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Researchers are only just starting to understand the critical role of native U.S. predator species in the functioning of ecosystems. A recent study by Oregon State University, for example, found that large predators such as coyotes, bears, wolves and mountain lions help to maintain native plant communities by keeping large herbivore populations in check, contributing to the health of forests, streams, fisheries and other wildlife.

Dr. Naomi Rose of AWI attended the launch of a new coalition called Dolphinaria-Free Europe (DFE), on March 4, at the European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium. Comprised of more than a dozen nonprofit animal charities, DFE seeks to end the display of captive whales and dolphins in the European Union, through science, public outreach, policy change, and the establishment of retirement sanctuaries.

A team of scientists has developed an advanced computer algorithm that can predict the toxicity of new chemicals better than standard animal tests.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service have released new Endangered Species Act regulations that reinstate some critical protections for imperiled species and their habitats, yet fail to reverse many of the dang

Researchers from Stony Brook University, Florida International University, and BLOOM Association in Hong Kong have developed what they call a “reliable, field-based, fast … and cost effective” protocol for detecting, in a single reaction, nine of

Governor Maggie Hassan is poised as we go to press to sign HB 1410, making New Hampshire the 27th state to allow courts to include pets in protection orders. What sets the New Hampshire bill apart from most other laws is that it covers livestock.

A historic win for equine welfare was achieved in May when the US Department of Agriculture finalized long-awaited Horse Protection Act (HPA) regulations to protect Tennessee walking horses from the brutal practice of horse soring—whereby horses a

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) has published its first-ever set of guidelines for the humane slaughter of mammals and birds. In it, the AVMA addresses several recommendations offered by AWI, including those questioning the humaneness of low-voltage electrical stunning of poultry.

This summer, New Jersey and New York, two states that represent key ports of entry into the United States for consumer goods (and wildlife trafficking), passed laws to help stem the illegal trade in ivory and rhino horn.

The New Jersey legislature passed Nosey’s Law (S1093) to ban the use of wild and exotic animals for entertainment in traveling animal acts. If, as expected, the bill is signed by Gov.

After a years-long effort by animal advocates, dog fighting is now an offense under New Jersey’s racketeering statute. The new law (S 736) creates two new crimes: “dog fighting,” which has also been added to the list of offenses under the state’s anti-racketeering law, and “leader of a dog fighting network.”

New Jersey has been free of steel-jaw leghold traps since 1985—one year after the state legislature banned the possession, use, manufacture, sale, importation, or transport of all leghold traps. AWI and other animal advocates had worked for years to educate residents on the dangers and suffering associated with these traps, including that the traps can break animals’ bones and that some animals held in the vise-like grip chew off the trapped limbs to escape on three legs.

On February 23, the Silver City, NM town council unanimously adopted a resolution calling on the state to ban steel-jaw leghold traps, strangling snares and other painful body-gripping traps on public lands.