Animals in the Wild
Wildlife face many threats from humans such as harassment, habitat degradation, encroachment and destruction, cruel and irresponsible hunting and trapping, capture and killing for profit, incidental poisoning and vehicle strikes, and culling. The Animal Welfare Institute works to safeguard wild animals and their habitats, and minimize or eliminate the impacts of detrimental human actions. We urge governments and other decision-makers to halt or prevent damaging actions by calling for better enforcement of wildlife protection laws, promoting more severe penalties for wildlife criminals, supporting increased funding for federal land and wildlife management agencies, by advocating humane solutions to human-wildlife conflicts, and by engaging and educating the public.
AWI works to prevent commercial exploitation of threatened and endangered species by fighting poachers, smugglers, and dishonest animal dealers. We are actively involved in monitoring and contesting the international trade in wildlife, including participation in meetings of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to help ensure that international trade in wildlife does not threaten species with extinction.
AWI encourages research into humane, non-lethal wildlife management through the Christine Stevens Wildlife Award, and discourages and opposes methods of managing wildlife that are cruel, unnecessary, and/or are not based on sound science.
Last Updated: August 3, 2010
