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Latest News
Groups Seek Injunction to Halt Slaughter of Endangered Red Wolves
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
A motion for a preliminary injunction to stop the unlawful killing of highly endangered red wolves caused by hunting in the Red Wolf Recovery area in North Carolina was filed on Monday, December 16, 2013...
Groups Seek Regulations for Humane Handling of Birds at Slaughter
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Today, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and Farm Sanctuary, working with the Animal Law Clinic at Lewis & Clark Law School, petitioned the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to develop regulations governing the...
Lawsuit Seeks to Reduce Harm to Whales, Dolphins from Navy Sonar in Pacific
Monday, December 16, 2013
A lawsuit filed in Hawai‘i federal court today challenges the National Marine Fisheries Service’s approval of a five-year plan by the US Navy for testing and training activities off Hawai‘i and Southern California. The Navy...
Petition Seeks to Reform Secretive Federal Agency that Kills Millions of Wild Animals
Tuesday, December 03, 2013
The Animal Welfare Institute, Center for Biological Diversity, and Project Coyote petitioned the Obama administration today to reform the federal wildlife-killing program known as “Wildlife Services,” which kills nearly 1.5 million coyotes, bears, otters, foxes...
AWI Seeks Emergency Protection for World's Smallest Sloth
Friday, November 15, 2013
AWI today filed an emergency petition to list the pygmy three-toed sloth (Bradypus pygmaeus) as endangered under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA). Endemic to Panama’s Isla Escudo de Veraguas, the pygmy sloth—the world’s smallest...
Judge Allows Horse Slaughter to Resume in U.S. While Serious Concerns of Safety and Cruelty Remain
Monday, November 04, 2013
The Animal Welfare Institute is deeply disappointed that a US District Judge has allowed for the resumption of horse slaughter in the United States for the first time since plants in Illinois and Texas were...
Groups Seek to Protect Endangered Red Wolves in Recovery Area from Deadly Mistaken Identity
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Conservation organizations today challenged North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission’s authorization of coyote hunting—including by spotlight at night—in the five county area of eastern North Carolina inhabited by the world’s only wild population of about 100...
Statement on Georgia Aquarium Appeal of NMFS Permit Denial
Monday, September 30, 2013
Today, Georgia Aquarium filed a complaint in a federal district court in Georgia appealing the decision made by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to deny a permit application to import 18 wild-caught beluga whales...
Indiana Coyote Penning Investigation Uncovers Brutal Practices and Illegal Activity
Thursday, September 05, 2013
Today, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), Project Coyote, and the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) released the results of an investigation of an Indiana “penning” facility, uncovering extreme animal suffering and providing strong evidence that...
National Marine Fisheries Service Denies Permit to Import 18 Wild-Caught Beluga Whales from Russia
Tuesday, August 06, 2013
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is pleased to report that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has denied a permit application by the Georgia Aquarium to import 18 wild-caught beluga whales from Russia for the...
Bipartisan Bill Aims to Halt Cruel Form of Horse Transport
Tuesday, August 06, 2013
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) welcomes the reintroduction of S. 1459, the Horse Transportation Safety Act of 2013, by Senators Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ). The bill, which prohibits the hauling of horses...
Governor Quinn of Illinois Signs Bill to Curb Tethering Abuses
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
he Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is pleased to announce that Governor Quinn has signed into law new rules to provide that certain requirements must be met in order for an owner to lawfully tether a...
Bill Takes Aim at Dealer System That Is "an Unmitigated Disaster"
Thursday, July 11, 2013
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) welcomes the reintroduction by Reps. Mike Doyle (D-PA) and Chris Smith (R-NJ) of the Pet Safety and Protection Act (H.R. 2224). In order to protect companion animals from illegal sale...
Animal Welfare Groups, New Mexico Leaders Appalled by USDA's Decision to Process Application for Horse Slaughter Plant Inspections
Friday, June 28, 2013
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), The ASPCA®(The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®), and Animal Protection of New Mexico are dismayed over the US Department of Agriculture’s recent decision to approve an...
AWI Honors Journalist Tom Knudson with the Schweitzer Medal
Thursday, June 27, 2013
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) has awarded journalist Tom Knudson of the Sacramento Bee with the Schweitzer Medal for his outstanding investigative journalism and commitment to both thorough research and candor in writing and publishing...
Iceland Resumes Killing of Endangered Fin Whales
Monday, June 17, 2013
Icelandic media are reporting that the Icelandic whaling company Hvalur hf killed an endangered fin whale Monday in defiance of the international ban on commercial whaling. The whale was killed some 150 nautical miles off...
USFWS Proposes to List All Chimpanzees as Endangered
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) today announced a proposed rule to classify both wild and captive chimpanzees as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Currently, only wild chimpanzees are listed as endangered...
National Academy Report Finds Serious Fault with BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Management Program
Wednesday, June 05, 2013
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) welcomes a new report by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) that clearly indicates the need for a major overhaul in the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) wild horse and...
AWI Petitions USDA to Make Slaughter More Humane
Tuesday, June 04, 2013
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) has submitted a petition to the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) requesting that the agency write regulations designed to decrease the needless suffering of animals during slaughter. AWI...
AWI'S Rally for Whales in Portland, ME
Monday, June 03, 2013
The Animal Welfare Institute and other US animal protection and conservation groups organized a rally in Portland, Maine, on May 31, 2013, to protest Iceland’s expanding commercial whaling program. The rally coincided with Maine’s International...