A Better Future for Animals: 2025’s Legislative Triumphs
In 2025, advocates like you transformed compassion into powerful action, ensuring that the needs of animals were heard loud and clear. Whether you contacted lawmakers, volunteered your time or shared our alerts with friends, every effort was meaningful.
These victories are more than milestones — they are reminders that advocacy works and persistence pays off. Together, we are shaping a better future for animals everywhere.
Cracking Down on Puppy Mills
Cruel commercial dog breeders (puppy mills) sell puppies online and to pet shops that often look wholesome, misleading customers about where the puppies were born and how poorly the breeding dogs are treated. The ASPCA works to curtail inhumane dog-breeding by shutting down puppy-mill-to-pet-store pipelines and strengthening enforcement of the law that is meant to protect the health and welfare of dogs in puppy mills.
Check out this year’s victories
California passed three innovative new laws that shut down deceptive puppy sales and closed loopholes that kept cruel breeders in business. In North Carolina, Governor Josh Stein’s veto protected local bans on pet store puppy sales. And in Congress, Goldie’s Act was reintroduced to strengthen protections for the estimated 250,000 dogs languishing in federally licensed breeding facilities across the country.
Take action: Urge your members of Congress to pass Goldie’s Act this year! >
Victory in court! In 2021, the ASPCA filed a lawsuit challenging the USDA’s policy of concealing violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act — a failed policy that led to the egregious suffering of countless animals. We are pleased to share that the judge recently ruled in the ASPCA’s favor. With this ruling, the Court has affirmed that the USDA must record all violations on official inspection reports and that animal welfare organizations like the ASPCA can continue to challenge government actions that place animals in danger. This case is a significant win for animals, and we hope it leads to greater enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act to better protect dogs in puppy mills.
Keeping Pets with Families
Pets are family, but restrictive housing policies force too many pet parents to make heartbreaking choices. In 2025, advocates fought hard to break down those barriers — and won big.
Check out this year’s victories
Colorado and Washington, D.C., passed laws banning breed restrictions and capping pet-related fees, ensuring renters don’t have to give up their beloved companions because of unfair rules.
Nevada expanded its first-in-the-nation law prohibiting insurers from denying coverage based on dog breeds to cover apartment units and other multi-family residences as well as further empower landlords to welcome dogs without risking the loss of their own coverage. Colorado joined Nevada and New York as the third state to prohibit this practice.
Bellingham, Washington, unanimously outlawed unfair pet deposits and non-refundable charges, setting a strong example for other cities.
Congress appropriated $3 million to the PAWS Act grant program, helping domestic violence shelters become pet-friendly so survivors don’t have to choose between safety and their animals. Furthermore, a U.S. Senate committee directed the Department of Housing and Urban Development to keep public housing pet-friendly, safeguarding access for low-income families.
Modernizing Veterinary Care
For years, people have been taking advantage of telehealth appointments for their own medical care, and it’s time to extend the benefits of this technology to the veterinary field. Telehealth makes it easier for pet owners to connect with licensed veterinarians by removing the obstacles of travel and better accommodating their demanding schedules. It can ease the stress that animals often feel while traveling to the clinic and throughout their visit, while also helping families manage costs and access care more quickly. By opening new doors to routine and urgent care, telehealth offers compassionate support that keeps pets comfortable at home. That’s why we’re working to advance legislation that expands access to veterinary telehealth nationwide.
Check out this year’s victory
Ohio became the latest state to embrace veterinary telehealth, allowing vets to establish relationships with clients online. This breakthrough means fewer pets will suffer because they can get care quickly and affordably, especially in rural or underserved areas. This law went into effect in September.
Protecting People and Pets from Disasters
The ASPCA is known for assisting in the evacuation, rescue, sheltering and placement of animals during disasters. When hurricanes, wildfires, floods or other disasters strike, our expert teams deploy to impacted communities to provide support for displaced pets. These experiences have given us a firsthand view of the heartbreaking challenges families face when forced to evacuate without their pets or when shelters cannot accommodate them. Too often, people delay or refuse evacuation because they cannot bear to leave animals behind, putting themselves at greater risk. In 2025, we responded to the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles and continued to help pass laws that ensure families and their pets are protected during disasters.
Check out this year’s victory
Washington State passed a law requiring localities to include pets in emergency response plans, create dedicated pet-friendly sheltering sites and offer online resources to keep people with pets safe during emergency events. This law took effect in July.
Building a Better World for Farm Animals
In 2025, we joined forces with advocates, farmers, policymakers and food companies to uncover the harsh realities of industrial agriculture and push for a better food system — one that causes less animal suffering, gives consumers the power to make informed choices and supports farmers transitioning to humane, sustainable practices.
Check out this year’s victories
The ASPCA hosted its second higher-welfare farm tour for Congress, bringing a bipartisan group of Congressional staff to two pasture-based farms in Virginia. Staffers heard directly from Mike Peterson at Kinloch Farm and Jesse Straight at Whiffletree Farm about the challenges higher-welfare farmers face and how the government could support the growth and viability of more humane farming systems. Following the tour, the ASPCA hosted a Congressional briefing featuring more farmers and advocates who spoke to specific policies that could make a difference, like the Industrial Agriculture Conversion Act (IACA) and EQIP Improvement Act.
Colorado successfully defended its cage-free egg law, ensuring that laying hens aren’t forced back into cramped, inhumane confinement. This victory means millions of birds will continue to live with space to spread their wings and Coloradans have increased access to more humane products in their stores.
Congress supported the Value-Added Producer Grant program with $8 million in funding, despite attempts to cut it. This important program helps farmers improve animal welfare by moving to cage-free or crate-free systems and giving animals outdoor access, which can be validated by meaningful animal welfare certifications.
⚠️Despite these advancements, two dangerous bills were introduced in Congress that would erase existing animal welfare laws and perpetuate inhumane practices on factory farms. So far, we’ve been able to keep these policies from being enacted but we need your help in 2026. Take action: Email your members of Congress and urge them to oppose these catastrophic bills. >
Safeguarding Horses from Suffering and Slaughter
The ASPCA builds comprehensive programs that support people and animals — including horses and other equines. We advocate for stronger laws to protect them, and our ASPCA Right Horse program unites rescues and shelters around the country to increase equine adoption.
Check out this year’s victories
In 2025, Congress once again blocked horse slaughterhouses from reopening in the U.S., a critical task we must accomplish every year. But this doesn’t fully solve the problem of horse slaughter: Tens of thousands of American horses are still shipped across our borders to be killed in Canada and Mexico. To truly protect them, Congress must pass the SAFE Act, a permanent ban on the slaughter and export of horses for human consumption. Only then can we ensure America’s horses live with the dignity and safety they deserve. In the final days of 2025, we secured more than half the U.S. House of Representatives as cosponsors of the SAFE Act, reflecting an unprecedented level of bipartisan support for its anticipated passage in 2026. Take action: Urge your members of Congress to pass the SAFE Act this year! >
Last year, wild horses and burros held onto critical protections. Congress reaffirmed that these iconic animals cannot be killed or sold to slaughter under federal herd management plans. Lawmakers also directed new funding to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to strengthen humane care, including a clear mandate to expand fertility control programs, ensuring wild herds are managed responsibly.
Your New Year’s Resolution
Make advocating for animals one of your goals this year. Kick it off — complete our easy online form to tell Congress about the policy improvements you’d like to see for our country’s animals this year.
Want to take your advocacy to the next level? Check out our policy volunteer programs!
Share this page: