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Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA) and Congressman Don Young (R-AK) today introduced the Wildlife Conservation and Anti-Trafficking Act of 2019, which would strengthen the enforcement powers of federal agencies tasked with fighting poaching and wildlife trafficking. The bill is endorsed by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and 19 other leading animal welfare and conservation organizations.
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The Food and Drug Administration recently cleared the way for genetically engineered (GE) salmon to come to market in the United States.

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For the upcoming fiscal year, beginning October 1, AWI provided members of Congress with a list of priorities covering the welfare of companion animals, farmed animals, marine mammals, and other wildlife.

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On June 22, 2016, Georgia Aquarium announced it would no longer seek to acquire dolphins or beluga whales from the wild for its exhibits. While an important step forward, the announcement came only after the aquarium had lost a two-year court battle to acquire a permit to import 18 wild-caught belugas from Russia.

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You can sign up for our action alerts at awionline.org/compassion-index. Through these alerts you will learn when help is needed on federal or state legislation or administrative actions.
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Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) reintroduced legislation to end the use of brutal traps on furbearing animals within the National Wildlife Refuge System.

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In September 2014, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) published a new study on a dangerous phenomenon known as “ghost fishing.” Ghost fishing occurs when derelict fishing gear, including lost or abandoned nets and traps, continue to ensnare marine life.

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For animals in the wild, days and nights are not delineated via a flick of the switch on the wall. Rather, dawn brings on a gradual waxing of the light, and night falls in an extended, dusky fade to black. Conversely, in laboratory settings (unless the animals are housed in rooms exposed to natural light), day often begins with a jolt of intense light accompanied by the unannounced appearance of humans, and ends with abrupt darkness and sudden solitude.

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There are many ways to support AWI’s work to protect animals. We are grateful for cash and non-cash donations alike.

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With the fate of thousands of America’s wild horses and burros at risk, there was palpable optimism when the Government Accountability Office (GAO) announced that it would be issuing a report on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Wild Horse and

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The second global conference on Animal Welfare was convened by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) last year in Cairo, Egypt, from October 20 to 22.

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The film “Noah” is a Hollywood epic that recounts the biblical story of Noah’s struggle to save his family and a menagerie of animals from a flood that threatens to wipe out all other life on the planet. Beyond the bounds of sacred text and cinematic story-telling, there’s a modern-day flood occurring—one that is also devastating wildlife species, irreparably altering ecosystems, and stealing from future generations.

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The World Conservation Congress today formally adopted a motion against Japan’s research whaling program, which is used as a front to kill whales for commercial sale. The motion calls on Japan to stop issuing “special permits” for whaling in the Antarctic and western North Pacific oceans and for all International Whaling Commission (IWC) members to refrain from issuing any further permits.

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In a series of letters delivered today, conservation groups urged the United States and international authorities to use sanctions to pressure Mexico to save the vaquita, whose population has dwindled to just 10 remaining animals.
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The 2024 edition of the annual “A Voice for Animals” contest, sponsored by AWI, the Humane Education Network, and the Palo Alto Humane Society, once again provided a platform for young advocates to highlight and showcase solutions to issues affect

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The most beneficial way to enrich the life of an individually housed primate has been demonstrated to be that of providing a social companion. Where this is not an option, inanimate enrichment options have been employed. Enrichment methods for individually housed primates commonly consist of providing toys, structures, different types of food, or feeding puzzles to the animals. In an attempt to provide individually housed chimpanzees with a source of animate, and possibly interactive, enrichment, seven chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) were provided with a single goldfish in a small plastic aquarium.
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The conibear body gripping trap is designed to instantly kill by breaking the neck or back of an animal. It often doesn’t, and victims suffer greatly before they die.

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While the US took a leap toward beluga conservation in October by adding Cook Inlet belugas to the Endangered Species List, the animals remain grossly overhunted in Greenland.

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An attempt to undermine longstanding wildlife, land conservation, and public health laws was defeated in November, when the Sportsmen’s Act of 2012 (S. 3525) was blocked from passage in the U.S. Senate.

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AWI’s Animal Welfare Approved products continue to experience increased demand across the country. One recent request was from the National Democratic Club in Washington, D.C., which now purchases pasture-raised eggs from Carole Morison.

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In January, the Healthy Students Amendment Act (HSAA), which incorporated the Good Food Purchasing Program (GFPP), passed into law in Washington, DC, making the DC school system the fifth in the country to adopt the program.

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In 2012, the Los Angeles Food Policy Council set out to transform the city’s food purchasing system into a more sustainable model that prioritizes the environment, animal welfare, and the local economy.

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In the early 1960s, the federal government established a network of National Primate Research Centers (NPRCs) to promote biomedical research on primates.

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Mice have a strong preference to nest away from their own waste, and mice in laboratories should be housed in a system of cages that allows them to segregate space into clean and dirty areas, according to work led by researchers at the University

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The cattle industry is moving away from a feed additive linked to animal lethargy, lameness, and even becoming too heavy to walk. The drug Zilmax is a beta-agonist, which promotes muscle growth; it is used to bulk up cattle just before they are sent to slaughter.

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