Two states and several local governments joined a growing list of jurisdictions acting on behalf of wild and exotic animals exploited by circuses and other traveling exhibitions this past year. In Los Angeles, Councilman David...

The International Union for Conservation of Nature assessed more than 740 newly recognized bird species in 2016 and found that 13 of these species were already extinct—before they’d even been recognized as distinct species. While...

Ticos (as Costa Ricans call themselves) use a Latin phrase to define the noble intentions of their new wildlife regulations, adopted in 2017: in dubio pro natura —when in doubt, favor nature. Following that fundamental...

In September, the House passed HR 3354, an omnibus (bundled) spending bill that included four amendments to weaken the Endangered Species Act. Then, in November, the Senate Appropriations Committee’s draft funding bill for the US...

On January 11, AWI wrote to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke requesting that his department halt its plan to eliminate certain protections for migratory birds. This plan, released in late December, would reverse an Obama administration...

On November 8, 2017, the US Department of the Interior announced the formation of an “International Wildlife Conservation Council” whose chief objective would be to increase public awareness of the “economic benefits that result from...

Safari hunting has suffered a few setbacks recently. Ever since American dentist Walter Palmer bungled the killing of a well-known Zimbabwe lion named Cecil in 2015, international outrage has stung the industry, resulting in a...

Nosey the elephant has not had an easy life. Born in Zimbabwe in 1982, she was stolen from her wild family at age 2 and brought to Florida. Purchased by Hugo Liebel in 1988, she...

A leaked memo from the US Fish and Wildlife Service concerning how the agency plans to regulate endangered species listings under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) could have severe impacts on imperiled wildlife. According to...

The 69 th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), held November 27 to December 1, 2017, in Geneva, Switzerland, featured more...