Press Releases

This week, the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal Handling and Welfare Review Panel, established in response to the New York Times’ shocking exposé of animal cruelty at the department’s Meat Animal Research Center (MARC)...

Whale meat shipped from Norway to Japan contains levels of harmful pesticides—including aldrin, dieldrin and chlordane—that violate human health standards established by the Japanese government, according to tests conducted by the Japan’s Ministry of Health...

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) welcomes today’s Associated Press (AP) report that Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus will phase out its elephant acts by 2018. All 43 of Ringling’s captive elephants will be...

In an effort to protect the critically endangered vaquita porpoise, the government of Mexico this weekend proposed a two-year ban on the use of gillnets in the northern Gulf of California. The vaquita is found...

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) announced today that it is now accepting grant proposals for the 2015 Christine Stevens Wildlife Awards.

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), in collaboration with Defenders of Wildlife (Defenders), the Red Wolf Coalition (RWC), WildEarth Guardians, Born Free USA, the Endangered Species Coalition, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the National Wolfwatcher...

Today, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced it will officially list Lolita, the lone orca at the Miami Seaquarium, as a member of the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKWs).

The ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®), the Animal Welfare Institute, The Humane Society of the United States, and the Humane Society Legislative Fund applaud the naming of Reps. Mike...

On Thursday, January 29, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) approved two resolutions aimed at abolishing the red wolf recovery program in North Carolina, home to the only wild population of red wolves in...

Humane Deer Management, an organization established by Northern Virginia citizens dedicated to non-lethal control of the region’s deer population,launched the second phase of its “Deer Spay Project” today in Fairfax City, Virginia. A five-year surgical...

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) commends Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring for creating the nation's first Attorney General's "Animal Law" unit, which will serve as a resource for local law enforcement and state agencies...

Zimbabwe is engaged in a heartless heist of baby elephants for sale abroad. Details have been very hard to obtain, and it would seem government officials, aware of the international public backlash, are seeking to...

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) commends Illinois Governor Pat Quinn for his veto of House Bill 4426 (H.B. 4426), which would have established up to a 107-day open season to trap and hunt bobcats in...

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) announced today its new publication entitled “Representing Domestic Violence Survivors with Pets in Colorado: A Manual for Domestic Violence Attorneys & Advocates Helping Survivors Obtain Protection Orders.” Compiled by attorneys...

On Saturday, Congress approved its Fiscal Year 2015 $1.1 trillion spending bill. Within the 1,603-page piece of legislation, which will fund the federal government through September 30, 2015, federal lawmakers included provisions that can be...

On the day before Mexico’s National Day of Conservation, conservation groups are calling on the Mexican government to enact forceful protective measures to save the critically endangered vaquita, a tiny porpoise species that only inhabits...

A coalition of animal protection and conservation groups and a local Mendocino resident filed a lawsuit against Mendocino County today in the Superior Court of California, County of Mendocino, for violating the California Environmental Quality...

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) announced today its new publication entitled “Representing Domestic Violence Survivors with Pets in the District of Columbia, Maryland & Virginia: A Manual for Domestic Violence Attorneys & Advocates Helping Survivors...

The US District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina approved a settlement agreement today between the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), Defenders of Wildlife (Defenders), the Red Wolf Coalition (RWC) and the North Carolina...

The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) welcomes the action taken by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in filing a second complaint against one of the world’s largest research antibody suppliers, Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Inc. (SCBT)...