Breaking Newsletter Animal Legal Defense Fund... September news from ALDF, is asking everyone to take action and comment to the USDA to stop the continued licensing of abusers of animals and their welfare. It is time to overhaul this program for the better and to have very strict regulations and to ensure that every license issued to rescue facilties, pet stores and other animal welfare centers are in total compliance of the law. This will definitely put animal welfare front and center and all animals will be protected until finding their forever homes. Please take action and take repsonsibility for another life, we are all Angels of Kindness and we are here to save and protect. Big WINS for ALDF against the the US Wildlife Services who indiscriminantly go ROGUE and use their service for slaughtering Endangered Species, from wolves to bears, including their offspring. All wildlife is at RISK and we are losing the most important part of life in keeping our ecosystems in balance. Please read all their news in full including their continued efforts in protecting the Endangered Species Act and their efforts to hold responsible all people who hold hostage in inadequate housing, neglect and abuse an Endangered Species. Their mounting lawsuits against certain pet stores and puppy mills will never cease and they will continue to fight tirelessly until all animals are safe. Mahalo and I hope everyone shares... BRAVO to all the attorney's with ALDF who put animals FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is in charge of granting Animal Welfare Act (AWA) licenses, and the program needs an overhaul. The current licensing procedure makes it incredibly easy for facilities that are violating the AWA to remain licensed, leaving animals in danger. The USDA is considering changes to its licensing promise, and it just opened a comment period to collect public opinion. Now is the time for you to weigh in on the issue and urge the USDA to take its responsibility seriously to make sure that all facilities granted an AWA license are in compliance with the law. Take action today! In early August, a judge found in favor of a coalition of wildlife protection groups including the Animal Legal Defense Fund in our challenge to a California county’s contract renewal with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services. We have a long history of challenging Wildlife Services, and this decision is big a win for wildlife in Monterey County, and an important warning to other counties that contract with the federal killing agency. Learn more about how Wildlife Services uses our tax dollars to fund an indiscriminant and cruel assault on wildlife. In 2015, we filed a lawsuit under the Endangered Species Act against Sam Haynes Jr. and Dixie Landin’ amusement park, located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana for holding Candy the Chimpanzee in inadequate conditions in a virtually barren concrete cage by herself for more than 40 years. Tragically, Candy died in April before we were able to win her release to a sanctuary, and the case has been dismissed. We are deeply saddened by Candy’s death, but will continue to fight in her memory for other abused and exploited captive wild animals. Chimpanzees like Candy deserve the right to flourish in their natural environments, free from human-imposed suffering; the Animal Legal Defense Fund will continue to fight for legal recognitions of that right. By making a memorial gift in Candy’s honor, you will help us fight on for Candy. The Animal Legal Defense Fund has mounted a national class action lawsuit against Petland stores. Our suit alleges that the national pet store chain engaged in a scheme to sell sick puppy mill puppies to consumers based on fraudulent health guarantees, in violation of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act. We filed on behalf of a class of consumers victimized by predatory business practices of charging premium prices for puppies Petland has “guaranteed” to be healthy, when the store knows full well it is selling puppies, including “puppy-mill” sourced puppies, prone to illnesses and other defects. A puppy mill is a commercial dog-breeding facility that produces puppies as quickly as possible, without consideration of the care of the animals. Read more about how and why we are challenging Petland. As always, thank you for supporting the work we do! If you want to get more up to the minute news and information on our cases, please follow us on Facebook and Twitter. For the animals, Stephen E. Wells Executive Director