Press Releases

Washington, DC—In a letter delivered today to congressional leaders, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), the International Marine Mammal Project (IMMP) of Earth Island Institute, Oceanic Preservation Society, and 16 other animal protection and conservation groups...

Washington, DC—Today, the Trump administration finalized its overhaul of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), enacting new regulations that weaken this key environmental law. Unprecedented in significance and scope, these changes undermine informed agency decision-making...

Washington, DC—The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) commends Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) for introducing yesterday the Lead Endangers Animals Daily (LEAD) Act, which would prohibit hunters from shooting toxic lead bullets on land managed by the...

Washington, DC—The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) commends the US House of Representatives for passing the Horse Transportation Safety Act (HTSA) today as part of a massive infrastructure package that was approved. The HTSA would ban...

Washington, DC—COVID-19 has shut down, at least temporarily, dozens of pig, chicken, and turkey slaughter plants in the United States, leaving millions of farm animals with nowhere to go. Some producers have arranged to keep...

The summer issue of the AWI Quarterly is in the mail! Much of this issue is devoted to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on animal welfare. We discuss the challenges faced by animal shelters...

Washington, DC—Conservation groups sued the Trump administration today to force a long overdue decision to sanction Mexico for its illegal fishing and trade that is causing the vaquita porpoise’s extinction. The US government has ignored...

Washington, DC—The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) condemns today’s decision by the National Park Service (NPS) to reverse a 2015 rule prohibiting unethical and unsporting methods for killing wildlife on the 10 national preserves managed by...

Washington, DC—The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) commends lawmakers from the US House of Representatives for including the Horse Transportation Safety Act (HTSA) in transportation legislation unveiled last week. The HTSA would ban the use of...

AWI has chosen to go quiet this week on social media. While the animal welfare issues we work on remain as pertinent as ever, we are cognizant of the fact that people around the country...

Eureka, CA—In response to advocacy by a coalition of animal protection and conservation groups, Humboldt County today unanimously approved a new contract with the federal wildlife-killing program, Wildlife Services, that will result in far fewer...

Washington, DC—The District of Columbia has passed a law to address the surging local market for goods that contribute to declines in endangered wildlife. The Elephant Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn Trafficking Prohibition Act, which bans...

For many years, AWI has participated in Giving Tuesday—a global day of giving on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. #GivingTuesdayNow is a newly created global day of giving and unity that takes place on May 5...

Denver, CO—A coalition of leading wildlife protection organizations is applauding the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission for their vote yesterday to ban wildlife killing contests for furbearer and certain small game species in the state...

Washington, DC—Amid reports of COVID-19 outbreaks at the largest meat processors in the United States, a new analysis of government documents by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) has found that, over a three-year span, JBS...

Washington, DC—In the wake of Netflix docuseries “Tiger King” and heightened public attention to the exploitation of captive big cats, 53 bipartisan members of Congress sent a letter yesterday to the US Department of Agriculture...

Washington, DC—Lobbyists and executives for Mystic Aquarium and Georgia Aquarium used back-door politics to try to win approval for a controversial permit application to import five captive-born beluga whales from Marineland in Canada, an Animal...

Washington, DC—In a strong bipartisan showing, more than 60 members of Congress sent a letter this week to the World Health Organization, the World Organisation for Animal Health, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of...

Washington, DC—An analysis by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) has found that the majority of states have gotten off to a slow start reporting animal cruelty incidents to the FBI’s national crime database. In 2015...

Washington, DC—Today, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) sent a letter to the US Poultry & Egg Association urging the world’s largest poultry organization to immediately implement fire prevention strategies to stop devastating barn fires that...