LeShon Johnson, a former NFL player from Oklahoma, has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for running a large-scale dog-fighting and trafficking operation. He must also serve three years of supervised release and pay a $30,000 fine after federal authorities seized 190 dogs from his property. The U.S. Department of Justice describes it as the largest number ever seized from a single individual in a federal dog-fighting case. Johnson had pleaded guilty to state do

An Illinois man has received the maximum 10-year prison sentence for the torture and death of Trek, a dog who was dragged behind a vehicle and abandoned. A jury convicted Tracy McKee of animal torture, aggravated animal cruelty and animal cruelty. He will spend at least five years of his 10-year sentence in an Illinois prison. McKee left Trek outside in extreme heat, chained him to an SUV, and drove away while the dog was still alive before abandoning him in a vacant lot. Pe

Your Holiday Gift Will Be DOUBLED To Save Animals!  Your $25 becomes $50 Your $50 becomes $100 Your $100 becomes $200 First, please meet Abbey and Sophie - both rescued, thanks to you! Abbey was suffering from a painful broken leg and foot - in a rotting bandage - while Sophie was living in misery in a dirt hole - literally.  Thanks to you, they now live free of suffering! Second: With your help, we will End the Number One Cause of Suffering for Dogs and Cats worldwide. Th

A Florida man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for killing two cats. After a three-day trial, a jury convicted him of two counts of aggravated animal cruelty and two counts of aggravated stalking. The judge imposed four consecutive five-year prison terms, along with an order for no contact with animals and a DNA sample. The cats were shot in the woods, and their severed heads were later found in a mailbox. Investigators recovered video showing the cats being shot in

There is nowhere to run when the people who came for them arrive. In China, terrified dogs are trapped in filthy, crowded cages where they see and hear other dogs being beaten and killed. Workers grab them with metal nooses, club them, and slit their throats. Some dogs are still alive when workers skin them.  Their skin is turned into leather gloves, belts, jacket trim, cat toys, and other products sold around the world. Congress documented dog and cat fur entering the Unit

Sugar’s body showed the strain of surviving on scraps. When we found Sugar, she was picking through piles of garbage in an empty lot. Plastic bags, food wrappers, and other waste covered the ground around her. Her head stayed low as she moved from one pile to the next. Her fur was dirty and filled with lice. Despite her condition, she walked straight toward us and allowed us to place a leash on her. Her gentle nature stood out from the moment we met her, and it was the reason

Every monkey deserves a life free from fear, pain, and exploitation. A Florida man has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for distributing more than 40 videos showing monkeys being tortured, mutilated, burned, and sexually abused. Investigators found that he created and managed private online groups where the videos were distributed. The court found that his leadership role in those groups was one of the reasons he received the five-year prison sentence.  The ju

Public lands should not hide poison. 14-year-old Canyon Mansfield was walking with his beloved dog, Kasey, near their home in Idaho when Kasey investigated what looked like an ordinary sprinkler head hidden in the ground. The device blasted sodium cyanide into Kasey's mouth and face. Canyon watched his dog convulse, foam at the mouth, collapse, and die in terrible pain. Canyon was also poisoned and continues to suffer health problems from the exposure. Kasey's death happen

Kiki did not run from anyone. She seemed to believe that being gentle would keep her safe. We found Kiki lying on dusty ground beside stacked bricks at a construction site. The sun was scorching, and she had no shelter. It was not a place any dog should live, but she had nowhere else to go. She had no food or water, and the dirt beside the bricks was the only spot she could lie down. When we approached, Kiki was gentle and friendly. She lifted her head, wagged softly, and a

Protection is a basic need, not a reward. Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, has removed hundreds of animal cruelty posts and abusive accounts.  Some of the videos showed helpless kittens thrown into water before someone stepped in for a staged “rescue.” Others showed puppies, cats, and baby monkeys terrified, trapped, injured, or deliberately placed in danger while cameras recorded every second. Happiness grows when suffering is prevented. Viewers thought they

Small dogs are not exempt from the dangers of the meat trade. Warning: Graphic images appear below. They are included to show the reality and severity of the dog and cat meat trade. A dog spends days trapped inside a crowded wire cage without food or water. There is not enough space to lie down. Paws become trapped between sharp metal bars. Raw skin is scraped away as bodies are forced against wire cages for hundreds of miles. By the time many animals reach Yulin, some are

Behind closed doors, thousands of shelter animals still face the terror of Japan’s gas chambers. Dogs and cats in parts of Japan’s public shelter system are still euthanized inside carbon dioxide gas chambers known as “Dream Boxes.” These sealed metal chambers are designed to kill multiple animals at once by pumping in carbon dioxide gas until the animals suffocate. Investigations described dogs howling, clawing at metal walls, trembling, gasping for air, and collapsing duri

In Eliza’s eyes, it was clear she no longer expected anyone to notice her. We found Eliza at the back of a residential area, near an open ground where children play. She was standing off to the side and did not leave that spot as we approached. Then she walked toward us on her own and let us place a leash on her. Eliza stayed beside us as we walked her away from that area and brought her to our shelter. Our veterinarian examined her and confirmed she was healthy and strong.

Freedom finally replaces fear. A woman in Iowa has been sentenced to two years in prison for animal torture after authorities found one dog dead inside a suitcase and another alive in severe neglect. She also received a separate sentence for neglect, but the judge ordered it to run at the same time, so she will serve two years in total. Investigators discovered that the dead dog had tape binding his front paws and a cord wrapped around his neck. The other dog was found alive

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s plans to use helicopters to drive horses from above and push them into corrals. A newborn foal can barely stand, yet she is forced to run for her life as a loud helicopter chases her from above. Sharp rocks slice into her soft hooves until blood forms with every step. Her mother stays close, desperate to protect her, but both are driven faster and faster with no chance to stop. Right now, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plans to driv

Surviving means little without legal protection. Right now, animals in West Virginia remain vulnerable to one of the most horrific forms of cruelty: sexual abuse. Every other state has passed laws to make this a crime. West Virginia has not, and that gap is already showing its impact. In one investigation, police found videos on a phone of a dog being pinned down and sexually abused by the people responsible for that animal. In another case, officers entered a broken-down s

Every tuft of mohair began with an animal who had no say. A child hugs a soft teddy bear from FAO Schwarz, unaware that the "luxury" mohair used in these toys is ripped from goats in a cycle of unimaginable violence. On mohair farms, goats are grabbed by their horns and legs and dragged across hard floors as they fight desperately to break free. Some are lifted by their tails, which can snap their spine. Their bodies are forced down so hard that they cannot move. Blades te

Nature offers what stores cannot. PetSmart has officially stopped selling turtles, tortoises, and several other live species across its stores in North America. For years, many of these animals were kept in crowded containers, arrived weak, or did not survive the journey. Inside store holding areas, space and care often fell short of what these animals needed to stay healthy.  Federal law in the United States had already banned the sale of very small turtles because of healt

A single injury reveals the violence hidden behind every shipment. Frogs slaughtered for their legs are transported in tightly packed sacks where they can barely move. Many arrive at processing facilities already injured and suffocating. Workers pull them out and begin cutting into their bodies while they are still conscious. No anesthesia is used. Skin is torn from living tissue by hand. Limbs are severed while the animals are still reacting to pain. The journey begins in

A mother’s love doesn’t stop for rain. Today is Mother’s Day, and for stray animals, it is not about flowers or comfort. It is about staying alive long enough to keep their babies alive. Bentley was a stray in Texas when she went into labor during a weekend of heavy storms. Rain kept falling while she searched for somewhere to give birth, but there was no shelter and no dry ground. She delivered eleven puppies outside, exposed to the cold and the rain. By the time she was