AWI Quarterly » 2010 Summer

The life of this chicken roaming free on an Animal Welfare Approved farm in Texas stands in stark contrast to the lives of industrially farmed chickens.

2010 Summer

Victory! Florida Bans Coyote and Fox Penning

June 23 was a momentous day for coyotes and foxes in Florida, as the state's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) voted unanimously to enact a ban on coyote and fox "penning."

2010 Summer

USDA Fails to Enforce Animal Welfare Act Against Problem Breeders

On May 20, the Obama Administration pledged to fully enforce the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). Not a minute too soon, it turns out.

2010 Summer

Caring Hands: Discussions by the Laboratory Animal Refinement and Enrichment Forum

Caring Hands is the second volume of discussions that took place on the Animal Welfare Institute's online Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum.

2010 Summer

Shooting in the Wild: An Insider’s Account of Making Movies in the Animal Kingdom

The mysterious lives of animals have been the subjects of countless films and nature shows. Though these productions might focus on similar themes, filmmakers are driven by a variety of motivations, and may use vastly different methods to capture animals on film.

2010 Summer

Animal Factory: The Looming Threat of Industrial Pig, Dairy, and Poultry Farms to Humans and the Environment

Award-winning journalist David Kirby's gripping new book, Animal Factory: The Looming Threat of Industrial Pig, Dairy, and Poultry Farms to Humans and the Environment, sets out to expose industrial agriculture as a cruel, polluting, disease transmitting, manure-soaked con game.

2010 Summer

Wild Horse Annie and the Last of the Mustangs: The Life of Velma Johnston

Velma Bronn Johnston’s boss told her at the end of her lengthy secretarial career, "The world is made up of three kinds of people - those who make things happen; those who watch things happen; and those who don’t know what’s happening. Go girl, go!"

2010 Summer

Thoroughbred Owner Races to Save Mares from Slaughter

Carol Brown and her husband Don own a small Thoroughbred farm in Kentucky. Her horses may never earn a garland of roses at Churchill Downs, but she’d hoped, at least, to give them a rosy future and a green pasture retirement when she sent several of them this past January to a nearby riding camp for kids.

2010 Summer

In Remembrance: Dr. F. Barbara Orlans

On June 18, our good friend and colleague, Dr. F. Barbara Orlans, passed away. Barbara was a bright, compassionate woman and a steadfast defender of animals.

2010 Summer

In Remembrance: Senator Robert C. Byrd

On June 28, the animal welfare community lost a stalwart friend when Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, America’s longest serving senator, died at the age of 92.

2010 Summer

A Dip in the Pool Deemed Positive for Primates

To keep their interest and encourage natural behaviors, animals in research facilities are often offered enrichment devices: objects to gnaw on, nesting materials that allow them to custom build their shelters, "food puzzles" to forage, and various toys to keep them occupied during the long hours cooped up in cages.

2010 Summer

Migratory Birds Favor Shade-Grown Coffee

Since its (apocryphal) discovery in East Africa by a shepherd who watched his goats joyfully cavort across the pasture shortly after eating the red berries from an unassuming shrub, coffee traditionally has been grown in the shade, under a canopy of trees offering habitat to a variety of avian species.

2010 Summer

Wildlife and Weddings: Not a Cause for Celebration

Incorporating animals into wedding ceremonies is a practice that spans many cultures and can involve a variety of species. Many couples, however, do not stop to consider how the animals got there, how they are treated, or what will happen to them after the party’s over.

2010 Summer

Dark Meat: The Shady Business of Industrial Chicken

Carole Morison was not born into farming. She married into it, joining her husband Frank on his third-generation farm in Pocomoke City, Maryland.

2010 Summer

In Attempt to Fowl Up Consumers, Perdue Crows Humanely Raised

Earlier this year, Perdue, the country’s third largest chicken producer, introduced a line of "USDA Process Verified" chicken products bearing the claims "humanely raised" and "raised cage free" on the label. Unfortunately, this change in the label did not herald any actual initiative to treat chickens better.

2010 Summer