Danube sturgeons - whose roe is prized as a source of caviar - have become so critically endangered that caviar exports from natural fish populations (as opposed to farmed fish) from all Lower Danube countries have been banned by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
In a letter sent today to Nation’s Restaurant News, a coalition of 15 environmental, animal welfare and worker justice organizations with over 10 million supporters expressed dismay over the publication’s decision to honor Gene Lee, CEO of Darden Restaurants, as one of the recipients of its Golden Chain Award.
David Kirby, an award-winning investigative journalist, died on April 16 at the age of 62, after a series of health setbacks that began in late January after a fall. David had been active in the AIDS community in the 1990s, working closely with actress Elizabeth Taylor as the press secretary for the American Foundation for AIDS Research, which Taylor co-founded. In subsequent years, he authored four nonfiction books—Evidence of Harm, Animal Factory, When They Come for You, and Death at SeaWorld—as well as a comedic novel, Upper East Bride. In Death at SeaWorld (2012), David focused on the dark side of life in captivity for orcas at SeaWorld and prominently featured the work of AWI marine mammal scientist Dr. Naomi A. Rose.
On his first day back in office, President Trump signed multiple executive orders designed to advance policies that are disastrous to wildlife and their habitats.
The council of the District of Columbia, on November 9, 2010, unanimously passed the Wildlife Protection Act (B18- 498), which imposes humane treatment standards upon nuisance animal control operators who work to remove wildlife from residential and commercial settings within city limits.
Mayor Vincent Gray has officially proclaimed April 28th, 2012 to be Save the Frogs Day in the District of Columbia to help bring awareness to the ecological importance of frogs. The Animal Welfare Institute and Save the Frogs! are encouraging DC residents to observe this day by learning more about the frog species that live in the region and how to take part in protecting them.
In Dead Zone, Philip Lymbery takes readers along as he explores the lives of elephants in Sumatra, jaguars in Brazil, and barn owls in the United Kingdom, and examines the driving forces behind their dwindling numbers.
By today’s deadline, seafood-exporting nations worldwide must have adopted regulations to reduce entanglements of whales, dolphins, and seals in fishing gear or face a US import ban.
Semi-biographical, this book centers on the subject of keeping orcas in captivity for human entertainment. It is full of carefully researched facts and statistics, and meticulously details whale-human incidents and red flags that preceded the now infamous killing of SeaWorld orca trainer and performer Dawn Brancheau by the orca Tilikum in February 2010.
Death at SeaWorld: Shamu and the Dark Side of Killer Whales in Captivity, by journalist David Kirby, is a 2012 book that examines the killing of SeaWorld trainer Dawn Brancheau by the orca Tilikum.
For 53 years, the captive orca Tokitae (a.k.a. Toki, Lolita, and Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut) lived in a tiny tank at Miami Seaquarium. She was a Southern Resident orca, a Pacific Northwest population listed as endangered in 2005.
In recent years, pro-horse slaughter organizations and individuals have consistently fought adoption of the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act and Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act, claiming that there is a huge "unwanted horse" population in the United States.
Sixty-seven animals from eight primate species were used to assess improved husbandry techniques. The presence of woodchips as a direct-contact litter decreased inactivity and fighting, and increased time spent on the ground. Placing food in the deep litter led to further behavioral improvement. The use of frozen foods improved food distribution and reduced fighting in most situations, especially when it was buried in the litter. With time, the litter became increasingly inhibitory to bacteria. The results suggest that inexpensive ways of increasing environmental complexity are effective in improving housing for primates.
In December 2014, the USDA Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued its latest broadside against the inadequacy of the USDA’s enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). This sharply critical OIG report is the fourth to be issued in 20 years. This latest report, like its predecessors, cites specific examples of enforcement deficiencies, poor oversight, inadequate penalties, lack of deterrence, and many examples of animals suffering and dying.
2011 was a grim year for rhinos. In November, the International Union for Conservation of Nature declared Africa’s western black rhino officially extinct, and indicated that the northern white rhino is "possibly extinct," as well.
As the world is starting to open its eyes to the impacts of over-fishing and over-exploitation of the ocean’s resources, Juliet Eilperin has authored a superb chronology of humankind’s cultural association with sharks.
Conservation and animal protection organizations rallied outside the Mexican Embassy today to call on the Mexican government to take drastic action to save the few remaining vaquita porpoises left on the planet. According to scientific experts, between 6 and 22 of these marine mammals remain, with 10 being the most credible estimate of the population.
On Valentine’s Day, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is proud to name Denali, an American Staffordshire terrier mix with an unshakeable loving spirit, as the inaugural ambassador for the Safe Havens for Pets Program.
The urban coyotes of Denver were getting a bad reputation. An increasing number were moving into the city and human-inhabited areas of the surrounding county. Negative interactions between pets and coyotes were on the rise.
Emergency events that impact animal agriculture operations can sometimes lead to the “depopulation” of entire herds or flocks of farmed animals. Depopulation involves the mass killing of animals in response to urgent circumstances.
