Program Term Archive

Terrestrial Wildlife

Legal Petition Urges USDA to Adopt Comprehensive Regulatory Framework for Wildlife Services Program

Press ReleaseNovember 21, 2023Terrestrial Wildlife

Today, the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Center for Biological Diversity, Project Coyote, the Animal Welfare Institute, and WildEarth Guardians submitted a petition for rulemaking to the US Department of Agriculture’s...

AWI Sues BLM over Wild Horse Management

Equines, Terrestrial Wildlife

AWI is suing the Bureau of Land Management after the agency finalized a management plan to eliminate millions of acres of federally designated habitat for wild horses in Wyoming. The...

Biodiversity Declines Worse than Previously Thought

Terrestrial Wildlife

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species is a valuable database containing information on species status, population trends, and threats. While it has its...

Combatting Wildlife Trafficking in Africa

Terrestrial Wildlife

Each year, millions of wild animals, including imperiled species, fall victim to an illegal wildlife trade with an annual estimated value between $7 billion and $20 billion. Wildlife trafficking causes...

Evaluating the Suitability of Confiscated and Rehabilitated Eastern Box Turtles for Release back into the Wild

Terrestrial Wildlife

The eastern box turtle is collected in enormous numbers for the illegal wildlife trade. Only a portion of this trade is detected, and when it is, wildlife agencies must decide...

New York to Outlaw Wildlife Killing Contests

Terrestrial Wildlife

After years of work by a coalition of advocacy groups, including AWI, the New York legislature passed a bill in June to ban wildlife killing contests, with certain exceptions, including...

Improving Animal Welfare Act Enforcement

Companion Animals, Terrestrial Wildlife

In June, Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and Nancy Mace (R-SC) reintroduced the Animal Welfare Enforcement Improvement Act (AWEIA; HR 3859) in response to the egregious failures by the US Department...

Saner Solutions to Wildlife Management

Equines, Terrestrial Wildlife

Two bills were introduced to curb cruel, costly, and dangerous wildlife management methods. In May, Reps. Dina Titus (D-NV) and David Schweikert (R-AZ) reintroduced the Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act...

Flight Paths

Terrestrial Wildlife

When Rebecca Heisman worked for the American Ornithological Society, her job involved reading “cutting-edge migration research” and publicizing it in a digestible way for the public. She sought to provide...

Using DNA in Footprints to Track Polar Bear Populations

Marine Wildlife, Terrestrial Wildlife

The Arctic is warming faster than anywhere on Earth, and polar bears—listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act—are at risk due to decreasing sea ice habitat. Monitoring polar bear...