USFWS Seeks to Reduce Manatee Protections
In January, the US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed a reclassification of the West Indian manatee from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act. AWI strongly opposes this proposal.
Please see the below articles about Marine Wildlife from past editions of the AWI Quarterly.
FDA Clears the Way for Genetically Engineered Salmon
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in November 2015 that it had approved genetically engineered (GE) salmon for human consumption—the first such approval for a GE animal. Further, the FDA stated that it had...
CITES Standing Committee Meets in Geneva
The 66th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), held in Geneva, Switzerland, in mid-January, covered a wide range of important wildlife...
APHIS Proposes Pitiful Rule for Updating Captive Marine Mammal Standards
From 1995–1996, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) conducted a negotiated rulemaking, bringing together stakeholders of varying viewpoints in an attempt to hammer out consensus language to update the regulations governing the...
Navy Ocean Noise Settlement Signals Safer Haven for Marine Life
For more than a decade, AWI has been working to stop the US Navy from using harmful active sonar in areas where it can negatively impact marine animals. Over the summer of 2015, the tide...
Milt Kaufmann
Colonel Milton M. Kaufmann died on October 29, 2015, aged 97. For the last 40+ years, he had been a dedicated and hard-working volunteer conservationist, locally in his Maryland neighborhood and internationally, most notably in...
CITES Animals Committee Convenes in Israel
Over 200 wildlife experts from around the world met in Tel Aviv in late August/early September at the 28th meeting of the Animals Committee of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild...
Federal ORCA Act Introduced
On November 6, 2015, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) announced that he would introduce the Orca Responsibility and Care Advancement (ORCA) Act. With eight original cosponsors, the ORCA Act (HR 4019) takes a long-overdue step: it...
Ethical and Ecological Implications of Keeping Fish in Captivity
Fish tanks are ubiquitous—found in doctor’s offices, Chinese restaurants, corporate headquarters, and in millions of homes throughout the world. Some studies report that they reduce anxiety, stress, and blood pressure, calm hyperactive children, and provide...
California Coastal Commission Pours Cold Water on SeaWorld Expansion Plan
On October 8, the California Coastal Commission voted to allow SeaWorld San Diego to build its $100 million expansion of Shamu Stadium, a project known as Blue World, but only under the following conditions: the...