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Wolves are still in the crosshairs of some in Congress and state governments.

A petition including nearly half a million signatures was delivered to the US Fish and Wildlife Service today, urging the agency to fulfill its legal duty under the Endangered Species Act to recover the critically endangered red wolf.

In 2008 an undercover investigation showing heinous animal cruelty led to the largest beef recall in US history. The meat recalled came from Westland/Hallmark Meat Packing Co. in Chino, California.

In 2010, nearly 200 dogs and over 50 cats were saved from a North Carolina animal testing facility, after an undercover investigation exposed callous treatment and even malicious abuse of the animals by laboratory personnel.

In an attempt to clarify its procedures, the US Department of Agriculture published a new guidance document that explains the department’s approval process for animal raising claims such as humanely raised, free range, and pasture raised.

Hardy Jones, who died in December, was a videographer who used his skills behind the camera, along with his warm and kind personality, to expose the world to the beauty of dolphins and their ocean habitats—as well as to expose those who hurt and e

In a stunning move, Harvard University announced in April that it was closing the New England National Primate Research Center (NENPRC). The closure—to be finalized by 2015, with the Center’s almost 2,000 monkeys placed at other labs—follows repeated violations of the Animal Welfare Act, which had forced Harvard to convene a committee to review and improve operations at the off-campus facility.

Just months after Harvard stunned the research community by announcing the closure of the half-century-old New England Primate Research Center (NEPRC)—as reported in the Summer 2013 AWI Quarterly—USDA announced that it had fined Harvard Medical School a paltry $24,036 for 11 violations of the Animal Welfare Act that occurred between 2011 and 2012.

In May, scientists conducted a survey in the Upper Gulf of California, looking for the world’s most endangered cetacean: the vaquita.

In Hawai‘i, regulations are now in place to protect cattle, sheep, goats, and other farmed animals transported via barge between the state’s islands.

Hawai‘i Gov. Josh Green signed HB 1527 in July, finally closing a loophole in the state’s cruelty statute that allowed any person (or unlicensed veterinarian) to perform surgery on a companion animal, including ear cropping and tail docking.

The perils of overseas animal transport were recently underscored when 21 cows perished on a barge traveling from Honolulu to Kauai.

After a delay (extended by COVID-19), the Hawaii Department of Agriculture (HDOA) has finally proposed regulations to protect animals transported between the Hawaiian Islands.

On January 1, Hawaii became the first US state to make shark fishing illegal. The law bans anyone from knowingly capturing, entangling, or killing any shark species in the state’s marine waters.

At the end of 2018, Hawaii became just the second state (after New Jersey) to prohibit the use of exotic animals in traveling shows.

The last shipment of live pigs from the US mainland—at least for the foreseeable future—has docked in Hawaii.

In a sure sign of changing times, a resort development on Oahu has abandoned plans to include a captive dolphin attraction at its facility. Atlantis Ko Olina (a new addition to Kerzner International’s Atlantis Resorts chain) had pursued a dolphin display permit in the early days of planning.

After receiving oral and written testimony from AWI, the Hawaii Board of Agriculture voted to approve regulations to protect cattle, sheep, and goats transported via sea vessel between the state’s islands.