AWI Quarterly » 2011 Spring

Backlit and buoyant, a humpback whale calf glides through sun-dappled waters off the coast of Tonga.

2011 Spring

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.

2011 Spring

The Elephant in the Living Room - Exposing Exotic Pet Ownership in the US

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 wild animals such as lions, tigers, elephants, bears and venomous snakes.

2011 Spring

Bequests

If you would like to help assure AWI’s future through a provision in your will, this general form of bequest is suggested.

2011 Spring

Bones of the Tiger: Protecting the Man-Eaters of Nepal

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.

2011 Spring

Kids & Animals: Drawings from the Hands and Hearts of Children & Youth

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 which young children express how they feel about animals and the natural world.

2011 Spring

Safe Havens Help People and Pets Escape Abuse

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.

2011 Spring

Analyst for Animal Welfare: Mary Lou Randour, Ph.D.

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 would call her opinionated, or even stubborn. Luckily, the times changed and these kinds of people became known as "activists."

2011 Spring

Grim Anniversary: Eighty Years of ADC Act

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 for each one of the millions of coyotes, foxes, wolves, bears, mountain lions, bobcats, badgers, Canada geese, cormorants, black birds and other animals labeled as "pests" who have been killed since this Act came into force.

2011 Spring

Zimbabwe Chooses Dead Animals Over Golden Eggs

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.

2011 Spring

Atlanta Piano Dealer Strikes Wrong Note with Illegal Ivory

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 and given three years probation, with the condition that all imports by the company will be monitored for the duration of the sentence.

2011 Spring

Coyote Kill Quashed in California

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 cost the city $30,000 a year and resulted in the death of 20 coyotes - prompted the council to hold a special "study session" and, ultimately, to terminate the program.

2011 Spring

The Downside of Cuteness

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.

2011 Spring

Reducing Anxiety for Rabbits in Research

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 induce fear and stress responses - and possibly skew research data.

2011 Spring

Industrial Chicken: Sowing Breeds of Despair

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 are stuffed into cramped cages, existing under conditions so stressful they have their beaks mutilated to prevent pecking each other to death.

2011 Spring