Fish tanks are ubiquitous—found in doctor’s offices, Chinese restaurants, corporate headquarters, and in millions of homes throughout the world. Some studies report that they reduce anxiety, stress, and blood pressure, calm hyperactive children, and provide some relief for those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
On October 16, 2015, Alice Ra’anan and Bill Yates of the American Physiological Society published a blog post for Speaking of Research entitled “Caveat Emptor,” with the subtitle “A current USDA case involving a major antibody producer underscores the need for the research community to demonstrate its commitment to high standards of animal welfare.”
In May 2014, the European Union’s (EU) 2009 ban on imports of commercial seal products was upheld by an appellate body of the World Trade Organization after a challenge from Canada and Norway (see Summer 2014 AWI Quarterly).
The European Commission’s EU Action Plan released this week falls short of protecting and restoring marine species, and jeopardizes continued access for EU fish products to the lucrative US seafood market, according to a coalition of animal welfare and conservation groups.
On the eve of inter-governmental meetings in Brussels and Geneva in June and July to debate the fate of elephants, a group of conservation organisations requests all EU governments to urgently halt all commerce in ivory and to destroy all remaining stockpiles. New data shows escalating exports of ivory from the European Union to China and worldwide. The organisations warn that any legal loophole in ivory trade creates the opportunity to launder poached ivory into “legal” trade and thus fuels the killing of elephants.
An alliance of 13 leading conservation groups is this week urging major buyers at Europe’s biggest seafood trade show not to do business with Icelandic seafood company HB Grandi because of its strong links to whaling. HB Grandi is controlled by the whaling and investment company Hvalur hf, which plans to kill 770 endangered fin whales during the next five years and sell the resulting meat and blubber to Japan.
A large, three-part playground for captive chimpanzees was constructed and evaluated in terms of area use and behavior changes. Comparative behavioral samples were obtained on 38 subjects in the existing indoor-outdoor run and in the enclosure. The chimpanzees used the inside run, connective chute, concrete slab, and grass areas most. Activity and environmental manipulation increased in the enclosure while abnormal and self-directed behaviors decreased.
The effect of a compatible companion on the behaviour and bodyweight of eight previously single-caged, 31-36 years old rhesus macaques was assessed 16 months after pair formation. The aged subjects preferred to stay in close proximity with their companion even though this reduced their available cage space. They spent on average 21% of the time (3 one-hour observations in the morning, at noon and in the afternoon) interacting with the companion in noninjurious species-typical ways.
Provision will soon become mandatory to enrich the environment of singly caged nonhuman primates in the research laboratory environment. Specific objects such as puzzle feeders have been recommended [1]. Bloom's study raises the important questions of how much time do environmental enrichment objects actually distract an animal and are different objects equally effective.
The eastern box turtle is collected in enormous numbers for the illegal wildlife trade. Only a portion of this trade is detected, and when it is, wildlife agencies must decide what to do with those animals. Their longevity (40+ years) makes such turtles both challenging to maintain in captivity and extremely valuable to the conservation of wild populations. Illegally collected turtles are often subjected to inhumane conditions prior to their confiscation; thus, supportive care prior to release may be critical to the success of any subsequent repatriation efforts.
In this period of canceled travel plans and rarely venturing past one’s own front porch—if it can be helped —living vicariously through the adventures of people such as Charles Bergman, the author of Every Penguin in the World: A Quest to See Them All, has become one way to remain connected to the planet and its nonhuman inhabitants.
A new, enhanced environment can give animals an opportunity to explore and interact. However, when animals are presented with these novel environments, they can be conflicted, with fear of the novelty opposing an instinctual desire to explore.
On March 1, President Trump issued an executive order entitled “Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production,” to massively accelerate and increase logging on US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands.
Though they’re usually intervening in illegal immigrant and drug trafficking schemes, Chilean officials put the kibosh on a massive illicit shipment of 427 exotic animals en route from Peru to Chile early this year.
In 2002, a subspecies of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin was identified in the coastal waters of western Taiwan: Sousa chinensis taiwanensis, now known as the Taiwanese white dolphin (TWD).
Chris was in an abusive relationship, and she knew she had to leave. But she hesitated. She didn’t have family nearby and having just moved to a new area, she hadn’t made any close friends. Yet her partner grew more abusive every day.
In 2016, AWI and other groups petitioned to have the subspecies listed as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act. Our petition was granted, and the listing was finalized by the National Marine Fisheries Service in May 2018. The Taiwanese white dolphin urgently needs tangible actions to halt its decline and promote recovery.
A US government workshop was held in late August to discuss options for intervention on behalf of the bottlenose dolphins in Barataria Bay, Louisiana, once a project designed to restore coastal wetlands in the Gulf of Mexico begins operations in a
Enrichment that encourages natural exploratory behaviors is important to the welfare of nonhuman primates in research. The purpose of this project, which was funded by an AWI Refinement Grant, was to enhance cognitive enrichment for nonhuman primates and determine whether they prefer physical or touch screen tasks. Two devices were created for their use: a puzzle board (see photo above) and a tablet board. The puzzle board consisted of a plexiglass backing with six doored compartments, each with its own unique lock of varying degrees of difficulty; within each compartment was a reward (jujube or chocolate-covered jujube).
Following decades of campaigning by animal protection organizations, a ban has been enacted on export of livestock for slaughter from Great Britain to destinations outside Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man.
One ornithologist’s treasure is another man’s dinner. As the American Free Press (AFP) reports, while filming a documentary on traditional bird trapping methods in the Caraballo Mountains of the Philippines, a TV crew unwittingly got footage of Worcester’s buttonquail being captured by natives earlier this year.
A recent report published by the National Academy of Sciences warns of impending massive extinctions if corrective response is not initiated very soon–a sober indicator of the pertinence of this new collection of insightful essays.
AWI is once again attending two key seafood industry events: Seafood Expo North America in Boston in March and Seafood Expo Global in Barcelona in May.
Each year hundreds of thousands of farm animals are killed in the aftermath of extreme weather events. During the summer months, heat waves and high temperatures put all farm animals, whether housed outdoors or confined in large buildings, at risk for heat stress and hyperthermia. Throughout the winter, extreme cold, wind, and snow leave animals housed outdoors—particularly cattle, sheep, and goats—vulnerable to cold-weather-related injuries and illnesses, such as frostbite and hypothermia. Severe storms and hurricanes that are accompanied by excessive flooding and high winds have also proven deadly for farm animals, killing millions of birds and thousands of pigs in recent years.
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is disappointed with the US Department of Agriculture’s announcement today that it will delay implementation of regulations to protect horses from egregiously inhumane soring until April 2, 2025.
Soring involves the deliberate infliction of pain on a horse’s hooves and legs—such as applying caustic chemicals deep into the flesh, attaching chains to strike against sore legs, and inserting screws into tender areas of the hooves—to create an exaggerated high-stepping gait known as the “Big Lick” during competitions and shows.
