Press Releases

A coalition of international whale protection organizations today strongly condemned the start of Norway’s 2017 whaling season, which began on April 1.

Conservation organizations announced a boycott of all shrimp caught in Mexico to pressure Mexican officials to save the endangered vaquita, the world’s smallest porpoise, from imminent extinction. For more information on the campaign, visit BoycottMexicanShrimp.com...

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) revealed today that the US Department of Agriculture filed a complaint earlier this year against Wild Wilderness, Inc., a notorious Arkansas tourist attraction operated by the Wilmoth family that exhibits...

A pending lawsuit supported by a potent segment of the walking horse industry appears to be the major impetus for the US Department of Agriculture’s egregious decision to remove untold thousands of online Horse Protection...

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), in partnership with the National Animal Care and Control Association (NACA), announced today the release of its new resource, “ NIBRS User Manual for Animal Control Officers and Humane Law...

Scientists announced this week that only an estimated 30 vaquita porpoises remain in the world. In a new report , the International Committee for the Recovery of the Vaquita (CIRVA) recognizes that the extinction of...

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) applauds the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for releasing its final rule to improve the welfare of animals raised under the Certified Organic label.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced it is shutting its doors in May 2017 after 146 years in operation, according to a January 14 press release from Feld Entertainment.

Federal lawmakers have introduced legislation to prevent the establishment of horse slaughter operations within the US, end the current export of American horses for slaughter abroad, and protect the public from consuming toxic horse meat....

Five animal protection organizations submitted a petition today to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), asking the agency to cancel its registration for sodium fluoroacetate, a pesticide commonly known as Compound 1080. Currently, the pesticide is...

Tilikum, the SeaWorld orca who changed the captive cetacean world when he killed his trainer, Dawn Brancheau, at SeaWorld Orlando in 2010, has died. He was approximately 36 years of age and the father of...

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) late yesterday filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for its unreasonable delay in responding to an AWI petition — filed in May 2013 — to amend...

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) denounces the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for its weak settlement agreement with SNBL USA—a subsidiary of Japan-based Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories that allegedly committed dozens of Animal Welfare Act...

Seven animal protection and conservation organizations issued a petition today to the US Department of Interior (DOI) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) urging them to fulfill their obligation to develop an updated...

Wildlife advocate organizations, including the Animal Welfare Institute, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Wildlife Alliance of Maine, are offering an $8,000 reward for information leading to convictions for the shootings of two protected...

A federal district court will hear arguments Thursday on a lawsuit brought by wildlife conservation and animal welfare organizations against the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for allowing trappers in Maine to kill and...

A statewide poll released today by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and the Animal Defense League of Arizona (ADLA), revealed that more Arizonans oppose than support the practice of keeping dolphins in captivity for interactive...

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

During the 66 th meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), conservation organizations openly criticized the fact that actions against commercial whaling are absent from the IWC agenda. A petition directed at the European Union...

The California Superior Court issued an order yesterday denying Monterey County’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit, filed in June by animal protection and conservation organizations, that challenges the county’s contract renewal with the US Department...