The National Marine Fisheries Service today took a step toward protecting rare Taiwanese humpback dolphins, finding that listing the species under the Endangered Species Act may be warranted. The decision comes in response to a petition from the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and WildEarth Guardians (WEG) seeking federal protections to help prevent the extinction of a population that numbers fewer than 75 dolphins.
The National Marine Fisheries Service today protected rare Taiwanese humpback dolphins, listing the species as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act. The decision comes in response to a March 2016 petition from the Animal Welfare Institute, Center for Biological Diversity and WildEarth Guardians seeking US protections to help prevent the extinction of a population that now numbers fewer than 100 individuals.
The skin pigment of the Taiwanese white dolphin is white, with gray spots, but when they are active, they “flush” and turn bright pink. They are born dark gray with no spots, but get lighter and more spotted as they age.
A snowstorm was in full force one wintry day last December when filmmaker Donny Moss decided to film the carriage horse drivers picking up tourists outside Manhattan’s world-famous Plaza Hotel - a tradition more than 70 years old.
Tales from the Ant World, by famed naturalist E. O. Wilson, is full of interesting, absorbable facts about ants (at the time of writing 15,438 species had been recognized, with Wilson estimating almost twice that number likely yet to be discovered), as well as humorous anecdotes about Wilson’s childhood, where he found his passion for ants.
Members of the United Nations have begun negotiations on the first treaty to manage and protect biodiversity in international waters. These vast areas of open ocean are far from coastlines and vulnerable to overexploitation and other damage.
On March 3, customs officials in the Philippines seized 1,529 live turtles that were found wrapped in duct tape and stuffed inside four suitcases in Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
Like some three-headed monster from a classic Japanese horror movie, a trio of proposed pipeline projects would stream what has become known as “the world’s dirtiest oil” out of northeastern Alberta’s infamous Athabasca tar sands—posing a major threat to North American wildlife, marine and terrestrial.
As an additional backstop against resumption of horse slaughter in the U.S., the House has passed an FY 2012 appropriations bill that includes an amendment offered by Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA ) prohibiting the USDA from spending tax dollars to inspect horse slaughter facilities.
In a laboratory setting, it is often desirable to house small to medium sized nonhuman primate species in social groups, but the expense and space requirements of either purchasing new cage units or reconfiguring room settings make social housing impractical.
The heart of any laboratory animal facility is its animal care staff. Dedicated and compassionate animal care technicians can make a tremendous difference in the quality of the animals’ lives. One such committed individual is Jessica Brekke, registered laboratory animal technician working at the Mayo Clinic campus in Rochester, Minnesota.
With the death of Teddy Goldsmith on August 17, a towering tree has fallen in the thin remaining forest of visionaries and inspired amateurs who pioneered today’s environmental and humane movements.
In the United States, the number of rats and mice used each year for experimentation, testing, and teaching is shrouded in secrecy. The current industry estimate, as reported in Science, is somewhere between 10 and 25 million.
AWI seeks to reduce the detrimental impacts of human activities on wild terrestrial animals. We work to foster humane, nonlethal, science-based solutions to conflicts with wildlife, protect threatened and endangered species and their habitats, and restrict global wildlife trade.
North America's largest bird has not had an easy go of it, and after a century of absence, a pair of critically endangered birds has made the Pinnacles National Monument a roost to raise their young.
An increasing number of scientists have been proposing that empathetic behaviors are not limited to human beings. They argue that animals are aware not only of themselves, but also of the emotional states of their companions.
In April, a massive fire and explosion occurred on South Fork Dairy in Dimmitt, Texas, tragically killing around 18,000 cows. This is the deadliest fire involving cattle since AWI began tracking barn fires in 2013.
By Nancy Kellum Brown. In the science classroom, the commonly utilized tools of animal dissections and the removal of animals from their natural habitats are a staple of the learning environment. However, I am on a mission to replace the traditional practices. My mission is to teach compassion, conservation and the importance of all species in this miraculous world!
As families start shopping for their Thanksgiving menus, a new survey commissioned by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) finds that a majority of poultry purchasers think conventional turkey production practices are unacceptable.
When we encounter a raccoon, deer, bat, fox, or some other wild animal in our neighborhood, we’re often pleasantly surprised—but not as amazed, perhaps, as our recent urban forebears might have been. It wasn’t that long ago that sizable cities were virtually barren of wildlife. As environmental historian Peter Alagona notes in The Accidental Ecosystem: People and Wildlife in American Cities, an escaped eastern gray squirrel that dashed across Broadway in New York City in 1856 caused quite a stir because Manhattan did not even have a population of wild squirrels at the time. Today, no one would bat an eye at a squirrel in an American megalopolis.
