Spring 2011

Volume
60
Number
2
Spring 2011 AWI Quarterly Cover - Photo by Scott Portelli
About the Cover

Backlit and buoyant, a humpback whale calf glides through sun-dappled waters off the coast of Tonga. The young calf and his mother will stay here during the austral winter and spring months. Come summer, they’ll head for feeding grounds along the Antarctic coast. Slow swimmers who hug the shoreline, humpbacks proved easy targets for commercial whalers in the early 20th century and were hunted nearly to extinction. In 1966 the International Whaling Commission imposed a ban on commercial hunts of these whales, though they are still hunted by aboriginal communities.

Two articles in this issue speak to the future of the oceans' whales. The first, on page 6, offers one woman's view on differing cultural perspectives regarding whales and dolphins. The other, on page 10, discusses the US government’s responsibility to impose trade sanctions on Iceland for whaling and trading whale products in defiance of international law.

Photo by Scott Portelli

Table of Contents

Animals in Laboratories

It’s happened yet again, just as we predicted. Another USDA-licensed Class B dealer operation has been indicted by the federal government following a two-year investigation into purported illegal activities.
Rabbits can be affectionate companions. They are not, however, naturally predisposed to feel at ease around humans. In a laboratory setting, in particular, being approached and subsequently scruffed by an unfamiliar human is likely to...

Companion Animals

Her parents told her that they noticed it about her when she was quite young - around four years old. They characterized their observation this way: "We should have bought you a soap box." Some...
A recent archeological discovery supports the notion that humans have considered dogs part of the family - in life and in death - for a very long time. The respectful manner in which a Husky-like...
At times it may seem difficult to locate the "win/win" in a situation. Not so when it comes to recognizing the link between animal abuse and domestic violence - and using it to combat both.

Farmed Animals

The number of beef and dairy cattle exported from the U.S. in 2010 to countries other than Canada and Mexico more than quadrupled over the previous year. Live animal exports are up dramatically, especially cattle...
A lot of pigs live in Duplin County, North Carolina - nearly 2.3 million according to the USDA’s 2007 Census of Agriculture, more than any other county in the U.S. (and more than the entire...
Industrial chicken farming - whether for meat or egg production - is notoriously inhumane. Chickens raised for meat live in crowded, windowless barns, induced into a state of semi-torpor, while those raised to lay eggs...
A growing number of people, organizations, and corporations all over the world are designating a meat-free day each week in an effort to cut overall meat consumption.

Humane Education

As a teacher , I am always looking for lessons I can teach that have a purpose. I want my students to work in real-life situations and solve real-live problems as much as possible.
Animal behavior expert Marc Bekoff, in partnership with Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots program and the Children, Youth and Environments Center at the University of Colorado Denver, has produced a colorful new online book in...

Marine Life

by Mariko Terasaki Large-scale commercial whaling began in the 17 th century for Western countries such as the US, UK, and the Netherlands. According to Paul Greenberg, the author of Four Fish , “if you...
An unusually large number of young bottlenose dolphins have stranded along shores of the Gulf of Mexico in recent months, and last April’s catastrophic blowout of BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig is being eyed as...
Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network is a nonprofit group of volunteers in the Pacific Northwest trained by NOAA.
A powerful U.S. law allows the president to impose trade sanctions on nations whose citizens undermine conservation agreements.

Terrestrial Wildlife

The owner of an Atlanta piano import/export company was sentenced in March for illegally smuggling internationally protected elephant ivory into the U.S. Pascal Vieillard and his company, A-440 Pianos, were each ordered to pay $17,500...
In January, the City Council of Arcadia, California voted unanimously to cancel a contract with a private wildlife removal firm to snare and kill coyotes within the city. Public outcry against the contract - which...
The Animal Damage Control Act (ADC Act) was signed into law in 1931. The 80th anniversary of its passage this past March was hardly a cause for celebration; rather, it is an anniversary of mourning...
A major spill of heavy fuel oil from a wrecked freighter has fouled the waters surrounding one of the world’s most important bird nesting sites on a remote South Atlantic island. On March 16, the...
The goggle-eyed, photogenic slow loris is paying a high price for its comical and cuddly appearance; people want to get their hands on one.
The Zimbabwe National Wildlife Authority, in March, auctioned off sport hunting packages for big game to local and foreign hunters. The packages include rights to kill elephants, lions, hippos and leopards.

Government Affairs

On March 11, AWI Senior Federal Policy Advisor Nancy Blaney testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies in favor of continued funding for the Department of Justice’s National Animal...
Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) reintroduced the Preservation of Antibiotics for Medical Treatment Act (PAMTA), H.R. 965 on March 9.
The fight to extend or deny protections for animals takes place in state capitals as well as on Capitol Hill. The high-profile confrontation this year is in Missouri - again. Last year, Missouri voters approved...
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) - citing grave concern over the devastating effect white-nose syndrome (WNS) has had on hibernating bats in New Jersey and across the U.S. - introduced S. 357, the Wildlife Disease Emergency...

AWI Special Event

"The Animal Welfare Institute has been established by a group of persons interested in the humane treatment of all animals." Those were the first words to grace Vol. 1 No. 1 of AWI’s Information Report...

Reviews

Hemanta Mishra, a field biologist with the Nepalese government, offers an extraordinarily detailed account of against-the-odds efforts to save the tigers of Nepal.
The Elephant in the Living Room is a compelling documentary that examines the little-known yet widespread problem of exotic pet ownership in the U.S. - in particular the practice of making pets out of dangerous...

com

"The most horrible sound you’ll ever hear." That’s how Kristi Gatt described the howl of pain and terror her dog made when a steel-jaw leghold trap clamped down on her paw in North Carolina’s Croatan...