The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is taking part next week in the 77th Annual Conference of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) to call attention to how youth and family violence are connected to animal abuse—and what juvenile and family court judges and court officers can do to intervene on behalf of children exposed to animal abuse. The NCJFCJ will convene more than 400 judges and court professionals from July 13 to 16 at the Palmer House Hilton Hotel in Chicago to learn from more than 50 sessions featuring a wide range of juvenile and family law topics.
Reports surfaced in late October that a trapper employed by the USDA ’s Wildlife Services (WS) program in Wyoming had posted graphic images and commentary online indicating he allowed his dogs to menace, maul, and disembowel coyotes, raccoons, and other wild animals caught in his steel-jaw leghold traps.
As we usher in a new year, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) proudly celebrates 10 big wins for animals in 2024. We have made strides to improve animal welfare and prevent needless suffering through our major program areas—farmed animals, companion animals, equines, terrestrial and marine wildlife, and animals in research—as well as in our humane education work and efforts in Congress and across the country to pass, strengthen, and defend laws to protect animals.
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) applauds the Senate’s decision today to confirm US Rep. Deb Haaland of New Mexico as Secretary of the Interior. Haaland, a member of the Pueblo of Laguna, is the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary, and has long championed both environmental conservation and the rights of indigenous people.
AWI filed challenges before the Federal Trade Commission in February against Boar’s Head over the company’s claim its chicken sausage and Simplicity All Natural turkey products derive from animals who are “humanely raised.” There is no evidence, i
AWI and Wildearth guardians plan to sue the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Wildlife Services program over the program’s failure to take steps to ensure that its activities do not harm endangered ocelots. On September 3 the two groups, through their legal representative, the Western Environmental Law Center, gave USDA the required 60-day notice of intent to sue.
Two and a half months after the start of the 2016 fiscal year and after several short-term extensions, the US Congress released early this morning the federal budget funding the government through September 30, 2016. The President is expected to sign the measure once approved by Congress. The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) worked to ensure key animal welfare measures remained in the massive $1.1 trillion annual spending bill and fought against those harmful to animals and their habitats.
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) commends the 111 members of the US House of Representatives who recently signed a bipartisan letter in support of defunding federal inspections of horse slaughter facilities. Blocking the US Department of Agriculture from using taxpayer dollars to inspect such facilities is a necessary step to prevent horse slaughter in the United States, and the sale of horse meat for human consumption.
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.
In light of the tragic illegal killing of Cecil the lion by an American dentist, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) commends the swift response by Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), and Edward Markey (D-MA) to tighten up the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by extending protection to additional imperiled species.
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) condemns a proposed rule, announced today by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), to eliminate Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections for gray wolves across the contiguous United States.
Despite the opposition of AWI and other groups, a federal bill passed last year that allows a cull of sea lions within the Columbia River basin in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, in a misguided effort to save endangered salmon.
One of the important goals of AWI’s Animals and Interpersonal Violence program is to reach judges—especially judges who interact with juveniles and families. AWI has enjoyed a good working relationship with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), which has facilitated AWI’s efforts to help judges become more cognizant of the importance of animal cruelty in the home and community—how to recognize it, how to ask questions about it, and what resources are available once it is identified.
AWI recently launched a new “Extreme Weather” page on its website to bring awareness to the detrimental impacts adverse weather events can have on the welfare of farm animals.
On February 12, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) sent a letter to Mike Brown, president of the National Chicken Council (NCC), condemning the trade association’s new guidelines for the humane treatment of the 9 billion chickens raised for meat each year in the United States.
It may be hard for modern suburbanites to believe, but deer became so scarce in the early 1900s due to intense hunting that the species would have been considered endangered. That, of course, is no longer true. A mix of hunting restrictions, predator eradication, and suburbanization—creating deer-friendly open spaces—has produced a dramatic comeback. The white-tailed deer is now the most widely-distributed large mammal in North America.
Today, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) awarded $48,000 to help rescued farmed animals across the country feel secure, respected, and nurtured, following a successful Giving Tuesday campaign last month.
Beneath “a sliver of moon, no wider than a cat’s whisker,” Kamie the cat navigates frightening city streets, back alleys, and an animal shelter to find her way home.
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) commends Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) for introducing yesterday the Lead Endangers Animals Daily (LEAD) Act, which would prohibit hunters from shooting toxic lead bullets on land managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is grateful for today’s reintroduction of the Conserving Ecosystems by Ceasing the Importation of Large Animal Trophies Act (CECIL Act), named after the lion killed in 2015 by an American trophy hunter in Zimbabwe.
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 awaits a floor vote by the full chamber of the House of Representatives.
