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Latest News
Shark Fins Remain on the Menu, Despite State Bans
Friday, July 26, 2019
As Shark Week kicks off July 28, restaurants across the nation are contributing to the rapid decline in shark species by serving up soup made from shark fins, despite bans in 12 states and counting.
Historic Win for Horses as House Passes PAST Act
Thursday, July 25, 2019
In an important victory for Tennessee Walking Horses, the US House of Representatives today passed the US Senator Joseph D. Tydings Memorial Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act (H.R. 693) by a vote of 333–96...
New Documentary on Captive Orcas Exposes Brutal Ongoing Trade
Monday, July 22, 2019
The recent release of “Long Gone Wild,” a riveting documentary revealing the brutal truth about the ongoing trade in wild-caught orcas, highlights the intensifying controversy over confining cetaceans to barren concrete boxes in marine theme...
Nearly 2 Million Citizens Say No! to Stripping Gray Wolf Protections Under ESA
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Nearly 2 million Americans, joined by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and a broad coalition of animal welfare and environmental organizations, have registered their opposition to a US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) proposal to...
Senator Menendez Introduces Bill to End Exploitation of Exotic Animals in the Circus
Monday, July 15, 2019
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) applauds the introduction today of the Traveling Exotic Animal and Public Safety Protection Act (TEAPSPA) in the US Senate. Sponsored by Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), this bill would amend the...
Demonstrators Rally for Imperiled Porpoises at Mexican Embassy in Washington, DC
Friday, July 12, 2019
Conservation and animal protection organizations rallied outside the Mexican Embassy today to call on the Mexican government to take drastic action to save the few remaining vaquita porpoises left on the planet. According to scientific...
A Voice for Animals Contest Prize Winners Announced
Thursday, July 11, 2019
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and the Humane Education Network (HEN) announced the winners of the 2019 A Voice for Animals contest. The annual contest offers monetary awards to high school students age 14–18 for...
World Heritage Committee Designates Vaquita Porpoise Habitat as “In Danger”
Wednesday, July 03, 2019
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee today approved an “in danger” designation for an area of Mexico that is the last-remaining home of the critically endangered vaquita porpoise and a fish called the totoaba. An international...
AWI Welcomes Iceland's Decision to Forego Whaling This Summer
Tuesday, July 02, 2019
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is relieved to hear that no whales will be killed by Icelandic whalers this summer. In a June television news interview, Ólafur Ólafsson, a whaling vessel captain, said that the...
AWI Statement on Japan’s Commencement of Commercial Whaling
Monday, July 01, 2019
Japan faces international criticism and risks legal challenges as it launches a government-subsidized commercial whaling program to kill 383 whales this year with no international oversight.
Celebrities and NGOs Worldwide Call for G20 ‘International Whaling Intervention’ as Summit Host Japan Launches New Whale Killing Program
Friday, June 28, 2019
Celebrities and animal conservation and welfare NGOs from across the globe are calling for an “international whaling intervention” to be staged at the G20 summit in Osaka as summit host Japan prepares to launch a...
AWI Commends Inclusion of Animal Welfare Provisions in HR 3055
Friday, June 28, 2019
The US House of Representatives passed HR 3055, an appropriations “minibus” that covers the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, and the Interior, as well as other departments and agencies.
Animal Protection Groups Applaud Senate Bill to Ban Horse Slaughter
Thursday, June 27, 2019
Sens. Bob Menendez, (D-NJ), Lindsey Graham, (R-SC), Sheldon Whitehouse, (D-RI), and Susan Collins, (R-ME), introduced legislation today to permanently end the slaughter of American horses for human consumption in the United States and abroad.
Canada Prohibits the Captivity of Marine Mammals
Monday, June 24, 2019
S-203, the Ending the Captivity of Whales and Dolphins Act, has received Royal Assent, making the historic legislation, which ends the public display of captive cetaceans, official Canadian law. After nearly four years of debate...
Members of Congress Condemn Barbaric Surgical Sterilization Experiments on Wild Horses
Monday, June 24, 2019
Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), co-chair of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus, led a bipartisan letter signed by 30 members of Congress to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt criticizing the Bureau of Land Management's proposed surgical sterilization...
AWI Supports Bill to Prohibit the Use of Performing Exotic Animals
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) supports the reintroduction of the Traveling Exotic Animal and Public Safety Protection Act (TEAPSPA). Sponsored by Representatives Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) and David Schweikert (R-AZ), this bill would amend the...
AWI Supports Bipartisan Bill to Protect Children and Animals from Abuse
Thursday, May 16, 2019
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) endorses the Child and Animal Abuse Detection and Reporting Act of 2019, introduced today by Representatives Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH) and John Katko (R-NY). This legislation would amend the Child...
BLM to Proceed with Barbaric Sterilization of Wild Mares, Despite Outcry
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Despite multiple lawsuits, federal injunctions and overwhelming public opposition, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced last night that it is again moving ahead with barbaric experiments on captive wild mares. It will be the...
Legislators Decry Forest Service Plan to Condemn Wild Horses to Slaughter
Monday, May 06, 2019
Today, 64 members of Congress sent a bipartisan letter to US Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and US Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen objecting to the Forest Service’s impending plan to sell federally protected...
AWI-Endorsed Legislation Advanced by House Committee to Aid North Atlantic Right Whale Recovery
Wednesday, May 01, 2019
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) commends the US House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee for approving H.R. 1568, the SAVE Right Whales Act during their first committee markup of the 116th Congress. H.R. 1568 now...