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The HSUS's Wildlife Abuse Campaign


	©The HSUS
	Wildlife should be left in peace in a humane society.

The HSUS' Wildlife Abuse Campaign promotes the humane treatment of wildlife by educating the public and lawmakers on the cruelty inherent in sport hunting and targeting the most reprehensible practices.

Canned hunts: Hand-raised, semi-tame animals—including endangered species—are shot in fenced enclosures which offer no hope of escape. Often called "game ranches" or "hunting preserves," canned hunts are a large and growing business—but you can help stop them.
Poaching: Wildlife officials estimate that for every wild animal killed legally—about 120 million animals per year—is killed illegally. Wildlife violators may "thrill kill" animals or participate in an underground poaching ring to make money.
Pheasant stocking: Hand-reared pheasants—an exotic species native to China—are released in a field just before the hunt begins. Having never lived in the wild and without fear of humans, the pheasants are sitting ducks for shooters.
Contest kills: Contestants compete for prizes to see who can kill the most animals in a fixed period of time. The most common victims are prairie dogs, coyotes, and crows—all of whom fill important ecological niches. Prairie-dog-killers often brag about their specialty shots, such as the "red mist," in which the animal vanishes behind a spray of blood.
Internet hunting: Internet hunting allows so-called hunters to shoot animals from their desktops. Many states have banned the practice, and The HSUS is working on federal legislation to pull the plug on pay-per-view slaughter.
Wildlife pens: Wild animals, usually foxes and coyotes, are stocked inside fenced enclosures to be repeatedly pursued by packs of dogs. The animals often meet a cruel end when torn apart by the dogs. Even in states where pens are illegal, animals may be trapped and shipped across state borders to be released in pens.
Targeting children: The hunting industry is pouring enormous resources into a nationwide campaign to eliminate all minimum hunting ages for children and abolish the requirement that children pass a hunter safety class before they can hunt.
Bear baiting: Many hunters attract bears to an area by luring them with piles of jelly donuts and rotting meat. While the bear feeds, the hunter sits in a nearby tree stand or blind and shoots the unsuspecting animal. Of the 28 states that allow bear hunting, 18 prohibit the baiting of bears.
Hound hunting: Many hunters chase bears, bobcats and mountain lions until they are treed or cornered by packs of dogs. The dogs' collars are fitted with radio transmitters, and all the hunter must do is follow the signal of the dogs, then shoot the trapped animal from the tree.
Polar bears are in double trouble from global warming and trophy hunters, who have brought more than 800 hides or heads into the country since 1994. We must protect these magnificent animals.
Field coursing: Dogs are used to chase rabbits, foxes and other animals in competitions. When the dogs catch the rabbits they often fight over the terrified quarry, sometimes tearing the animal apart. Even if the victim is not caught, she may later die due to the fear and stress associated with the chase.
Dove hunting: Doves are back yard songbirds targeted by hunters simply for target practice. Doves are peaceful birds and many states protect them from hunters. Minnesota should join these states by dropping their unpopular dove hunt.

See the Video

Canned Hunts

Unmasking Live Pigeon Shoots

Your Tax Dollars at Work? Hunters Net Hefty Deductions for Trophy Animals

New Jersey's Bear Hunt Will Provide More Trophies than Protections to the Public

Michigan Voters Call a Cease-Fire in the War on State Bird of Peace

Iowa Mourning Doves: A Target

Trophy Hunting

Maryland's Black Bear Hunt: Back and Worse Than Ever

Insider Describes Ugliness of Wildlife Penning