Search AWI Online

At the request of the Soliciter General, the Supreme Court will review a case from the US Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit in Philadelphia, PA, which overturned a conviction involving so-called “crush videos” and called the law

Date created:
Last updated:
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) determined today that 42 nations may not export certain seafood products to the United States because fishers in these countries catch marine mammals in violation of US standards. The agency found that the nations failed to adopt bycatch prevention measures that are comparable to what US fishers must follow under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The seafood bans will take effect in January 2026.
Date created:
Last updated:
In a settlement filed in court Friday, the US Department of the Interior (DOI) agreed to determine whether Mexico has failed to stop illegal fishing and trade of totoaba that is driving the vaquita porpoise’s extinction.
Date created:
Last updated:

In March of this year, as noted on page 2, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) on the Makah Tribe’s proposed hunt of gray whales—the first step toward issuing a waiver under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) to allow the hunt under US law. In its comments to NMFS, AWI asserts that the DEIS is inadequate, and that the MMPA waiver should not be granted.

Date created:
Last updated:
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) has unfortunately approved a request by the United States for an aboriginal subsistence whaling (ASW) quota for the Makah Tribe of Northwest Washington State.
Date created:
Last updated:

Thirty members of Congress sent a bipartisan letter to the US Department of Agriculture in February with pointed questions about the department’s effort to counter the widespread use of ventilation shutdown plus heat (VSD+) to kill tens of million

Date created:
Last updated:

In July, the US Department of Agriculture proposed a rule that, if finalized, would bring us closer to ending the egregiously inhumane practice of soring Tennessee Walking horses, racking horses, and other gaited breeds.

Date created:
Last updated:

The US Department of Agriculture recently requested comments on a proposed rulemaking under the Packers and Stockyards Act, which governs how meat and poultry companies buy and source animals for slaughter.

Date created:
Last updated:

Over three years ago, 14-year-old Canyon Mansfield and his dog, Kasey, stumbled upon an M-44 “cyanide bomb” while playing near the family’s backyard outside Pocatello, Idaho. The spring-activated device sprays sodium cyanide.

Date created:
Last updated:
Loganton, Pennsylvania, a tiny one-square-mile Amish farming community, is home to 468 residents and 15 USDA-licensed guinea pig breeders. While this may suggest the community has a fondness for these animals, the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) record of some of these breeders tells a very different story. The suffering of guinea pigs at these facilities exemplifies the USDA’s most recent failure to uphold the basic tenets of the AWA.
Date created:
Last updated:

Millions of animals are exported from the United States annually—over 7.5 million animals in January 2015 alone. Most are shipped in aircrafts, but many are transported overseas in ocean vessels. These trips may last weeks and animals can suffer greatly from inadequate ventilation, loud noises, motion sickness, and heat stress—all of which increase susceptibility to illness and disease.

Date created:
Last updated:

The Food and Drug Administration and the US Department of Agriculture recently announced a formal agreement to jointly regulate cell-cultured meat and poultry products.

Date created:
Last updated:
The US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today that it will soon take steps to improve its label approval program for meat and poultry products to avoid misleading consumers.
Date created:
Last updated:

When the Biden administration issued an executive order on promoting competition in the American economy in July 2021, AWI responded by urging the US Department of Agriculture to address deceptive label claims as part of its effort to facilitate f

Date created:
Last updated:

The Horse Protection Act (HPA) was passed in 1970 to clamp down on the practice of soring (intentionally injuring horses’ legs and hooves) to create a more high-stepping gait for walking horse shows.

Date created:
Last updated:

International transport of farm animals by sea vessel is a major animal welfare issue, particularly for long-distance journeys, such as those taken by cattle and sheep from Europe and Australia to the Middle East and North Africa.

Date created:
Last updated:

The USDA has amended regulations designed to reduce the suffering of horses transported for slaughter so as to include horses who are first transported to intermediate collection points.

Date created:
Last updated:

At a slaughterhouse in Pennsylvania last year, an employee made three attempts to render a pig unconscious with a rifle, with the animal vocalizing after each shot to the head.

Date created:
Last updated:

In November, the US Department of Agriculture published a final rule establishing animal welfare standards for the millions of animals raised on organic farms.

Date created:
Last updated:

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

Date created:
Last updated:

For years, US Department of Agriculture inspectors dutifully documented suffering: Chinchillas with eyes swollen, weeping, and sealed shut; a thin, unresponsive chinchilla, missing part of her leg, brutally “euthanized” by breaking her neck; anoth

Date created:
Last updated:
A new report reveals the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is failing to verify the accuracy of label claims on meat and poultry products sold in the United States. Released by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) today, Label Confusion: How “Humane” And “Sustainable” Claims On Meat Packages Deceive Consumers exposes the lack of any apparent verification of food label claims used on millions of meat packages, and calls on USDA to require independent third-party certification to prevent consumers from being misled.
Date created:
Last updated:

In the Winter 2014 AWI Quarterly, AWI reported that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) had proposed changing the poultry slaughter regulations to allow poultry companies to accelerate their slaughter process by 25 percent, increasing the likelihood of inhumane handling of birds.

Date created:
Last updated:

Vanderbilt University had been fined over $8,000 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for violations of the Animal Welfare Act in connection with three incidents of animal deaths at a university research facility.

Date created:
Last updated:
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) today requested a USDA Inspector General audit of the USDA Process Verified Program, which certifies some products as “humanely raised” when in fact they come from animals suffering on conventional, industrial farming operations.
Date created:
Last updated: