AWI Newsroom
For media information regarding the Animal Welfare Institute or interview opportunities with one of our experts, please contact:
Kim Meneo, Animal Welfare Institute
kim@awionline.org, (202) 446-2116
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New York City Council Votes to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages
AWI commends the New York City Council for today passing Romanch’s Law (Intro 943) by a vote of 40-7 with two abstentions, which will put an end to horse-drawn carriages...
Mexico Eviscerates Vaquita Protections
Mexico weakened protections yesterday for the critically endangered vaquita porpoise, opening vast new areas in the Upper Gulf of California to the deadly gillnet fishing that has caused the vaquita’s...
AWI Strongly Opposes Permitting Bill that Would Stab “Heart” of Endangered Species Act
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) strongly opposes the fundamentally flawed permitting legislation released yesterday by the US Senate, which would gut core protections of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), putting...
Federal Bill Reintroduced to Strengthen Animal Welfare Act Enforcement
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) welcomes yesterday’s reintroduction of the Animal Welfare Enforcement Improvement Act (AWEIA) by Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and Mike Lawler (R-NY). This bipartisan bill (H.R. 10627)...
Federal Investment in Wild Horse Fertility Control is Welcome, If Vague
Earlier this week, the US Department of the Interior and the US Department of Agriculture announced a $30 million investment in fertility control to manage federally protected wild horses. While...
Trump Administration Asserts Unprecedented Endangered Species Act Interpretation
The Animal Welfare Institute is appalled by the Trump administration’s latest maneuver in its ongoing efforts to desecrate the Endangered Species Act (ESA). An internal memorandum from the US Fish...
Records Request Reveals Unhurried, Inadequate Response to Bird Flu Outbreak in Utah Farmed Mink
New documents obtained by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) from the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (UDAF) through a public records request confirm an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian...
AWI Grants Fund Innovative Wildlife Coexistence Research
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) today announced the nine recipients of its annual Christine Stevens Wildlife Award who are developing more humane, innovative, and nonlethal methods for resolving human-wildlife conflicts...
House-Passed Bill Would Further Jeopardize North Atlantic Right Whales
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is deeply disappointed by the US House of Representatives' recent passage of H.R. 9436, a bill that would delay—for the second time—much-needed action to protect...
AWI to Release Children’s Book About Persevering Pit Bull Named Denali
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) today announced the upcoming release of Denali’s New Life, a children’s book that tells the true story of Denali, a pit bull mix with a...
Oregon Adopts New Protections Against Deadly Whale Entanglements
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission adopted new regulations today aimed at reducing whale entanglements in the state’s commercial Dungeness crab fishery. The measures include requirements for electronic vessel monitoring...
Conservation Groups Across US Respond to Trump Administration’s Attacks on Endangered Species Act
The Trump Administration weakened the Endangered Species Act (ESA) with a final rulemaking that could open the door to widespread destruction of habitat for endangered wildlife by rescinding the regulatory...
AWI Celebrates 75 Years of Advocacy
Seventy-five years ago today, Christine Stevens founded the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) to combat the cruel treatment of animals used in experimental laboratories. The focus of AWI’s work soon expanded...
Marineland Beluga Cooperative Agreement Omits Crucial Breeding Restriction
Today, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced it had entered into a cooperative agreement with SeaWorld, Georgia Aquarium, and John G. Shedd Aquarium to import 28 beluga whales...
AWI Awards Scholarships to 15 Aspiring Animal Welfare Leaders
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) today announced the recipients of its annual scholarship, which recognizes students who embody the organization’s goal of alleviating the suffering of animals caused by people....
AWI Calls on AVMA to Withdraw Support for “Save Our Bacon Act” Language
Following the ardent endorsement by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) of a harmful Farm Bill provision that could negatively impact the welfare of countless farmed animals, the Animal Welfare...
Important Victory for Farmed Animals in Senate Farm Bill Draft
Yesterday, the US Senate released a discussion draft of its version of the Farm Bill. In a victory for farmed animal welfare and consumers’ and states’ rights, the Senate text...
AWI’s Animal Transport Recommendations Corroborated by Federal Agency
A new report by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), titled Animal Transport: Congress Should Consider Modernizing the Law to Better Protect Livestock, buttresses findings by the Animal Welfare Institute...
Animal Welfare Groups Celebrate Committee Passage of the Van Drew-Titus Amendment to Ban Horse Slaughter
By a vote of 34–30, the US House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee passed its five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill, which includes a bipartisan amendment led by US Reps. Jeff Van...
Lawsuit Filed to Halt Seafood Imports from Foreign Fisheries Killing Marine Mammals With Fishing Gear
Conservation groups sued the National Marine Fisheries Service and US government officials today to stop seafood imports into the United States from 44 foreign fisheries in eight countries that incidentally...