AWI Quarterly Articles | Government/Legal

California’s foie gras ban is now in effect for the foreseeable future—a win for ducks, geese, and animal welfare advocates. In an anticlimactic conclusion to years of contentious litigation and debate, the US Supreme Court...

In addition to declining to hear the foie gras challenge, the Supreme Court passed on the opportunity to weigh in on another farm animal welfare challenge, this time with respect to state laws regarding confinement...

On August 23, AWI and Farm Sanctuary sued the US Department of Agriculture for failing to adequately respond to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request asking for proactive disclosure of slaughter records. The lawsuit...

When Massachusetts strengthened its animal cruelty statute in 2014, it also set up a task force to make additional recommendations. A new law resulted—signed in August—that raises certain penalties and makes three other significant changes...

The New Jersey legislature passed Nosey’s Law (S1093) to ban the use of wild and exotic animals for entertainment in traveling animal acts. If, as expected, the bill is signed by Gov. Phil Murphy, New...

Time and again over the past two years, leadership in the House of Representatives advanced legislation aimed at dismantling long-standing animal protection laws. A new Congress ascends Capitol Hill in January, and AWI hopes that...

The North Carolina General Assembly gave final approval to a bill that restricts nuisance lawsuits against factory farms and other agricultural operations. The law is a reaction to several lawsuits won by plaintiffs who have...

The Animal Welfare Act (AWA) is facing a grave threat. The Trump administration is engaged in a multipronged pro-industry agenda aimed at eviscerating the basic protections for animals mandated by this law—which for more than...

On a positive note, one effort to use a critical (and completely unrelated) piece of legislation to erode the ESA failed decisively. The bill in question is the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which sets...

Both Congress and the Trump administration continue their assaults on wildlife, particularly through efforts to undermine the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Several members of Congress have now packaged together nine bills to dismantle the ESA...