A coalition of animal, environmental, and consumer protection organizations submitted a joint comment today to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on its proposed rule to amend animal welfare requirements under the Certified Organic label. In addition, the coalition gathered more than 120,000 comments from its supporters who want to see a stronger organic program.
A coalition of national and local organizations including Project Coyote, the San Gabriel Friends of Wildlife, the Animal Welfare Institute, and the Angeles Chapter of Sierra Club praised the Arcadia City Council for their unanimous vote Tuesday night to end the city’s coyote trapping program by the end of the month.
Oregon and Washington recently joined California in passing laws to ban the use of cruel battery cages to confine egg-laying hens. Twenty million hens in these three states, as a consequence, will be free from stacked tiers of barren cages that are so small that hens cannot even spread their wings.
Historically, grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) inhabited most of the western contiguous United States, while black bears (Ursus americanus) were common in forested areas throughout the country.
The American beaver (Castor canadensis) is a keystone species whose ponds and wetlands help replenish groundwater, serve as buffers against wildfires, and provide habitat for a wide variety of wildlife.
The diversity of birds throughout the world is simply astounding. From the tiniest hummingbird to the prehistoric-looking California condor, from seabirds to songbirds and ducks; bird are globally ubiquitous. It is not surprising that birds fascinate us and that bird watching is particularly popular among citizens worldwide.
A coalition of leading wildlife protection organizations is applauding the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission for their vote yesterday to ban wildlife killing contests for furbearer and certain small game species in the state.
Today, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed S.B. 25-168 into law to combat wildlife trafficking. The bipartisan legislation, which is unique among states for the number of species covered, establishes criminal penalties for selling, possessing, transporting, importing, or exporting threatened and endangered species found in Colorado, the United States, and globally. It also empowers Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) to investigate the impacts of wildlife trafficking.
Each year, millions of wild animals, including imperiled species, fall victim to an illegal wildlife trade with an annual estimated value between $7 billion and $20 billion.
AWI is pleased to announce publication of the tenth edition of Comfortable Quarters for Laboratory Animals, our guide to the humane housing and handling of animals in research. AWI has produced editions of Comfortable Quarters for the past half century to serve as a key resource for animal care personnel in laboratories.
The Animal Welfare Institute works to secure protections for animals in agriculture by engaging with key policymakers at the state, federal and international levels. AWI regularly provides public comments, testimony and similar input to such bodies in furtherance of our mission to reduce animal suffering. Examples of AWI public comments, testimony and other input can be found below in downloadable PDF format.
Although the captive breeding wildlife (CBW) registration system was established to facilitate the captive breeding of endangered and threatened species in order to enhance the conservation of the species in the wild, the vast majority of CBW registrants breed species in captivity with no intent to ever reintroduce any of their animals into the wild. Instead, in an attempt to meet the “conservation” requirement for obtaining or renewing a CBW registration, they make donations to in-situ conservation programs.
The multi-billion dollar trade in wildlife and wildlife parts and products is a crisis that animal species are facing worldwide. Animals are captured, killed and traded live or in parts for a number of purposes such as for food and medicine; clothing and ornaments; entertainment, including for pets, zoos and aquariums; and for research.
Commercial whaling (distinguished from ASW by its participants, purpose, scale, and techniques) began in the 11th century with the Basque inhabitants of the French and Spanish coastlines of the Bay of Biscay. In the ensuing centuries, as they depleted local populations of whales, starting with right whales, Basque efforts expanded north, influencing other nations in northern Europe and eventually North America to begin their own whaling operations. Great Britain started hunting bowhead whales around the North American colonies in 1611 and American colonists began whaling (a practice known as Yankee whaling) out of Nantucket, Massachusetts, in 1712. Through the 18th and 19th centuries, whaling was driven by demand not for meat, but for whale oil, which literally lit the lamps and greased the wheels of the industrial revolution. Other whale products also held value, including ambergris (a stomach excretion of sperm whales used as a perfume fixative) and baleen (most famously used to stiffen womens’ corsets).
Results of a joint study between the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Vietnam’s Forest Protection Department revealed in May that commercial wildlife farms in Vietnam are threatening Asian animal species by depleting their populations and contributing to illegal trade.
… become “fed dairy” beef and are slaughtered at around 1 year of age. An increasing number of producers have begun … are raised in groups until they are slaughtered around 1 year of age. Because veal calves are removed from their …
As for Blackfish itself, its impact continues to be felt in society. It has been six years since the film premiered and in that time several erstwhile corporate partners have severed ties with SeaWorld and other marine theme parks, recognizing the shift in public sentiment away from these exploitative tourist attractions.
AWI champions the mutually beneficial relationship between people and pets and promotes responsible care of companion animals. We seek strong legal protections for companion animals and develop tools and trainings to help law enforcement, social service providers, and other professionals address the link between animal abuse and interpersonal violence—including resources for domestic violence survivors with companion animals.
Steel-jaw leghold traps used for the capture of wild furbearing animals inflict terrible suffering on their victims. The American Veterinarian Association, the American Animal Hospital Association, the World Veterinary Association, and the National Animal Control Association all agree that leghold traps are inhumane.
Considering potential effects on social behaviour and individual needs according to age and sex differences is important when designing enrichment programmes for captive primates. Manipulable objects are a widely practised form of enrichment at facilities housing non-human primates.
