Press Releases

A federal court today affirmed the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) denial of Georgia Aquarium’s application for a permit under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) to import 18 beluga whales from Russia’s Sea of...

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...

A federal court today entered an order settling two cases challenging the US Navy’s training and testing activities off the coasts of Southern California and Hawai‘i, securing long-sought protections for whales, dolphins, and other marine...

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...

A coalition of animal welfare and conservation organizations launched a two-week advertising campaign today on Alaska Dispatch News to coincide with the Conference on Global Leadership in the Arctic: Cooperation, Innovation, Engagement and Resilience (GLACIER)...

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...

Photographs (shown below) of an Icelandic whaling vessel dragging dead endangered fin whales to shore for processing were released today by Timothy Baker, an American whale-watching tourist.

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) announced today the winners of its annual Christine Stevens Wildlife Award. Established in 2006, the Christine Stevens Wildlife Award provides grants of up to $10,000 to help fund innovative strategies...

The US Department of Agriculture’s case against Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Inc. (SCBT), one of the world’s largest research antibody suppliers, is scheduled to be heard by an administrative law judge beginning Tuesday, August 18. The...

Wildlife conservation and animal welfare organizations filed a lawsuit today against the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for allowing trappers in Maine to seriously injure and kill Canada lynx, a federally protected cat. Plaintiffs...

In light of the tragic illegal killing of Cecil the lion by an American dentist, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) commends the swift response by Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)...

Animal protection and conservation organizations filed suit today challenging Mendocino County’s contract renewal with Wildlife Services, a notorious federal wildlife-killing program that killed close to 3 million animals in the US in 2014.

A coalition of environmental groups released today a new brief, “Convenience Kills,” detailing the whale meat sales of SPAR Norway—part of the international SPAR convenience store chain. The groups are calling on the company to...

Local conservationists rallied outside the Mexican Embassy today in support of the vaquita marina, the world’s smallest and most endangered porpoise, found only in Mexico’s Gulf of California. Participating organizations and individuals urged the Mexican...

In a great victory for animal welfare, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40) succeeded in including language in the manager’s amendment of the House Appropriations Committee’s Fiscal Year 2016 Agriculture Bill to deny funds for the licensing...

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) condemns today’s decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to suspend red wolf reintroductions pending additional review of the red wolf recovery program. USFWS intends to complete its...

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) welcomes the reintroduction by Representative Mike Doyle (D-PA) and Christopher Smith (R-NJ) of the Pet Safety and Protection Act (H.R. 2849). In order to protect companion animals from illegal sale...

Following the federally authorized gunshot death of a mother red wolf—a critically endangered species—in the Red Wolf Recovery Area of eastern North Carolina, conservation groups today demanded the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) ensure...

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) applauds Representatives Martha McSally (R-AZ), Don Beyer (D-VA), Joe Heck (R-NV), and Tony Cárdenas (D-CA) for introducing the Humane Cosmetics Act (H.R. 2858). This bipartisan bill would phase out the...

A coalition of international animal protection and conservation organizations has urgently asked the Obama administration to impose economic sanctions against Icelandic companies with corporate ties to the commercial whaling industry.