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.
Erika Howsare worked in local journalism for 20 years and has written two books of poetry. She was raised in rural America in a family of avid hunters before heading off to Oberlin College and Brown University. Her new book, The Age of Deer: Trouble and Kinship with Our Wild Neighbors, is very much a product of her personal and professional history.
The topic of empathy is certainly timely given the conflicts of our modern world. In The Age of Empathy, Frans de Waal asks us to consider the role of empathy in political and social issues ranging from Hurricane Katrina to the global economic crisis.
Thanks to the efforts of many members of Congress who support animal welfare, the America COMPETES Act (H.R. 4521), a bill aimed at bolstering US innovation, passed the House of Representatives today with several provisions that would benefit animals.
The animals were kept on a former dairy farm in Gainesville, Virginia, where there was no heat, windows were broken, water pipes had frozen up, and dead dogs remained among the live ones. Some of the dogs died of distemper; others who contracted distemper were “destroyed.” Some were shot.
After nearly a decade of litigation, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) will continue its battle to protect endangered Asian elephants from abuse at the hands of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Yesterday, Judge Emmet Sullivan of the US District Court for the District of Columbia decided the federal case against the circus lacked sufficient standing and declined to address the merits of the case in the face of an overwhelming amount of evidence presented at trial.
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and other animal protection and conservation organizations have filed suit in federal court today against British Petroleum America, Inc., British Petroleum Exploration & Production and British Petroleum PLC ("BP") for burning critically endangered sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico, in violation of the Endangered Species Act and other federal laws.
The Animal Welfare Institute mourns the passing of Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) and praises his long history of staunch support of animal protection legislation and the numerous impassioned speeches he delivered on the Senate floor on behalf of animals. From his forceful condemnation of dog fighting as brought to light by the case of Michael Vick, to his call for increased enforcement of humane slaughter laws, Senator Byrd was perhaps the most eloquent voice for animals in the US Senate. He will be sorely missed.
When attending veterinarians are not provided adequate job security by research institutions, there is no guarantee that they are reliable allies of animals and implement the provisions set forth in the federal animal welfare regulations.
Life seems to fly past, ever more fast-paced and electronic-obsessed, with parents and their kids increasingly sitting indoors communicating via electronic tools. We all but ignore the natural world that is just outside our doors. In The Beavers of Popple’s Pond: Sketches from the Life of an Honorary Rodent, author, naturalist, artist, and wildlife rehabilitator Patti Smith shows us what we are missing.
A decade after the documentary “Blackfish” examined the ethics and consequences of keeping orcas in captivity, marine theme parks and aquariums that feature cetaceans are struggling to remain relevant.
A lawsuit filed earlier this year against pharmaceutical giant Charles River Laboratories alleges that the company is contributing to a significant decline in horseshoe crabs (listed as “vulnerable” on the IUCN Red List) and red knot shorebirds (l
The Book of Honu is a wonderful guide for all turtle enthusiasts, especially those interested in seeing Hawaii’s green sea turtle, or honu, in the wild.
When it comes to charismatic ocean species, sea turtles share the spotlight with magnificent marine mammals. However, the seven threatened and endangered species of sea turtles swimming the oceans are more than simply conservation icons.
According to Hormel Foods, the producers of SPAM, 3.1 cans of the preserved pork product are consumed every second in the United States. If everyone read Ted Genoways’ The Chain, it is possible that this number would plummet.
