Press Releases

A coalition of animal, environmental, and consumer protection organizations submitted a joint comment today to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on its proposed rule to amend animal welfare requirements under the Certified Organic label....

Representatives Alma Adams (D-NC) and Nita Lowey (D-NY) have introduced the Public Safety and Wildlife Protection Act (H.R. 5560), a bill that would curtail the use of steel-jaw leghold traps and Conibear (also known as...

Chapel Hill, NC—Conservation groups late yesterday asked the US District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina to stop the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) from capturing and killing—and authorizing private landowners to...

Washington, DC — Norway is now the world’s leading whaling nation, killing more whales in the past two years than Japan and Iceland combined. A new report released today calls on the international community to...

Over the past few months, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) has been the target of several online petitions, circulated on Change.org and spread through social media networks, which falsely claim AWI supports the cruel killing...

SALINAS, CA—Animal protection and conservation organizations filed a lawsuit today challenging Monterey County’s contract renewal with the US Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services – a notorious federal wildlife-killing program that has killed more than 3,000...

TUCSON, AZ — The Center for Biological Diversity and the Animal Welfare Institute today filed a notice of intent to sue the US Department of Agriculture to ensure that endangered ocelots aren’t inadvertently killed as...

Washington, DC —Conservation groups submitted an emergency petition today calling on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to take immediate steps to bolster flagging protections for the world’s only wild population of red wolves –...

Washington, DC — The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) lauds the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for reaching a settlement agreement in its multiple cases against Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Inc. (SCBT)—one of the world’s largest research...

Washington, DC— Today, the Senate Appropriations Committee voice voted in favor of an amendment to the FY17 Agriculture Appropriations bill to prohibit the USDA from spending any funds to inspect horse slaughter facilities. The committee...

Ensenada, Mexico —Scientists have announced that fewer than 60 vaquita porpoises likely remain on Earth, down from 245 in 2008. The vaquita is the world’s smallest and most endangered porpoise, found only in Mexico’s northern...

Washington, DC— Advocacy organizations and their supporters demonstrated at Olive Garden restaurants across the United States today to urge the chain and its parent company, Darden Restaurant Inc.,to improve food-sourcing and labor practices.

The National Marine Fisheries Service today took a step toward protecting rare Taiwanese humpback dolphins , finding that listing the species under the Endangered Species Act may be warranted. The decision comes in response to...

May 1 marks the end of elephants being hauled around the country to perform for Ringling Bros. circus. While we celebrate the termination of this cruel and archaic practice, tragically, the elephants will not be...

Ukiah, CA —In a major victory for opponents of animal cruelty, the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors has agreed to perform a full Environmental Impact Report (EIR) under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and...

Concord, NH—T he New Hampshire Fish and Game Department today withdrew a proposed administrative rule that would have allowed bobcat hunting and trapping in the state for the first time since 1989.

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) commends the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for proposing requirements for the welfare of animals raised under the Certified Organic label. AWI generally supports the proposed regulations , which are...

Washington, DC — The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), Cetacean Society International (CSI), Earth Island Institute (EII), and Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) lauded the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for its proposed designation of the...

Washington, DC/London — As the Norwegian whaling industry prepares for the start of the 2016 whaling season, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) today released a document that indicates Norwegian fur...

A coalition of environmental, social justice, and animal welfare groups announced a campaign today calling on Olive Garden and its parent company, Darden Restaurant Inc. , the nation’s largest full-service restaurant employer, to do more...