Exciting technological progress has been made to replace animals in testing along with a groundswell of support among scientists.

The secrecy with which animals in laboratories are kept from the public eye is no accident. The use of animals in laboratories often amounts to legally-sanctioned animal abuse.

Recently, I did a public records request or information on the monkeys that were exported out of Florida and imported into South Carolina. Imagine my surprise when I was completely denied any records by the state of South Carolina.

Today’s daily action for National Justice for Animals Week is: Help ALDF Help Animals

Animal Legal Defense Fund’s All-New App Gives Smartphone Users an Easy Tool to Protect Animals

Animal Legal Defense Fund's annual study ranks laws across the country.

University of Minnesota’s IACUC Refuses Public Access to Animal Testing Records

This study by the Animal Legal Defense Fund underscores the often-considerable differences that exist between the animal protection laws of the provinces and territories.

On July 1st, California's force-fed foie gras ban will take effect, and the state will take its place as the first to prohibit this diseased and inhumane product.

As part of a school project, several Cyber Academy students recently made a presentation to the Rio Rancho Governing Body urging legislators to consider animal abuser registry legislation in their January session.

You know you've crossed into the Twilight Zone when celebrity chefs who promote the sale of foie gras, a "delicacy" consisting of the intentionally enlarged livers of force-fed ducks, claim to be victims.

San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael A. Ramos and Senator Bill Emmerson, R-Hemet, recently addressed state legislators on SB 1145, a bill that seeks to increase the fines levied against participants and spectators of illegal cockfights.

Animal protection law takes effect this July.

Please take a moment to urge Governor Otter to support future strengthening of the animal cruelty law with provisions for felony convictions on the first offense and meaningful penalties for violators.

Producing foie gras, a delicacy only the uber-rich normally eat, equals animal cruelty.

Today's daily action for National Justice for Animals Week is: fight animal abuse in one click.

Help prevent the cruel mistreatment of sick and disabled farmed animals!

Contact your federal legislators and ask for their support of the Downed Animal and Food Safety Protection Act.

Farmed animals have been left unprotected from cruelty laws for too long.

Animal Groups Urge Indiana to Correct Legal Snafu that Has Allowed Abuse of Turtles at Annual Event as Appalling Footage from Indiana's Snapperfest 2011 Is Released

Many people will buy foie gras this season, believing the industry's lies that it's somehow humane.

Animal Legal Defense Fund Releases Annual Report Ranking Animal Cruelty Laws Across the Nation; Illinois Remains on Top, Mississippi Shows Most Improvement

Animal Legal Defense Fund's annual study ranks laws across the country.

Current regulations under the Endangered Species Act have created an illogical and self-defeating double standard that grants "wild" chimpanzees vital protections under the Act, while denying "captive" chimpanzees in the United States any protection at all.

California passed several significant bills into law targeting persons who victimize animals, including the following.

ALDF intervenes in case, supporting state anti-cruelty law against corporate profit-seekers

On November 9, the Supreme Court of the United States will hear arguments in a case that will determine whether California voters or out-of-state corporations have the right to decide how farmed animals in California are treated.

An innovative program, "dog owners" who break the law for the first time (dog license, leash law infractions, and the like) are being sentenced to attend a Pet Owner Responsibility Class in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and surrounding Bernalillo County.

By moving towards this next level of laws, we can continue to advance the interests of animals through the legal system and in so doing, help make their lives more valued and meaningful.

ALDF is now fighting a case in the Supreme Court that shows they are.

More than 2.1 million people -- and millions of animals -- now protected.

California Governor signs law banning shark finning.

Help stop the abuse and slaughter of horses for human consumption!

Veterinarians play an integral role in the fight against animal cruelty. Download ALDF's quick reference guide for state by state information regarding veterinarians' duty to report suspected animal cruelty.

The bill outlawing shark fins in the State of California has cleared a big hurdle and is on its way to a final vote by the full Senate.

The Los Angeles City Council moved to make it illegal to buy animals from vendors on public streets or sidewalks.

The expertise seasoned prosecutors bring to the charging process reflects the complexities which often determine the possibility of going forward with a criminal prosecution.

It's time to close loopholes in the federal animal fighting law, thereby giving law enforcement the tools they need to hold animal abusers accountable.

Help make it illegal to attend or bring a minor to animal fights!

In its treatment of farmed animals, how does the United States compare to Europe? Sadly, the answer is: not so great.

On July 7th, the Humane Society of the United States and the United Egg Producers announced an agreement by which the two traditional adversaries will jointly recommend that Congress pass new standards for the welfare of egg-laying hens. So how does this legislation fit into the broader scheme of federal animal protections?

Peter Bower of Shelby, Ohio, was arrested on May 18th, 2011, and charged with two counts of animal cruelty after allegations that he had sex with three companion dogs and possibly a horse owned by a local equestrian center.

Convicted abusers may now be kept from residing with animals for up to 15 years.

Abusers Beware – Your Punishment Can Now Fit Your Crime

Get your free copy today!

Plaintiffs Protest Cruelty at the Zoo and the Use of City Funds to Support Facilities, Practices that Violate Animal Protection Laws

This week, two Animal Legal Defense Fund attorneys published a first-of-its-kind book, A Worldview of Animal Law, which analyzes legal protections for animals from a global perspective.

Download the full copy of ALDF's Animal Protection Laws of the United States of America and Canada new edition or instantly view individual jurisdictions on our interactive map.

Quebec and Nunavut Ranked Worst for Animals, Ontario Takes Top Honors in Animal Legal Defense Fund’s 2011 Report

A new study released by the Animal Legal Defense Fund underscores the often-considerable differences that exist between the animal protection laws of the provinces and territories.

In Hawaii, Peacock "Pests" May Still be Killed, Just Not with Baseball Bats, and Attending a Dogfight Becomes a Felony; Florida Slated to Finally Criminalize the Sexual Assault of Animals

Pennsylvania residents: please make a brief, polite call to your state senator and ask support for Senate Bill 626, to finally ban pigeon shoots.

Your help is needed today to pass "Cooney's Law" SB 223 and make certain acts of animal cruelty a felony on the first offense!

Tough new laws will protect sled dogs and other animals.

It is always good to hear when people are working on behalf of the animals, giving a voice to the voiceless. Here is a recent smattering of updates.

Despite passage of the "Humane Shelter Law," many Kentucky counties are treating the animals in their care with reckless disregard for the suffering that they are causing.

Help put an end to dogfighting and create strong laws for animals so criminals who use animals for fighting receive meaningful sentences.

AB 376 seeks to outlaw the practice of using shark fins to make the Chinese delicacy, shark fin soup. The bill has the support of conservationists, scientists and environmental groups, as well as sport and commercial fishermen.

A little over a year ago, we launched our national campaign -- ExposeAnimalAbusers.org -- to raise awareness and garner support for the adoption of animal abuser registry laws across the country.

On Feb. 24, the Guam Legislature voted unanimously to pass Senate Bill 9 which dramatically strengthens the territory's laws protecting animals. Once the bill is signed into law, Guam will finally join the list of U.S. jurisdictions with felony animal abuse penalties.

From an animal rights perspective, no single legislative accomplishment has filled me with such gratification as the unanimous adoption of my animal abuser registry (also known as "Justin's Law").

Today's daily action for National Justice for Animals Week is: sign petitions and speak out to lawmakers.

The veterinarian told us Justin was rescued "just in time" after the Suffolk County, New York SPCA removed him from a foreclosed house in May 2010 where he was left abandoned with no food or water. Justin at the time of his rescueWeighing only 19 pounds, he was a skeleton with skin.

Today's daily action for National Justice for Animals Week is: suggest a caption for the recent photo of Justin, the week's official mascot.

The co-sponsor of National Justice for Animals Week 2011, Jon Cooper was elected legislator for the 18th district in Suffolk County, New York in November 1999. In October 2010, Jon sponsored a landmark bill, passed unanimously by Suffolk County lawmakers, to create the nation's first animal abuser registry.

Mississippi, one of the "Worst Five States" in the Animal Legal Defense Fund's latest animal protection laws rankings report, is one step closer to leaving the infamous list of the final four states currently without any felony animal cruelty penalties.

In November 2010, we reported that voters in Missouri, often infamously referred to as the "puppy mill capital of the nation," passed Proposition B -- the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act. The law is scheduled to go into effect later in 2011, but a fight has now begun to repeal or change the new law.

Recently, Animal Legal Defense Fund attorneys filed suit against the state of Texas in the case Doe v. Suehs. The suit alleges that the state has done nothing to ensure that companies that produce eggs in the state comply with a state law which, in no uncertain terms, requires egg producers to not keep hens in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, and to attend to dead, injured, and ill hens.

Several criticisms were created by the sentence imposed by Plymouth County, Massachusetts District Court Judge Beverly Cannone in the Heidi Erickson animal neglect case.

Ringing in the New Year also meant the start of some new animal protection laws that took effect on January 1st. Here are a few of them.

ALDF grant aids sheriff's animal rescue

Michael Vick's federal sentence contains a three-year ban on the possession of a dog. Should it have been permanent? We at the Animal Legal Defense Fund certainly think so, but we have to recognize the jurisdictional limits inherent in our justice system.

In this Q&A session, attorney Scott Heiser, director of the Animal Legal Defense Fund's Criminal Justice Program, answers some questions and provides some clarification relating to the current debate about whether Michael Vick should be allowed to own a pet dog.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund released its fifth annual State Animal Protection Laws report today, ranking all fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories for the general comprehensiveness and relative strength of their respective animal protection laws.

Kentucky, North Dakota, Idaho, Mississippi and Iowa are the five best states in the country to be an animal abuser, according to a new report released by the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

ALDF's fifth annual report, the longest-running and most authoritative report of its kind, ranks each jurisdiction on the relative strength and comprehensiveness of their current animal protection laws.

Concerned residents of Travis County and Gonzales County, Texas, represented by the Animal Legal Defense Fund, filed a lawsuit in Travis County District Court in an effort to stop the horrific abuses to birds and the human health risks posed by Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. -- the nation's largest egg supplier -- at its chicken-raising and egg production facility in Waelder, Texas.

Despite heightened public awareness, puppy mills continue to plague communities across the nation.

New law makes it a crime to sell crush videos.

Help protect animals from repeat abuse and bring justice to animal victims.

The Senate, following the House, passed legislation on November 19th to ban the selling of videos that depict the abuse, mutilation, torture, and killing of animals.

Animal Legal Defense Fund Urges Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to Revoke Illegal Permit for "Tony" at Iberville Parish's Tiger Truck Stop

Decrepit County facility brought under fire

Arizona voters rejected Proposition 109 in an effort to protect wildlife, while in Missouri, voters passed Proposition B, the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act.

Donate before November 30th and your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar!

Were you ever that passionate? Were you ever that hopeful?

Turkish animal rights activists are seeking to criminalize the abuse of animals after collecting a record number of signatures for a petition campaign.

The law regarding animal treatment just got a whole lot stricter in Manitoba, Canada. The Animal Care Amendment Act took effect September 20th, doubling-up jail time and fines for offenders, and adding the severe penalty that a person convicted of an offense could be restricted from owning or caring for animals for life.

Last week, we shared the exciting news about the first-ever animal abuser registry being enacted. It wasn't just the first such registry in the U.S.A, but quite likely the first one in the world.

The Associated Press on September 16th reported that a man accused of dragging a "stubborn" horse alongside his truck has become the first person convicted by a Puerto Rico jury under an animal protection law enacted after dogs were thrown to their deaths from a bridge.

The Suffolk County Legislature unanimously approved a bill Tuesday, October 12th, to create a law establishing a county registry for animal abuse offenders. Suffolk County is home to 1.5 million human residents and an untold number of animal residents.

1.5 Million New Yorkers and their Animals Will Have More Protection from Repeat Offenders

Last night, the U.S. Senate voted unanimously to pass the language of S. 3841 through a substitute amendment to H.R. 5566 which will ban the sale of animal crush videos.

It's time for the U.S. Senate to act on anti-crush legislation. Contact your Senators today and ask them to support S. 3841!

ALDF Honoring the State for Its Progressive Legislation at Chicago Reception