WASHINGTON (April 22, 2026)—Humane World for Animals and Humane World Action Fund, formerly called Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society Legislative Fund, today filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture for not fulfilling its responsibility to protect Tennessee Walking Horses and similar breeds from the cruel practice of “soring.” The Horse Protection Act, passed in 1970, is designed to prevent the painful and illegal practice of soring, in which horses’ legs and hooves are deliberately injured to exaggerate their gait for “Big Lick” competitions.
Yet, as the lawsuit makes plain, the USDA has shelved several rules and procedures critical to the administration and enforcement of the Horse Protection Act. These include the elimination of industry self-policing at competitions, a system the agency agreed back in 2010 to end after a USDA Office of Inspector General audit found it to be a failure, as well as the process for referring sore and injured horses for disqualification at shows.
The plaintiffs are Humane World for Animals and Humane World Action Fund, plus several individuals who have owned Walking Horses.
“No horse should be made to suffer for a blue ribbon,” said Kimberly Ockene, managing attorney for equine matters at Humane World for Animals. “Under the Horse Protection Act, showing a sored horse is illegal, yet unlawful decisions by USDA and industry self-policing have allowed this terrible abuse to continue. We’re filing this lawsuit today because the USDA has delayed critical reforms too many times. By repeatedly stalling on implementation of long-promised improvements to federal oversight, the USDA is denying Walking Horses the protection the law provides them.”
Humane World for Animals and Humane World Action Fund have a long history of advocating for stronger protection for Tennessee Walking Horses and related breeds. Today’s lawsuit, filed in federal court in the District of Columbia, asks the court to hold USDA to its mandate under the Horse Protection Act. All plaintiffs are represented by attorneys from the Animal Protection Law department of Humane World for Animals.
