For media information or interview opportunities regarding the Animal Welfare Institute, please contact:
Public Relations Manager
Animal Welfare Institute
(202) 337-2332
[email protected]
Need an Expert?
AWI offers a number of experts that specialize in various topics across the animal welfare arena; a list can be seen here. If you are interested in speaking with one of our experts, please contact AWI at [email protected] or (202) 337-2332.
Follow us on Social Media
Follow AWI on Facebook, on Instagram (@awionline), and on Twitter (@AWIonline) for updates from AWI. Subscribe to AWI’s YouTube channel
Latest News
AWI Will Defend Federal Denial of Permit to Import 18 Wild-Caught Beluga Whales from Russia
Monday, April 21, 2014
A federal district court in Georgia last Friday granted a request to intervene filed by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), Cetacean Society International, and Earth Island Institute in a lawsuit...
Federal Appeals Court Denies SeaWorld's Attempt to Skirt Safety Rules
Friday, April 11, 2014
The Animal Welfare Institute is pleased to report that a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District Of Columbia Circuit today denied SeaWorld of Florida’s petition for review of the citation...
Legislators Reintroduce Legislation to End Cruel Method of Horse Transport
Wednesday, April 09, 2014
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) welcomes the reintroduction of the Horse Transportation Safety Act of 2014, by Representatives Steve Cohen (D-TN) and Ed Whitfield (R-KY). The bill, which prohibits the hauling of horses on livestock...
Naomi Rose's Response to the April 8th Hearing on AB2140
Tuesday, April 08, 2014
Naomi Rose, Marine Mammal Scientist for the Animal Welfare Institute, issued the following statement in response to today's hearing on AB 2140, regarding orca captivity: "We are pleased to see that the committee will further...
Wildlife Groups to Sue over Endangered Jaguar Protections
Monday, April 07, 2014
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and WildEarth Guardians (Guardians) are suing USDA’s Wildlife Services program due to its lethal wildlife management activities, which violate the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Western Environmental Law Center (WELC)...
US Imposes Diplomatic Sanctions for Icelandic Whaling, Falls Short of Trade Sanctions
Tuesday, April 01, 2014
Yesterday, President Obama announced that the United States will not impose targeted trade sanctions to address Iceland’s commercial whaling, although the President has revised and repackaged a series of diplomatic measures that US officials will...
AWI Statement in Response to Ruling by International Court of Justice in Australia V. Japan
Monday, March 31, 2014
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) commends the decision made by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in Australia’s challenge to Japan’s scientific whaling program conducted in the Antarctic (known as JARPA II). In its ruling...
High Liner Foods Says "No" to Icelandic Whaling
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
As the largest seafood trade event in North America—Seafood Expo North America—concludes in Boston, members of the Whales Need US (WNUS) coalition are pleased to announce that a leading North American seafood company, High Liner...
Whale Advocates Warn Seafood Expo Participants - Beware of Whalers in your Midst
Monday, March 17, 2014
As the Seafood Expo North America opens at the Boston Convention Center (March 16–18) animal protection and conservation organizations are warning the tens of thousands of international participants—from suppliers of seafood products and services to...
Long Island Deer Win Reprieve as Judge Puts Temporary Hold on Planned Cull
Monday, March 10, 2014
A state court judge in New York issued a temporary injunction on Thursday to prevent new permits from being issued to kill deer as part of the Long Island Deer Cull Project—one of the largest...
Landmark Legislation Introduced in California to Ban Orca Captivity
Friday, March 07, 2014
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) applauds California Assemblymember Richard Bloom (D-Santa Monica) for his introduction today of a bill (AB 2140) to end orca captivity in California. The Orca Welfare and Safety Act, as the...
AWI Criticizes Chicken Industry's Revised Animal Care Standards
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
On February 12, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) sent a letter to Mike Brown, president of the National Chicken Council (NCC), condemning the trade association’s new guidelines for the humane treatment of the 9 billion...
Ivory Trade Ban Essential to Save Elephants
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
As world leaders gather in London on February 13 to attend a summit—hosted by UK Prime Minister David Cameron and attended by Prince Charles and Prince William—to confront the escalating poaching crisis decimating the world’s...
US Declares Iceland in Defiance of Global Trade Ban on Whale Products
Thursday, February 06, 2014
Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell issued a formal declaration that Iceland is undermining the effectiveness of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and its prohibition on international...
AWI Tells USDA that Long Island White-Tailed Deer Cull Violates Federal Law
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) put the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) on notice Friday that the organization plans to take legal action regarding serious violations of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in connection...
Navy Training and Testing Activities Imperil Marine Mammals and Sea Turtles in Waters off Hawaii and Southern California
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Today, a coalition of conservation groups, represented by Earthjustice, amended their complaint in a case filed in Hawai‘i federal court last month that challenges a 5-year plan by the US Navy for testing and training...
Congress Reinstates Annual Ban on Horse Slaughter
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) commends the US Congress for wisely reinstating the annual ban on the slaughtering of horses in its Fiscal Year 2014 Omnibus Appropriations Act released late last night. The language, identical...
AWI Seeks to Defend NMFS Decision to Deny Beluga Import
Wednesday, January 08, 2014
The Animal Welfare Institute, Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Whale and Dolphin Conservation North America, Earth Island Institute, and Cetacean Society International have filed a motion to intervene in defense of the National Marine Fisheries Service’s...
Iceland to Ship Whale Meat to Japan via Norway
Wednesday, January 08, 2014
Documents obtained by the Washington DC-based Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) show that Norway has begun to play a key role in Iceland's massive exports of whale meat to Japan in defiance of international agreements. Iceland—which...
Conservationists Sue to Stop Wolf and Coyote Killing Contest on Public Lands
Monday, December 23, 2013
Pocatell, ID – Today a coalition of conservation organizations sued the U.S. Forest Service for failure to require permits and environmental impacts analysis for the advertised "Coyote and Wolf Derby" in Salmon, Idaho, December 28...