Hundreds - perhaps thousands - of our horses are stolen each year. Horse thieves make quick money by unloading illegally obtained horses to killer buyers and slaughterhouses. Slaughterhouses typically kill and process them so quickly that it is almost impossible to trace and recover stolen animals in time to save their lives. Who would imagine their stolen animal was hauled across the border to be slaughtered for meat?
Date created: September 29, 2011
Last updated: August 21, 2024
Defying a worldwide ban on trade in whale products, Iceland is openly selling whale meat packaged for export in the departure area at Keflavik airport to travelers who, if they make the purchase, risk stiff penalties on arrival at their home destination for importing an internationally protected species.
Date created: October 26, 2011
Last updated: February 2, 2022
On November 14 at the National Wildlife Property Repository in Denver, the US Fish and Wildlife Service pulverized six tons of elephant ivory that had been seized by its agents from smugglers, traders and tourists over the past 25 years.
Date created: February 25, 2014
Last updated: October 15, 2020
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and Cruelty Free International congratulate Illinois for joining California, Nevada, and more than 30 countries worldwide in banning the sale of animal-tested cosmetics. SB 241, sponsored by Senator Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) and signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker on August 9, prohibits the import or sale of any cosmetic if the final product or any ingredient was tested on animals after January 1, 2020.
Date created: August 8, 2019
Last updated: February 7, 2022
Yesterday State Representative Jim Sacia (R - Freeport) pulled his bill to legalize horse slaughter from the agenda for this legislative session. The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) appreciates his recognition of horse slaughter as a controversial issue and his decision to withdraw it from consideration.
Date created: March 12, 2010
Last updated: February 2, 2022
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) commends today’s filing of the Mink Facility Disease Prevention Act, which would end mink farming in Illinois to protect human health.
Date created: February 6, 2024
Last updated: September 5, 2024
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is pleased to report that HB 83, a bill before the Illinois House of Representatives that would put restrictions on the tethering of dogs, was approved by the Executive Committee by a unanimous 11-0 vote.
Date created: February 21, 2013
Last updated: February 2, 2022
The nonprofit group Helping Others Maintain Environmental Standards (HOMES) of Jo Daviess County, Ill., achieved yet another victory against a massive, industrial-scale dairy operation.
Date created: August 11, 2009
Last updated: January 17, 2020
Illinois has joined California, Nevada, and more than 30 countries worldwide in banning the sale of animal-tested cosmetics. SB 241, sponsored by Senator Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) and signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker on August 9, prohibits the import or sale of any cosmetic if the final product or any ingredient was tested on animals after January 1, 2020.
Date created: October 10, 2019
Last updated: April 17, 2024
Despite strong support for a bill banning the use of double deck trailers for hauling horses in Illinois, the legislation died earlier this week in a Senate Committee following a disingenuous lobbying effort by the Illinois Farm Bureau.
Date created: January 23, 2009
Last updated: February 3, 2022
In June, the Illinois state legislature adopted a joint resolution creating the Illinois Good Food Purchasing Policy Task Force.
Date created: August 19, 2021
Last updated: August 30, 2021
The Illinois legislature has taken steps to protect animal welfare and public safety by advancing HB 83, a bill that would restrict the tethering of dogs throughout Illinois. Tethered dogs spend their lives tied up outdoors with rope, chain or other restraint; they are often denied socialization, adequate shelter, and veterinary care.
Date created: May 21, 2013
Last updated: April 24, 2024
The Animal Welfare Institute is pleased that the Illinois State House of Representatives passed HB 1907, a bill making dog fighting an offense under the Illinois Street Gang and Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute.
Date created: April 1, 2011
Last updated: February 2, 2022
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is pleased to announce that HB 83, a bill that would prevent some of the most inhumane forms of tethering, passed out of the Illinois House of Representatives by a vote of 78-38. We commend the leadership and compassion of Chairman Daniel J. Burke, the sponsor of HB 83, for advancing this important bill.
Date created: April 16, 2013
Last updated: February 2, 2022
In response to the recent death of 18 young Belgian draft horses, Illinois State Reps. Bob Molaro and JoAnn Osmond have introduced legislation to ban the use of double-decker trucks to transport horses in the state.
Date created: January 23, 2009
Last updated: February 3, 2022
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is pleased to report that HB 83, a bill before the Illinois State Senate that would put restrictions on the tethering of dogs, was approved by the Executive Committee by a unanimous 15-0 vote. Approved by the Illinois House of Representatives in February, the bill now moves to the full Senate for consideration.
Date created: May 1, 2013
Last updated: February 2, 2022
HB 3231, a bill proposed by AWI that provides for additional penalties when animal abuse is committed in front of a minor, passed the Illinois legislature (unanimously, in both chambers!) and was sent on June 29 to Governor Bruce Rauner for his signature.
Date created: September 18, 2015
Last updated: April 24, 2024
The Animal Welfare Institute commends the Illinois General Assembly for passing and sending to the governor legislation that allows the prosecution of leaders of dog fighting networks under Illinois’ anti-racketeering (RICO) laws, providing an important new tool for prosecutors to apply against dog fighting organizers and financiers.
Date created: June 1, 2012
Last updated: February 2, 2022
Date created: December 6, 2011
Last updated: January 8, 2020
Thirty paired female rhesus monkeys were tested in a control situation when companions had no privacy, and in an experimental situation when they were offered the option to move behind a panel and be alone. Paired partners spent significantly more time in close proximity (same half of the cage) when the privacy panel was provided (mean, with panel = 76.0 %/h vs. mean, no panel = 60.8 %/h; p
Date created: May 13, 2016
Last updated: November 11, 2020
A survey of 397 publications dealing with macaques was conducted. Stress-sensitive physiological data collected during venipuncture were evaluated in 58 reports. Despite of the fact that venipuncture often is a stressful event for research animals, 81% of the studies did not account for this circumstance by providing no information as to how tile subjects were caught and how they were immobilized during venipuncture.
Date created: May 26, 2016
Last updated: November 11, 2020
Date created: August 30, 2023
Last updated: September 6, 2023
The Animal Welfare Enforcement Improvement Act (AWEIA; HR 3277), introduced May 17 by Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), would end US Department of Agriculture licensing practices that allow chronic violators of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) to escape accountability.
Date created: June 9, 2021
Last updated: June 23, 2021
Like Boccia et al., Reinhardt works with a population of captive primates from which blood samples must be obtained. However, Reinhardt's chapter stands in marked contrast to that of Boccia et al. Both Reinhardt and Boccia et al. recognize the importance of the scientist-animal bond, but deal with it in different ways.
Date created: May 26, 2016
Last updated: November 11, 2020
In early 2008, multiple instances of egregious cruelty to cattle at the Westland-Hallmark Meat Packing Co.
Date created: March 15, 2019
Last updated: June 13, 2024
