Last week, the US Department of Agriculture published a final rule to end the brutal practice of horse soring at Tennessee walking horse shows. The improved regulations, scheduled to take effect on February 1, 2025, entail the most comprehensive upgrade to the Horse Protection Act (HPA) since it was passed in 1970. They eliminate the […]
Animal Welfare Institute
Posted inUS
Refuge from Cruel Trapping Act Reintroduced to Protect Wildlife and Pets from Barbaric Traps and Snares
Washington, DC, August 17, 2023 — The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) endorses the Refuge from Cruel Trapping Act, reintroduced today in the US House of Representatives by Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and Congressional Animal Protection Caucus Co-Chair Earl Blumenauer (D-OR). This bill would prohibit the use of archaic body-gripping traps within the […]
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New Legislation Prioritizes Emergency Preparedness to Help Farm Animals and Taxpayers
Washington, DC, January 10, 2023 —The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and the Humane Farming Association commend today’s introduction of the Emergency and Disaster Preparedness for Farm Animals Act led by Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN). This legislation would enhance the welfare of America’s farm animals by ensuring that producers take appropriate measures to protect livestock from […]
Posted inUS
New Report: Largest Counties Lack Adequate Shelters for Pets of Domestic Violence Victims
Washington, DC, October 3, 2022—In recognition of October asNational Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) has released new research that identifies a lack of sheltering services around the country—including in some of the most populated counties—for pets of domestic violence survivors. Safe havens include humane societies, veterinary offices, foster homes, and shelters […]
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AVERT Future Violence Act Introduced to Further Investigate Link Between Animal Cruelty and Interpersonal Violence
Washington, DC—Time and time again, we learn that individuals who have committed violent acts against others—whether it be a spouse, a parent, or the 21 schoolchildren and teachers gunned down this year in Uvalde, Texas—also have a history of abusing animals. The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is grateful to Reps. Katherine Clark (D-MA), John Katko […]
Posted inEnviro
Deadline Today: Will Nations Lose Access to U.S. Seafood Market?
Washington, DC, November 30, 2021—By today’s deadline, seafood-exporting nations worldwide must have adopted regulations to reduce entanglements of whales, dolphins, and seals in fishing gear or face a US import ban. Under a National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) rule published in 2016, foreign fishing operations must meet the same marine mammal protection standards applied to US fisheries […]
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Report: JBS, Smithfield Worst Slaughter Plants in US
Washington, DC, April 29, 2020—Amid reports of COVID-19 outbreaks at the largest meat processors in the United States, a new analysis of government documents by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) has found that, over a three-year span, JBS USA and Smithfield Foods had the worst animal welfare records among livestock slaughter plants. The Smithfield plant […]
Posted inLife
AWI Releases State Scorecard on Animal Cruelty Reporting
Washington, DC April 3, 2020 – An analysis by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) has found that the majority of states have gotten off to a slow start reporting animal cruelty incidents to the FBI’s national crime database. In 2015, in recognition of the importance of animal cruelty crimes and their effect not only on […]
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Revised USDA Food Label Guidance Continues to Promote Consumer Deception
Washington, DC, Dec. 30, 2019 —Following the release of an updated food labeling guidance document today, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is appalled that the U.S. Department of Agriculture continues to permit producers to mislead the public with confusing and unsubstantiated animal raising claims on meat and poultry packages. The USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection […]
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“Humanely Raised” Thanksgiving Turkey? USDA Ignores Deceptive Welfare Labels
Washington, DC, Nov. 7, 2019 —As families across the country begin planning their Thanksgiving feasts, consumers interested in purchasing higher-welfare or sustainably raised turkeys will be confronted with a slew of misleading labels sanctioned by the USDA. According to a new report by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), “Label Confusion 2.0: How the USDA Allows […]
Posted inEnviro
Americans Overwhelmingly Oppose BLM’s Risky Sterilization Experiments on Wild Horses
Washington, DC, Oct. 15, 2019 – Seventy-seven percent of Americans are opposed to the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM’s) proposed surgical sterilization experiments on wild horses, according to a newly released survey. The survey of more than 2,000 adults was conducted online by The Harris Poll on behalf of the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI). Since […]
Posted inEnviro
New Documentary on Captive Orcas Exposes Brutal Ongoing Trade
Washington, DC, July 22, 2019 – The recent release of “Long Gone Wild,” a riveting documentary revealing the brutal truth about the ongoing trade in wild-caught orcas, highlights the intensifying controversy over confining cetaceans to barren concrete boxes in marine theme parks. Among the experts featured in the film is Dr. Naomi Rose, marine mammal […]
Posted inEnviro
Worldwide Call for G20 ‘International Whaling Intervention’ as Summit Host Japan Launches New Whale Killing Program
Osaka, Japan, June 28, 2019 — Celebrities and animal conservation and welfare NGOs from across the globe are calling for an “international whaling intervention” to be staged at the G20 summit in Osaka as summit host Japan prepares to launch a renewed commercial whaling program1. The program will see Japan openly killing sei, Bryde’s and […]
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Legislators Decry Forest Service Plan to Condemn Wild Horses to Slaughter
Washington, DC, May 6, 2019 — Today, 64 members of Congress sent a bipartisan letter to US Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and US Forest Service Chief Vicki Christiansen objecting to the Forest Service’s impending plan to sell federally protected wild horses without restrictions on slaughter. Last fall, the Forest Service announced that it […]
Posted inEnviro
BLM Drops Wild Horse Sterilization Experiments, Plans to Return Some Horses & Burros to the Range
BURNS, OR, Feb. 19, 2019 – Wild horse advocacy groups are hailing an announcement Friday by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to officially abandon any plans to use mares rounded up from Oregon’s Warm Springs Herd Management Area (HMA) for cruel surgical sterilization experiments. Now the BLM is seeking public comments on its plan […]
Posted inEnviro
Court of Appeals Upholds US Ban on Mexican Seafood Imports to Save Vaquita
WASHINGTON, DC, Nov. 28, 2018 – In a victory for one of Earth’s most endangered marine mammals, a federal court sided with conservationists today and, for the third time, upheld a four-month-old ban on the United States importing Mexican shrimp and other seafood caught with gillnets that drown vaquita porpoises. Rejecting a Trump administration legal […]
Posted inEnviro
Canada Urged to Expand Fisheries Closures to Save North Atlantic Right Whale
OTTAWA, Canada, Nov. 1, 2018 – Wildlife and animal protection groups submitted recommendations today urging Canada’s fishery management agency to continue to expand protections for critically imperiled North Atlantic right whales. Following an unprecedented 12 right whale deaths in Canadian waters in 2017, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) closed key fishing areas in the Gulf […]
Posted inEnviro
Animal Welfare Institute and Farm Sanctuary Sue USDA to Disclose Slaughterhouse Records
New York, Aug. 23, 2018 — The Animal Welfare Institute and Farm Sanctuary sued the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) today for failing to respond to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for department records related to the treatment of animals in US slaughter plants. The lawsuit is based on a 2016 amendment […]
Posted inCalifornia
Despite Overwhelming Support for Marine Mammal Protections, House to Vote on Bill to Expand Sea Lion Killings
WASHINGTON, DC, June 20, 2018 – Americans overwhelmingly support comprehensive protections for marine mammals, according to a new poll commissioned by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), Oceana and the Natural Resources Defense Council. Despite that public endorsement, the US House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on a bill next week that would amend the […]
Posted inLife
Continental Divide: Photo Exhibit Explores Border Wall’s Impact on Wildlife
Washington, DC, June 14, 2018 —A new photo exhibit on Capitol Hill examines how a US-Mexico border wall could cause irreversible damage to human communities and wildlife. The exhibit, running through June 15 in the Russell Rotunda, features images by Krista Schlyer, an award-winning photographer and writer whose work focuses on conservation, biodiversity and public […]