iStock

By Wayne Pacelle

The Fourth of July is an American holiday grounded on the principle that an independent and democratic nation was an ideal worth fighting for. At The HSUS, the ideal we fight for is that animals matter and that human beings have solemn responsibilities toward other creatures.

We ask you to support us and to take action when we issue the call. And we want to show you that our collective action results in outcomes you can be proud of.

Five Actions for the Fourth:

Stop Puppy Mills

Animal Fighting

Fur-Free

Hunting

Help Farm Animals

At this mid-point in in the year, I want to update you on some stunning accomplishments in the following areas:

• Protecting Pets
• Animal Fighting: It's Unanimous, It's Inhumane
• Fur Freedom on the March 
• Outrageous Hunting Practices Targeted
• Better Treatment for Thousands of Farm Animals

And believe me, with your support, we intend to see many more in the months and years ahead.

Protecting Pets

• The HSUS is always looking out for dogs, cats and horses. In state legislatures and in the courts, we shuttered the last remaining horse slaughter plants in the country (two plants in Texas and one in Illinois), and we are pressing Congress to stop the export of horses to Canada and Mexico.
  
  
• The HSUS unveiled our undercover investigation of dog auctions, places where puppy mill owners buy and sell dogs like used cars.
  
  
• We followed this action with our first-ever filing of a class-action lawsuit against a dog dealer called Wizard of Claws for selling puppy mill puppies with genetic defects, serious illnesses and contagious parasites, and we are pressing ahead with a larger campaign against puppy mills.
  
  
• We worked closely with legislative leaders and friends in Hawaii to ensure the Aloha state would become the 43rd state to adopt a felony level penalty for animal cruelty.
  
  
• Also, several states have passed measures to include pets in protective orders in domestic violence cases.

Animal Fighting: It's Unanimous, It's Inhumane

• Louisiana voted last week to ban cockfighting, making it the 50th state to legislate against this blood sport.
  
  
• Earlier this year, we worked with Animal Protection of New Mexico to ban cockfighting in that state, too.
  
  
• In May, we passed legislation in Congress to make animal fighting crimes a federal felony—achieving a trifecta this year with the bans in the last two states and in Congress, capping a multi-year HSUS campaign.
  
  
• We've worked to bust animal fighters throughout the country, and we are assisting in the potential case against NFL star Michael Vick, who is suspected of involvement in dogfighting.

Fur Freedom on the March 

• This winter, The HSUS reported horrifyingly faulty fur labeling, spurring introduction of the Dog and Cat Fur Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2007. It now enjoys more than a hundred co-sponsors in Congress and retailer and designer endorsement.
  
  
• The HSUS petitioned the Federal Trade Commission for civil and criminal penalties for companies that mislabel fur, naming 14 major retailers and designers. The investigation also persuaded Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and Foot Locker to pledge to shed their fur.
  
  
• We passed two path-breaking bills in New York's state legislature this year to require labeling of fur-trimmed garments, and to ban electrocution of foxes, chinchillas, minks, and other animals on fur factory farms.
  
  
• In a big victory overseas, the European Parliament unanimously voted to ban cat and dog fur trade in the European Union by the end of 2008.

Outrageous Hunting Practices Targeted

• In 2007, eight states banned Internet hunting, which allows shooters to kill penned animals from a remote website.
  
  
• Now that 33 states have outlawed this practice, Congress introduced the Computer-Assisted Remote Hunting Act to do the same nationwide.
  
  
• We passed language in a U.S. Senate committee to block the imports of sport-hunted polar bear trophies, and we'll continue pursuing the Polar Bear Protection Act in Congress, to stop trophy hunters from importing the heads and hides of this species already threatened by global warming.

Better Treatment for Thousands of Farm Animals

• Just three months after The HSUS helped Arizonans to pass a ballot initiative to ban gestation crates, Smithfield Foods—the largest pig producer in the world—announced plans to phase out the use of these 2-foot by 7-foot cages that confine animals so intensively that they cannot turn around.
  
  
• Last week, an HSUS-backed bill was signed to ban gestation crates for breeding pigs in Oregon, the first state legislature to take action against this cruelty.
  
  
• Chef Wolfgang Puck cooked up a nine-point plan for better animal welfare in his giant restaurant and catering empire.
  
  
• Another restaurant you may have heard of—Burger King—woke up the fast-food industry with its new animal welfare initiatives aimed at reducing cruelty in its supply chain.

I'm proud of what you and your HSUS have accomplished in just six months. Watch your email inbox and humanesociety.org for updates and ways you can get involved during the rest of the year. Together, we can make 2007 a banner year for animals.

Wayne Pacelle is the President and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States.