AWI’s Dr. Naomi Rose visited China in January on behalf of the China Cetacean Alliance, of which AWI is a founding member, to observe the orcas living in Chinese facilities.
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) welcomes Friday’s reintroduction in the US House of Representatives of the Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST) Act to combat the inhumane practice of “soring,” whereby individuals intentionally inflict pain on horses’ hooves and legs to produce an exaggerated high-stepping gait known as the “Big Lick” during competitions and shows.
It took three tries for the pilot to land in Barrow, Alaska in the heavy fog. To the native Iñupiat, Barrow is known as Ukpeaġvik (or Utqiaġvik), which means "place to hunt snowy owls." I came to the top of the world to learn about Iñupiat culture, bowhead whales, and to strengthen the bridge between the Animal Welfare Institute and native Alaskan whalers.
The Global Legal Research Center of the Law Library of Congress released Laws on Leg-Hold Traps Around the World in August, a report that identifies countries that prohibit the use of steel-jaw leghold traps.
In 1977, Barrie experienced the quintessential nightmare for a bear biologist. He surprised a female grizzly bear and was attacked while conducting some of his first work with bears in Yellowstone National Park. He survived grievous injuries to his upper body, particularly the left side of his face. After recovery, he not only resumed his work with bears, but also became a fierce champion of grizzlies. One of Us: A Biologist’s Walk Among Bears reviews his many experiences working with grizzly bears, and discusses the politics of grizzly bear management.
In a rare victory for endangered species, the House adopted a floor amendment to the FY 2012 Interior appropriations bill offered by Reps. Norm Dicks (D-WA), Mike Thompson (D-CA), Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA), and Colleen Hanabusa (D-HI) that strips the bill of language that would have eviscerated a core function of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).
A new global online marketplace that allows researchers to sell unused animal samples to other labs is being launched. Called aRukon, the free platform was created by biomedical researcher Dr.
Ontario has become the first province in Canada to ban the breeding, purchase and sale of orcas. The new law, titled the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, passed the legislature at the end of May. It also requires qualified veterinarians with marine mammal expertise to oversee preventive and clinical care at any facility that has marine mammals.
Rabies is a zoonotic disease caused by a deadly virus that attacks the central nervous system of mammals. The disease is usually transmitted by a bite from an infected animal.
A critically endangered population of orcas, numbering only 40 individuals, inhabits the outer coastal waters of the Iberian Peninsula. Since spring 2020, these whales have been dramatically interacting with boats—mostly sailing yachts.
With a current population of only 74 whales—a 30-year population low—southern resident orcas (a.k.a. killer whales) are in crisis. Their primary prey, Chinook salmon, are endangered, and the whales are starving.
In 2010, Tilikum, an orca held by SeaWorld Orlando, killed Dawn Brancheau, his trainer for the previous six years. Since that tragic event, the campaign to end the captive display of cetaceans has gathered tremendous steam.
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted unanimously Friday to adopt a rule prohibiting wildlife killing contests for coyotes and other species classified as unprotected mammals in the state.
In 2009, police in Umatilla, Oregon, arrested a man for starving and neglecting dozens of animals. A jury convicted the man of 20 counts of second-degree animal abuse, but at his sentencing hearing the court merged the 20 counts into a single conviction.
This is a current listing of organizations and individuals opposed to the slaughter of American horses for human consumption. They support all local, state and federal legislative efforts to ban the practice in the U.S. including the Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act, Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act and American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.
AWI has worked to improve animal welfare standards under the US Department of Agriculture’s Certified Organic label for over 15 years. In early 2017, our efforts helped lead the USDA to finalize a rule to improve the lives of millions of organically raised animals.
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), the Humane Education Network (HEN) and the Palo Alto Humane Society officially announced today the winners of the 2017 A Voice for Animals contest.
Sixty-six marine conservation organizations, animal protection organizations, and leading academics recently issued a joint letter to Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) chair Werner Kiene, criticizing the MSC for its failure to improve the label’s Principle 2 (“Environmental and Ecological Impacts”) standards.
Animal welfare and wildlife organizations filed a motion today with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to stay the implementation of a proposed rule that would allow three types of leghold traps—the Egg, Duff (or Duffer’s), and Lil Grizz Get’rz—to be used on raccoons and opossums in New Jersey. The organizations, which include the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), the Animal Protection League of New Jersey (APLNJ), Born Free USA, NJ Chapter Sierra Club, and Unexpected Wildlife Refuge, are represented by attorney Dante DiPirro.
Local, state and national animal protection and environmental organizations filed a “friend of the court” brief today in support of a lawsuit to stop the impending trophy hunt of Florida black bears, an iconic and rare species with a long history of threats to its survival.
Conservation and animal welfare organizations, including the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), Defenders of Wildlife, and the Red Wolf Coalition, as represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), notified the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) today of their intent to sue the agency for illegally authorizing a private landowner to kill breeding red wolves and failing to undertake the legal analysis required by the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The notice letter details the agency’s active role in allowing the illegal take of several red wolves and failing to protect the world’s only wild population of these wolves.
In recognition of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) has partnered with the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (NRCDV) to provide copies of its children’s publications, Kamie Cat's Terrible Night and Pablo Puppy’s Search for the Perfect Person, to over 500 domestic violence shelters nationwide.
