AWI Quarterly » 2012 Winter

2011 was a grim year for rhinos. In November, the International Union for Conservation of Nature declared Africa’s western black rhino officially extinct, and indicated that the northern white rhino is "possibly extinct," as well.

For the first time in six years, Congress has opened the doors to restarting horse slaughter in the U.S. The bill to fund the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the rest of FY 2012 was stripped of language prohibiting USDA inspections of plants that slaughter horses for human consumption.

Iceland is a study in contrasts. Known as the "land of fire and ice," its lava fields, glaciers and craggy, mountain-ringed fjords make the country one of the top eco-tourism destinations in the world.

"Most current use of chimpanzees for biomedical research is unnecessary," according to a landmark Institute of Medicine report titled Chimpanzees in Biomedical and Behavioral Research: Assessing the Necessity.

In mid-December, the advocacy group, WildEarth Guardians, settled a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought in federal court against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to obtain reports related to the aerial killing of wildlife.

Albert Schweitzer once said, “... all of us must feel the horror that lies in thoughtless torturing and killing.” In November, at the Hill Center in Washington, D.C., AWI awarded the Albert Schweitzer Medal to three state prosecutors who not only feel the horror, but aggressively confront those responsible - meting out justice to individuals who cause animals to suffer via acts of willful maliciousness, severe neglect, or the more organized and systematic brutality of animal fighting.