In April, both the National Institutes of Health and the US Food and Drug Administration announced plans to phase out the use of animals in scientific research. The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) strongly supports transitioning away from experiments on animals to cutting-edge non-animal models, but proper planning is essential to ensure the best outcomes for animals and science.
Moreover, AWI is deeply concerned about the Trump administration’s recent moves to gut funding for scientific research more broadly.
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.
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.
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).
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.
"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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Consumers shopping on Etsy for the holidays may be shocked to learn that the online marketplace sells products containing horsemeat and ejiao (gelatin made from boiling donkey hides).
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.
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.
When the US Department of Agriculture published proposed regulations that would establish welfare standards for animals raised under the National Organic Program (
In a letter issued today to President Donald Trump and Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) president Cathy Liss applauded the President’s November 17 decision to halt the import of sport-hunted elephant trophies from Zimbabwe and Zambia.
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is urging the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Defense (DOD) to halt their acquisition of research animals from Inotiv; its subsidiaries, Envigo Global Services and Orient BioResource Center; and Worldwide Primates until federal officials can investigate the serious allegations of abuse and wildlife trafficking in which these companies are embroiled.
In a letter delivered November 30, AWI urged the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Defense (DoD) to “re-evaluate their relian
AWI has battled with the US Department of Agriculture for years over its practice of automatically renewing the licenses of puppy mills, roadside zoos, and others who are habitually out of compliance with the standards of the Animal Welfare Act (A
