suffering behind closed doors, and veterinarians are often among the first people able to see the warning signs before an animal in need is […]

The post SIGN: Require Delaware Vets to Report Suspected Animal Cruelty appeared first on Lady Freethinker.

Egypt has taken a major step toward more humane tourism by banning the use of all animals in entertainment shows at hotels and tourism facilities nationwide, according to local reports from Egypt Independent and Cairo24. The new directive — issued by the Chamber of Tourist Establishments and Restaurants — comes after the Central Administration for […]

The post Progress! Egypt Bans Live Animal Performances in Hotels & Restaurants appeared first on Lady Freethinker.

PETITION CLOSED PETITION TARGET: RJ Sigurdson, Alberta’s Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation Some 300 dogs, cats, rabbits, horses, and cows who were in physical and mental distress, denied veterinary care, and kept in terrible conditions — some in so much agony that they needed to be immediately euthanized — were seized from two rural Alberta, Canada […]

The post SIGN: Urge Alberta to Strengthen Penalties for Animal Abusers appeared first on Lady Freethinker.

Delhi is taking a significant step toward becoming a kinder place for animals. The city has announced that new Societies for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCAs) will be set up in all 13 of its revenue districts, according to India’s News. Each district SPCA will be led by its District Magistrate. The aim is […]

The post Delhi, India to Launch SPCA Committees Throughout Territory to Strengthen Animal Protection appeared first on Lady Freethinker.

PETITION TARGET: Tulsa Zoo Pacing, swaying, and head-bobbing: These are the intense signs of psychological distress that former L.A. Zoo elephants Billy and Tina are reportedly exhibiting following their transfer to the Tulsa Zoo after decades in captivity, according to elephant specialists. Recent reporting and elephant welfare experts are raising serious concerns about the well‑being […]

The post SIGN: Help Elephants Billy and Tina Finally Live at a Sanctuary after Decades of Cruel Captivity appeared first on Lady Freethinker.

PETITION TARGET: President of the Colorado Senate and Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives In Colorado, animal companions trapped in divorce battles are still treated like property — meaning judges may decide their fate without considering their health, safety, or well-being. Now, a state bill has been introduced that would require courts to weigh several […]

The post SIGN: Urge Colorado to Treat Pets as Family, Not Property in Divorce Cases appeared first on Lady Freethinker.

PETITION TARGET: West Virginia State Senate Dozens of animals — including a pony, a bull, and dogs — were reportedly sexually abused, starved, and trapped in filthy cages on a dilapidated school bus discovered in Pennsylvania. The man charged with this appalling cruelty was sent to a West Virginia jail due to outstanding warrants — […]

The post SIGN: Help Make History — Urge West Virginia to Become the Final State to Ban Bestiality appeared first on Lady Freethinker.

Research shows that violence toward animals and violence toward people often intersect in homes where abuse and control are already present. While the research does not suggest every person who harms animals will also hurt humans, it does show that animal cruelty is a consistent and powerful warning sign of animal cruelty, meaning intervention can […]

The post The Link Between Animal Cruelty and Human Violence appeared first on Lady Freethinker.

Every day, we all make countless conscious and subconscious decisions about how we interact with animals. From what we eat and drink, to how we work and play, we are constantly drawing moral lines. Much of that judgment takes place in the very words we use. Language describes our reality, but also informs and creates […]

The post When ‘Cow’ Becomes ‘Beef’: How Language Shapes the Way We Treat Animals appeared first on Lady Freethinker.

Charlotte Laws has never been easy to categorize. Over the past four decades, she’s worked as a politician, TV personality, writer, actress, academic, and advocate. She also served as an elected official in Los Angeles, where she helped shape the city’s definition of “representation” to include nonhuman animals; worked inside and outside of government to […]

The post Author Charlotte Laws on Power, Animals, and the Stories We Tell Ourselves appeared first on Lady Freethinker.

PETITION TARGET: Tennessee Lawmakers On New Year’s Day, a man in Chattanooga, Tennessee, allegedly locked his girlfriend out of her apartment and drowned her cat in a bathtub after an argument — reportedly citing a scratch as justification for ending the cat’s life, according to local news. The man faces a charge of aggravated cruelty to […]

The post SIGN: Urge Tennessee to Increase Penalties for Animal Cruelty appeared first on Lady Freethinker.

A new report compiled by investigators at Lady Freethinker, Scrolling Through Cruelty, reveals thousands of disturbing videos circulating openly on major social media platforms, where animals are tortured and killed, forced into staged rescues, pitted against one another in fights, and even sexually abused — all for views, clicks, and profit. Collectively, these videos racked […]

The post New Lady Freethinker Report Finds Over a Billion Views on Animal Cruelty Videos appeared first on Lady Freethinker.

The Dutch Senate has voted to phase out public funding for experiments involving nonhuman primates at Europe’s largest primate research facility and shift toward human-focused research, according to the NL Times. Under the amendment, around €12.5 million ($14.5 million) in annual government funding will be redirected from primate research at the Biomedical Primate Research Centre […]

The post Dutch Senate Votes to Phase Out Funding for Nonhuman Primate Experiments appeared first on Lady Freethinker.

In a significant win for animal companions, the Las Vegas City Council voted 5-2 to phase out the sale of dogs, cats, rabbits, pot-bellied pigs, and guinea pigs in pet stores within city limits, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The ordinance affects all new pet shop licenses immediately, while 13 existing shops will have […]

The post Victory! Las Vegas Bans the Sale of Dogs, Cats, and Other Animals in Pet Stores appeared first on Lady Freethinker.