Circus ban As a circus elephant performing around the country, Becky lived in chains, endured travel in extreme temperatures, and was beaten into submission in order to perform humiliating and painful tricks. HAP initiated and passed a law in 2017 banning training instruments of pain thereby barring animal circuses from ever performing within city limits again.
Puppy mills
As the “Puppy Mill Capital of the East”, Pennsylvania has some of the worst-of-the-worst puppy mills in the country. HAP’s multi-faceted approach to ending puppy mill misery included passing the first retail-sales ban of mill-bred animals in PA, which bans pet stores from selling puppy mill dogs.
Single use plastics
Single-use plastics (SUPs) are killing animals - and us - and habitat loss is at an all-time high. We are fighting against plastic pollution by organizing community litter clean ups, increasing awareness of proper composting procedures, and were instrumental in passing Pittsburgh’s “plastic ban ban”.
Farm animal protection
At HAP, we work on behalf of all animals and that includes those who experience the most egregious abuse: farmed animals. Cows, pigs, chickens, and dozens of other species treated as products rather than sentient beings are deserving of our attention, compassion, and advocacy. We recognize the urgent need to address the systemic issues within the industrial farming system that perpetuate immense suffering for these animals.
What we do
Education
Learning the most effective tools in animal protection is step one
Policy
Prevention through policy, because rescue isn’t enough.
Community Action
With strength in numbers, we give animals a voice where it matters most.
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Most people would love to help animals… if they only knew how.
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