The Pet Safety and Protection Act, H.R. 2256 (PSPA), introduced by Reps. Mike Doyle (D-PA) and Chris Smith (R-NJ), prohibits random-source Class B dealers from selling dogs and cats to laboratories for experimentation
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species is a valuable database containing information on species status, population trends, and threats.
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) welcomes the reintroduction of S. 1459, the Horse Transportation Safety Act of 2013, by Senators Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ). The bill, which prohibits the hauling of horses on livestock trailers containing one level on top of the other, has garnered bipartisan support in Congress, as well from the welfare, veterinary and agriculture communities.
OvoControl, which contains the compound nicarbazin, is an oral contraceptive for birds that has proven to be a safe and effective contraceptive agent for geese. Nevertheless, state and federal agencies have, by and large, aligned to resist its use for the humane control of geese populations.
Tyson Foods recently announced a new welfare initiative for its chicken production. Slaughtering 1.8 billion chickens per year, Tyson is the largest poultry producer in the United States.
It only took 20 years, two lawsuits, and prodding from Congress for the US Department of Agriculture to finally propose regulations to extend Animal Welfare Act (AWA) protections to birds not bred for use in research.
Over two years have passed since the first case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (or “bird flu”) was confirmed in the United States during the most recent outbreak, and the virus continues to wreak havoc on animal populations, domestic and wil
s of February, the 2022-23 outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) had affected 770 poultry flocks and led to the “depopulation” (mass killing and disposal) of 59 million farmed birds in the United States alone.
February will mark four years of the United States battling the most significant animal health emergency in the country’s history: the continued spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI, aka bird flu).
After 20-plus years and multiple lawsuits, the protections afforded by the Animal Welfare Act will apply to birds in the pet trade and in exhibitions. The final rule is long and complicated, but our initial review reveals both good and bad news.
After a decrease in avian flu outbreaks in July, the virus surged back in August and into the fall. As we reported in the previous issue, flocks exposed to the virus are “depopulated”—killed en masse and the carcasses disposed of.
The welfare of birds at slaughter is not solely a matter of what happens once they pass through the doors of the slaughter establishment. Abuse and unnecessary suffering can occur before the birds even enter the plant.
The cover of Birds of a Feather: A True Story of Hope and the Healing Power of Animals, features a photo of a veteran embracing a parrot, who rests her head on his shoulder. The image suggests to a prospective reader that this book will be inspirational. The book delivers on this expectation and more.
For over 50 years, birds have been denied protection under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). Twenty years ago, the animal welfare community won a lawsuit against the US Department of Agriculture challenging this exclusion.
The debate over wild horses on public lands has been raging for decades. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), charged with their management, has rounded up tens of thousands of wild horses since 1971.
A diverse coalition of tribal, conservation, hunting, animal welfare and wildlife groups, an outfitting business, and concerned citizens from Montana and South Dakota, have filed an emergency rule making petition with the US Department of the Interior seeking to stop the National Park Service from slaughtering wild bison inhabiting Yellowstone National Park and adjoining lands on the Gallatin National Forest in Montana.
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC), and Mr. Walt Farmer, a Jackson, WY area resident have asked the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) to immediately suspend the bison hunt on the National Elk Refuge (NER) which began on September 15th.
Blackfish is a documentary film that tells the story of Tilikum—the now infamous orca, or killer whale, who dragged, shook and eventually drowned SeaWorld of Orlando trainer Dawn Brancheau in February 2010. Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite uses interviews with former SeaWorld trainers and employees, scientists, news reports, court testimony, victims’ friends and family, as well as eyewitness accounts of other human-whale incidents to paint a sad and dark picture of the marine park industry.
Washington, DC—The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Burns District Office in Oregon announced Wednesday night that it will begin controversial experiments to remove the ovaries of wild mares next month.
At the end of October, the Bureau of Land Management’s National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board met in Washington, DC, to consider a wide range of issues pertaining to wild horse management. AWI was present to deliver remarks to the board on the need to humanely manage horses on the range through proven immunocontraceptive vaccines, rather than pursue risky and unsafe methods to curb population growth.
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is gratified to learn that the Bureau of Land Management has rescinded a controversial sales policy for wild horses and burros in the United States that could have resulted in more animals being sold for slaughter in Canada and Mexico.
Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that it will drop proposed sterilization experiments on wild horses in Oregon, just days after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction to stop the federal agency from its cruel and controversial plans to surgically remove the ovaries of mares.
The Bureau of Land Management recently indicated that it will withdraw a proposal to conduct sterilization surgeries on wild horses in Utah’s Confusion Herd Management Area.
