We collaborated with Florida animal advocates to win lawmakers’ support for the Providing Equity in Telehealth Services (PETS) Act, which gives people with pets better access to telehealth technology for veterinary care. While our team was on the ground meeting government officials, animal advocates used their voices to encourage lawmakers to pass this groundbreaking bill. The PETS Act finally crossed the finish line in June when Governor DeSantis signed it into law, and it went into effect on July 1.

Thanks to this new law, Florida pet owners are able connect with veterinarians from their smartphones or computers, reducing the requirement for in-person visits in certain circumstances and enabling more animals to receive care. This victory is long overdue because in-person veterinary visits can be a major barrier for pet owners and a source of unnecessary stress for pets.

Learn more about the importance and many benefits of veterinary telehealth and how the ASPCA is working to ensure that people, pets and vets in all 50 states can access it.

Months after Florida’s win, voters passed Proposition 129 to expand access to veterinary care in Colorado. Prop 129, spearheaded by the Dumb Friends League in Denver with support from a coalition of animal shelters and advocates, establishes a career pathway for a Veterinary Professional Associate, or Veterinary PA, akin to a physician assistant in human medicine. These professionals will hold a master’s degree, be licensed and regulated by the state Veterinary Medical Board and work under the supervision of a licensed veterinarian. By empowering veterinarians to utilize veterinary PAs to provide quality, routine medical care, more families will be able to access care for their animals.

A signature-gathering effort led by Dumb Friends League earned Prop 129 a spot on Colorado’s 2024 ballot, and voters enacted the measure by a decisive 53-47% vote. Thank you to the hundreds of volunteers who supported Prop 129 to give more animals a chance to live longer, healthier, happier lives.

Natural disasters and extreme weather events are on the rise, and hurricanes, wildfires, floods and other crises all pose a threat to people and their pets. Unfortunately, most states still lack pet-friendly emergency shelters or co-shelters — where people can safely stay with their pets — and people who are denied shelter with their pets may refuse evacuation or be forced to leave their pets behind.

Colorado passed a law requiring localities to include pets in all levels of disaster-response planning. It also requires officials to create at least one dedicated pet-friendly sheltering site per locality to give people a safe and comfortable place to go with their pets. This new law went into effect in April and offers tangible hope that families can stay together during emergencies.

Similarly, Washington established a grant program to improve the state’s ability to support people during periods of extremely hot or cold weather or when wildfire smoke reduces air quality. These grants can be used to retrofit warming and cooling centers to be pet-friendly and reimburse the costs associated with transporting people with pets.

California voters approved Proposition 4 in another Election Day victory for animals. It authorized $10 billion in bonds for climate-related projects, including wildfire prevention. We successfully secured language in Prop 4 that qualifies projects involving retrofitting or developing pet-friendly resiliency centers to be eligible for payment from a dedicated $60 million fund. Pet-friendly resilience centers are critical because they enable families to evacuate with their pets when disaster strikes.

New York’s Puppy Mill Pipeline Act went into effect on December 15, 2024, finally prohibiting the retail sale of dogs, cats and rabbits in New York State. Dogs sold in pet stores come from commercial breeding operations — commonly known as “puppy mills” — that are designed to prioritize profit over the well-being of animals. By ending the sale of cruelly bred puppy mill dogs in state pet shops, New York is shutting down the pipeline that enables retail sellers and commercial breeders to profit from cruelty.

Goldie’s Act would protect vulnerable animals who are held in federally licensed commercial facilities, including a quarter of a million dogs, and it continued to earn support from lawmakers in both parties. In 2024, Goldie’s Act was introduced for the first time in the U.S. Senate by Senators Blumenthal (D-CT) and Scott (R-FL). It was also endorsed by the Problem Solvers Caucus — a bipartisan group of 62 members of Congress — and secured more than 100 cosponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives.

We are eager to support the reintroduction and passage of Goldie’s Act in the new session of Congress. Become a member of our Puppy Mill Action Team to get the latest news and receive alerts when Goldie’s Act and other important bills need your voice this year.

The Industrial Agriculture Conversion Act (IACA) was introduced for the first time by Representatives Adams (D-NC) and McGovern (D-MA) and Senator Booker (D-NJ). This bill would create a grant program dedicated to assisting farmers currently in the factory farm system who want to transition from factory farming to either more humane pasture-based animal farming or growing crops. By investing in these transitions, the IACA would be a promising step toward ending factory farming.

Another piece of federal legislation that dominated much of 2024 was the Farm Bill. Though Congress extended the current Farm Bill into 2025, we saw progress for farm animals throughout the process. For example, the dangerous EATS Act and any related language has been kept out of the Farm Bill extension, protecting millions of animals and safeguarding state animal welfare laws across the country. Additionally, the Senate Farm Bill draft included two historic provisions calling for funding to support transitions away from factory farming and mandatory reporting on cruel depopulation. Both provisions result from years of advocacy and outreach about the harm of factory farming and the need for solutions.

Work with us to create a more humane farming system in the new session of Congress. Join our Factory Farming Task Force to get the latest news and receive alerts when farm animals need your voice.

Horse slaughterhouses were prevented from operating within the United States for another fiscal year. However, tens of thousands of American equines are still trucked across our borders each year to be slaughtered in Canada and Mexico. To fully protect America’s horses, Congress must permanently ban the slaughter of horses for human consumption in the U.S. and their export abroad for that same purpose.

In 2024, wild horses and burros retained important protections. Congress ensured that they cannot be killed or sold to slaughter as part of the government’s strategy for managing wild herds. Additionally, Congress provided the Bureau of Land Management with funding to humanely manage wild horses and burros, including a directive to implement a robust and humane fertility control strategy.

The program’s continued funding is a big win, but last year its funding was reduced by nearly $6 million. For the agency to sustainably ensure healthy herds and land, continued investment in the Wild Horse and Burro Program is necessary. The ASPCA will continue fighting for increased support of the Program.