The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) late yesterday filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for its unreasonable delay in responding to an AWI petition—filed in May 2013—to amend the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (HMSA) to prevent incidents of inhumane handling and the needless suffering of animals at slaughter.
Date created: December 13, 2016
Last updated: February 2, 2022
Today, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) sued the US Department of Agriculture for its unreasonable delay in responding to a 2014 AWI petition, which asked the agency to require independent certification of certain animal raising label claims.
Date created: November 14, 2018
Last updated: February 7, 2022
On August 23, AWI and Farm Sanctuary sued the US Department of Agriculture for failing to adequately respond to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request asking for proactive disclosure of slaughter records.
Date created: December 21, 2018
Last updated: April 17, 2024
On June 21, AWI and allies sued the Wildlife Services program of the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) over the program’s “Wildlife Damage Management” efforts in northern California.
Date created: September 1, 2017
Last updated: September 1, 2017
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 Animal Welfare Act to prohibit the use of exotic animals in traveling shows.
Date created: May 21, 2019
Last updated: February 7, 2022
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 Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) to require that data collected by the federal government from state child protection agencies include information about animal abuse as a risk factor for child abuse.
Date created: May 16, 2019
Last updated: April 29, 2022
International experts in the development and operation of responsible whale watching are conducting a three-day workshop in St. Vincent and the Grenadines from October 22 to 24 2014, to provide training to existing and prospective whale-watch operators.
Date created: October 23, 2014
Last updated: February 2, 2022
In AWI’s November 2022 Giving Tuesday campaign, we asked our supporters to contribute to our fundraising drive on behalf of verified sanctuaries that care for and rehabilitate animals retired from laboratories.
Date created: June 24, 2024
Last updated: June 28, 2024
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) put the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on notice Friday that the organization plans to take legal action regarding serious violations of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in connection with a massive deer cull proposed for Long Island, New York. The “Long Island Deer Project” is to be administered by Wildlife Services, a program of USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
Date created: January 28, 2014
Last updated: February 2, 2022
The cruel shark fin trade continues to decimate shark populations worldwide, and demand from the United States contributes to that toll.
Date created: December 17, 2018
Last updated: October 15, 2020
A dramatic rescue occurred in September, when nearly 200 dogs and over 50 cats were saved from a North Carolina animal testing facility. The laboratory subsequently closed its doors after an undercover investigation documented abuse of the animals by workers at the facility.
Date created: November 8, 2010
Last updated: April 24, 2024
"The Animal Welfare Institute has been established by a group of persons interested in the humane treatment of all animals." Those were the first words to grace Vol. 1 No. 1 of AWI’s Information Report - a publication launched in 1951 to announce the organization’s formation and report on its efforts to improve animal welfare.
Date created: May 4, 2011
Last updated: January 8, 2020
Using enforcement documents supplied by the USDA, AWI has identified the US poultry slaughter plants with the worst records on animal welfare. The survey covered violations of industry animal care guidelines over a five-month period during the winter and spring of 2014.
Date created: March 6, 2015
Last updated: January 9, 2020
Within the past 10 years, professionals working in the violence prevention field have become more conscious of the fact that many victims of domestic violence delay leaving a dangerous environment because of a strong attachment to companion animals who may be left behind.
Date created: May 21, 2013
Last updated: October 1, 2020
Since 2011, AWI has managed the Safe Havens Mapping Project—a searchable database of sheltering services that can assist individuals experiencing domestic violence in placing their companion animals out of harm’s way.
Date created: December 17, 2020
Last updated: December 17, 2020
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) announced today its new publication entitled “Representing Domestic Violence Survivors with Pets in Colorado: A Manual for Domestic Violence Attorneys & Advocates Helping Survivors Obtain Protection Orders.” Compiled by attorneys working with AWI staff, the manual is designed to enable Colorado lawyers and advocates to better assist domestic violence survivors who seek additional safety for their pets.
Date created: December 17, 2014
Last updated: February 2, 2022
AWI has updated A Consumer’s Guide to Food Labels and Animal Welfare to help shoppers make food choices with animal welfare in mind.
Date created: December 17, 2020
Last updated: December 17, 2020
AWI’s Laboratory Animal Advisor, Dr. Joanna Makowska, has updated AWI’s database on the refinement of housing, husbandry, care, and use of animals in research.
Date created: December 21, 2018
Last updated: December 21, 2018
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is urging the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the USDA to conduct a full investigation of Dolphinaris in Arizona after a fourth bottlenose dolphin died there in less than two years. On Thursday, the dolphinarium near Scottsdale reported that it had euthanized the 22-year-old Kai’nalu after his health had declined.
Date created: February 1, 2019
Last updated: February 7, 2022
The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), US Department of Agriculture (USDA), is seeking comments on a proposed voluntary standard for a "naturally raised" marketing claim for meats.
Date created: January 23, 2009
Last updated: February 3, 2022
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is calling on Congress to permanently revoke all research funding of the USDA’s Meat Animal Research Center (MARC) in Clay Center, Nebraska. The request follows a July 2017 inspection report—newly published on the USDA’s website—that details multiple instances of direct non-compliant veterinary care and animal handling resulting in significant animal suffering.
Date created: August 15, 2017
Last updated: May 2, 2022
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) sent a letter to Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke today requesting that the Department of Interior (DOI) halt its plan to eliminate certain protections for migratory birds.
Date created: January 11, 2018
Last updated: February 2, 2022
In a letter issued today to US House of Representatives Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) urged the Majority Leader to advance animal welfare legislation in the House.
Date created: January 29, 2018
Last updated: January 31, 2024
Six months after the Senate unanimously adopted the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, the bill remains stalled in the US House of Representatives. In a letter issued today to House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) urged him to advance this critical piece of animal welfare legislation by bringing the bill up for a full vote on the floor of the House of Representatives.
Date created: June 14, 2018
Last updated: January 17, 2024
When the US Department of Agriculture published proposed regulations that would establish welfare standards for animals raised under the National Organic Program (
Date created: December 16, 2022
Last updated: December 20, 2022
