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Latest News
AWI Statement: Fiscal Year 2018 Spending Bill a Win for Animals
Friday, March 23, 2018
The Fiscal Year 2018 omnibus appropriations bill was signed today by President Trump. “We thank animal champions in Congress for their crucial work on this bill,” said Nancy Blaney, Animal Welfare Institute director of government...
Lawsuit Demands Ban on Mexican Shrimp, Other Seafood to Save Vanishing Porpoise
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Conservation groups sued the Trump administration today for failing to follow federal law and ban shrimp and other seafood imported from Mexico’s Upper Gulf of California and harvested with gillnets that drown the vaquita porpoise.
AWI Joins 95 Organizations Urging Canada to Close Domestic Elephant Ivory Trade
Friday, March 16, 2018
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) joined 95 Canadian and international conservationists, scientists, politicians and animal welfare organizations in a letter sent to the Canadian government this week urging the closure of Canada’s domestic elephant ivory...
AWI Statement: USDA Withdrawal of Organic Rule Leaves Millions of Farm Animals Vulnerable
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) finalized plans this week to withdraw the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices rule. The rule would have improved the lives of millions of animals raised under the Certified Organic...
AWI Issues Second Letter to Trump, Urging End to Trophy Imports of African Species
Thursday, March 08, 2018
In a letter issued today to President Donald Trump, Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) president Cathy Liss advocated for a permanent ban on imports of trophies of elephants and other imperiled species from African nations. Today’s...
AWI Statement: Iowa Gov. Reynolds Should Veto Legislation that Harms Business Owners, Egg-Laying Hens
Tuesday, March 06, 2018
The Iowa State Senate has now passed HF 2408, a bill that would force grocery stores to sell eggs from hens packed into cages so densely crowded they can barely move. Since the House already...
AWI Statement: SeaWorld CEO Joel Manby Departure Should Not Derail Company’s Progress
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Inc., announced today the resignation of CEO Joel Manby. The announcement came with the release of the company’s fourth quarter and fiscal 2017 results, which showed a loss of $20.4 million...
AWI’s Dr. Naomi Rose, Other Experts File Amicus Brief in Support of Lolita
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
A group of marine researchers and scientists, including Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) marine mammal scientist Dr. Naomi Rose, filed an amicus brief today in defense of Lolita, the lone orca who has languished for over...
240+ Conservation Groups Urge Lawmakers to Reject Anti-Wildlife Riders
Wednesday, February 07, 2018
More than 240 environmental, animal welfare and conservation organizations sent a letter to House and Senate leadership today, calling on them to reject riders in Fiscal Year 2018 Interior Department and Environmental Protection Agency appropriations...
AWI Statement: USDA Rejection of Line Speed Petition Still Leaves Chickens Vulnerable at Slaughter
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Following a comment period that produced over 100,000 comments, the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced late yesterday its rejection of a petition submitted by the National Chicken Council to...
AWI Urges House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy to Advance Animal Welfare Legislation
Monday, January 29, 2018
In a letter issued today to US House of Representatives Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) urged the Majority Leader to advance animal welfare legislation in the House.
Organizations Call on Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) to Improve Standards
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
Sixty-six marine conservation organizations, animal protection organizations, and leading academics recently issued a joint letter to Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) chair Werner Kiene, criticizing the MSC for its failure to improve the label’s Principle 2...
Animal Welfare Groups Warn Proposed Slaughter Rule Would Prompt Pig Abuse
Monday, January 22, 2018
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), and Mercy For Animals (MFA) condemn the USDA’s plan, released last week, to allow pig slaughterhouses to kill pigs...
AWI Applauds Members of Congress for Opposing Trophy Hunting Council
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) commends 38 members of Congress for signing on to a letter to Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke requesting that the Department of Interior (DOI) not establish a council to promote...
AWI Urges Department of Interior to Halt Plan to Weaken Migratory Bird Protections
Thursday, January 11, 2018
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) sent a letter to Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke today requesting that the Department of Interior (DOI) halt its plan to eliminate certain protections for migratory birds.
AWI Statement: Florida’s Exemption from Offshore Drilling Still Leaves Marine Life Vulnerable
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
Following bipartisan outcry from elected officials and concerned Florida residents, Department of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced Tuesday that Florida is no longer among the states that will be opened to oil and gas drilling...
Lawsuit Seeks to Uncover Why Government Is Allowing SeaWorld to Hide Orca Necropsies
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) filed a lawsuit this week against the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) related to the agencies’ refusal to enforce requirements for SeaWorld Parks...
AWI Statement: Offshore Drilling Proposal Would Jeopardize Marine Life
Friday, January 05, 2018
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) joins the growing number of citizens and elected officials from both parties in staunch opposition to the US Department of the Interior’s proposed plan to open and expand offshore drilling...
Lawsuit Targets Trump Administration's Failure to Act to Save Vanishing Porpoises
Thursday, December 21, 2017
Conservation groups filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration today for failing to respond to their emergency request to ban certain seafood imports from Mexico’s Gulf of California in order to save the critically endangered...
New Report Highlights Valuable Ecological Services Provided by Whales
Tuesday, December 19, 2017
A new report, released to the public today, reveals the enormous ecological benefits that whales and other cetaceans provide to the environment. The report is the product of a workshop, conducted during the July 2017...