A HumaneWatch.org ad airing moments before Super Bowl kickoff ripped the Humane Society of the United States, mocking the group's emotional ads often featuring sickly animals in shelters. "Every day thousands of lawyers and lobbyists around the country find themselves out of work and unemployed," a woman says to scenes of lawyers in cages. These lawyers don't have a vacation home," the ad continues. "For just $19 a month you can join the Humane Society of the United States in our fight to hire more lawyers. People often think we run pet shelters but that simply isn't true. [node:read-more:link]

A deal will allow the mass slaughter of hundreds of wild bison migrating from Yellowstone National Park, while sparing 25 animals that American Indian tribes want to start new herds. It resulted from two weeks of intensive negotiations and removes a political obstacle for the park after Montana Gov. Steve Bullock on Jan. [node:read-more:link]

A federal appeals court revived a sweeping lawsuit accusing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of endangering scores of protected species by approving toxic pesticides without required consultation with wildlife officials. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed part of a lower court ruling in the 2011 suit against the EPA by two environmental groups, the Center for Biological Diversity and Pesticide Action Network North America. [node:read-more:link]

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan may have the approval ratings. But the Democrats who control both houses of the state legislature have the votes.  Despite vigorous opposition from the popular Republican governor, the Maryland Senate voted 32 to 13 on Thursday to override Hogan’s veto of a bill to boost the state’s use of renewable energy. The House of Delegates voted to reverse the veto earlier this week. That means the measure — which requires Maryland to obtain 25 percent of its energy from wind, solar and other renewable sources by 2020, instead of ­20 percent by 2022 — will become law. [node:read-more:link]

the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced discontinued electronic access to inspection reports, annual reports and enforcement records from its Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) website known as the Animal Care Information System (ACIS). The move, which appears to have been made based on privacy concerns, has received criticism from animal welfare groups stating that the decision removes transparency related to how tax dollars are being used.   Foundation for Biomedical Research President, Matthew R. [node:read-more:link]

A bill approved by the Senate would allow state inspectors to carry out warrantless inspections of hundreds of Virginia produce farms to ensure compliance with federal regulations. “It’s one of those bills you don’t like, but someone’s got to carry it,” said the legislation’s sponsor, Sen. Richard Stuart, R-Westmoreland County. [node:read-more:link]

Shoppers buying a dozen eggs these days not only have to decide whether they want organic, free-range or cage-free. They also have to choose among cartons with labels like “American Humane Certified,” “Animal Welfare Approved” and “Certified Humane.” As the number of consumers concerned about animal welfare grows, such labels, or seals, as they are known in the business, are spreading like kudzu on packages of meat and eggs in the refrigerated cases of grocery stores, to assure shoppers that the cattle, pigs or chickens were treated well. [node:read-more:link]

The country is accepting its first-ever egg imports from the US in response to shortages causing sharp increases in food prices. The U.S. exported 14 million eggs to South Korea in January as the nation continues to deal with a widespread avian influenza outbreak. [node:read-more:link]

 Massachusetts energy officials on Tuesday announced an overhaul of the way the state subsidizes solar projects. The switch is expected to cut the annual cost of solar installations to electricity ratepayers in half, from $400 million to $500 million under previous versions of the program to $200 million to $250 million under the new program. [node:read-more:link]

In the past two months, two rural Michigan counties have adopted one-year moratoriums on wind development, though they appear to be in vastly different positions when it comes to regulatory experience. On December 29, Huron County in Michigan’s Thumb region — also known as the state’s wind capital due to the comparatively high density of turbines there — enacted a one-year moratorium for areas that fall under county zoning laws. [node:read-more:link]