Press Releases

Washington, DC—A new photo exhibit on Capitol Hill examines how a US-Mexico border wall could cause irreversible damage to human communities and wildlife. The exhibit, running through June 15 in the Russell Rotunda, features images...

Washington, DC—As Norway’s fisheries minister, Per Sandberg, travels around New York June 7-8 to promote Norwegian seafood, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) urges the city’s retailers, consumers and restaurateurs to question the source of any...

Washington, DC—The Animal Welfare Institute, Big Cat Rescue, Born Free USA, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society Legislative Fund are celebrating the introduction of the...

Washington, DC—The US House of Representatives and Senate Appropriations Committees have finalized their respective agriculture funding bills for fiscal year 2019. Only the Senate bill, in its present form, includes essential language preventing the commercial...

Washington, DC—In a letter sent Tuesday to Florida state, county and school officials, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is calling for a full investigation into the alleged drowning of multiple animals last week in front...

The Animal Welfare Institute is grateful that a massive farm bill loaded with provisions that would have reversed gains in animal welfare and weakened endangered species protections was defeated Friday in the US House of...

Washington, DC—The 2019 Department of the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, passed late Tuesday by a House subcommittee, includes several anti-wildlife provisions that raise grave concerns for the Animal Welfare Institute. “These attacks...

Today we learned the extent to which certain members of the US House of Representatives are willing to sacrifice animal welfare and conservation in the name of industry interests. The Farm Bill (H.R. 2, the...

Washington, DC—The National Marine Fisheries Service today protected rare Taiwanese humpback dolphins, listing the species as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act. The decision comes in response to a March 2016 petition from the Animal...

Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-Guam) and Congressman Don Young (R-Alaska) today introduced the Wildlife Conservation and Anti-Trafficking Act of 2018, which is endorsed by the Animal Welfare Institute and other leading animal welfare and conservation...

Brussels, Belgium—A new poll commissioned by members of the Make Stewardship Count coalition indicates that the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) could face a significant erosion of consumer confidence as a result of the certification body’s...

Brussels, Belgium—The Don’t Buy From Icelandic Whalers campaign, an alliance of 14 conservation and animal protection groups, has reacted with dismay to the news that Icelandic whaling company Hvalur will resume fin whaling and with...

Washington, DC—The House Agriculture Committee yesterday reported out its version of the 2018 farm bill (H.R. 2), legislation Congress must pass this year to reauthorize a variety of programs on which the agriculture sector heavily...

Washington, DC—A mammoth 640-plus-page farm bill draft (H.R. 2) was released yesterday and is scheduled for committee action next week. According to the nonprofit Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), the draft represents a mixed bag for...

Washington, DC—The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) today joined the Organic Trade Association (OTA) in a lawsuit against the US Department of Agriculture. The suit seeks to force the USDA to implement the Organic Livestock and...

Dr. Samuel K Wasser, acknowledged worldwide for developing noninvasive tools for monitoring human impacts on wildlife, was honored today with the Albert Schweitzer Medal. This prestigious award, established in 1951 by the Animal Welfare Institute...

Washington, DC—The Fiscal Year 2018 omnibus appropriations bill was signed today by President Trump. “We thank animal champions in Congress for their crucial work on this bill,” said Nancy Blaney, Animal Welfare Institute director of...

New York—Conservation groups sued the Trump administration today for failing to follow federal law and ban shrimp and other seafood imported from Mexico’s Upper Gulf of California and harvested with gillnets that drown the vaquita...

Vancouver, Canada—The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) joined 95 Canadian and international conservationists, scientists, politicians and animal welfare organizations in a letter sent to the Canadian government this week urging the closure of Canada’s domestic elephant...

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) finalized plans this week to withdraw the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices rule. The rule would have improved the lives of millions of animals raised under the Certified Organic...