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On any given day, you’ll find Nancy Blaney, AWI’s director of government affairs, sprinting through the halls of Congress, camped out at a committee hearing, and/or intercepting a potential ally at a reception to bend an ear. It’s never been an easy job. Early in her career, Nancy traveled to her home state of Pennsylvania
AWI’s work to protect animals and their environment couldn’t be accomplished without our supporters and the advocates whose calls to policymakers and legislators reinforce our work. Even as we seek to counter unprecedented efforts to erode federal protections for animals in the United States, we also look to maintain progress on a global scale.
Now in its sixth year, the AWI scholarship continues to recognize and invest in high school seniors across the United States who are deeply committed to improving the lives of animals both now and in their future careers. From a highly competitive pool, 12 students were selected to each receive a $3,000 scholarship. The awards
For animals and those who care about their welfare, the outlook in our nation’s capital is bleak. In January, the second Trump administration and majority leadership in the 119th Congress assumed office with the stated objectives of dismantling many federal agencies and programs, including those responsible for protecting and regulating the treatment of animals, and of
It was a chaotic first few months for the 119th Congress, as lawmakers attempted to pass spending bills to avert a government shutdown while the Trump administration began moving to cut staff and funds for agencies that administer critical programs. Congress passed several temporary funding measures for the 2025 fiscal year, which began October 1, 2024,
Eight years ago at this time, we waited to see how the incoming Trump administration would handle issues of animal welfare. What unfolded over the next four years proved to be largely disastrous for animals and the environment, both in the United States and across the world. During that time, bedrock laws, including the Endangered
Now through March 16, 2025, high school seniors who are passionate about improving the lives of animals and want to continue making a positive impact through college and beyond can apply for an Animal Welfare Institute Scholarship. Winners will receive $3,000 in scholarship funds, which can be used for tuition, room and board on campus,
AWI is pleased to announce the recipients of this year’s AWI Scholarship, helping students pursue career opportunities focused on improving animal welfare: Read more information on the AWI Scholarship.
For the upcoming fiscal year, beginning October 1, AWI provided members of Congress with a list of priorities covering the welfare of companion animals, farmed animals, marine mammals, and other wildlife. We also submitted testimony to the House and Senate appropriations committees and circulated lawmaker sign-on letters to the committees on important animal welfare issues.
Congress has made little progress on finalizing fiscal year 2022 spending bills—an unfortunate circumstance given that many of them include important provisions that would benefit animals. The House agriculture appropriations bill provides funds to assist with housing domestic violence survivors and their companion animals, continues bans on licensing dealers who sell random source dogs and
The various contributors to the seventeen chapters of Animal Cruelty: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Understanding address all critical aspects of the subject: history, related legislation, special types of cruelty, its link to other types of violence and crime, theories used to explain animal cruelty, the role of the media, and emerging issues. The breadth and depth of
Investigations of animal fighting, hoarding, puppy mills, and other cases of animal abuse unveil instances of the most shocking brutality. The length and extent of the torture these animals endure is difficult to imagine…. Thankfully, there are people like our award recipients who show us every day that we’re also capable of great compassion, and
I was in high school when John Gleiber met AWI’s founding president, Christine Stevens, at a dinner party. Christine invited John to her home the next day. It was 1975 and John was offered a job over tea. He became one of an intimate group of employees who worked diligently in the basement of Christine’s
The federal government, in the last few years, has increased coverage of and penalties for animal fighting activities under the Animal Welfare Act, but it is still lacking in one area: the spectator. Spectators are not innocent bystanders; they are active participants in and enablers of these bloody criminal enterprises and should be treated accordingly.
While we humans on the whole have yet to acknowledge our moral obligation to other species and to behave accordingly, there is some evidence that the idea of such a moral obligation is gaining a foothold in our collective conscience. With that comes the need for a forum in which to define and discuss animal ethics. The
“The Animal Welfare Institute has been established by a group of persons interested in the humane treatment of all animals.” Those were the first words to grace Vol. 1 No. 1 of AWI’s Information Report—a publication launched in 1951 to announce the organization’s formation and report on its efforts to improve animal welfare. Chief among that
The Humane Education Network’s 20th annual “A Voice for Animals” high school essay contest runs February 1 through March 31. The contest gives students the opportunity to express concerns about animal welfare and present solutions. Co-sponsored in part by the Animal Welfare Institute and the Palo Alto Humane Society, prizes totaling $6,500 will be awarded for
The topic of empathy is certainly timely given the conflicts of our modern world. In The Age of Empathy: Nature’s Lessons for a Kinder Society, Frans de Waal asks us to consider the role of empathy in political and social issues ranging from Hurricane Katrina to the global economic crisis. Conservative politicians and businessmen have sometimes
The very title of Andrew Linzey’s book is likely to evoke an emotional response, but Why Animal Suffering Matters: Philosophy, Theology, and Practical Ethics makes a rational, ethics-based case for treating animals humanely. With well-supported arguments, it debunks the twin ideas that emotion is all there is to support the proposition that animal suffering is wrong, and
On June 28, the animal welfare community lost a stalwart friend when Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia, America’s longest serving senator, died at the age of 92. Byrd was a fierce advocate for animal protection legislation and was well known for his forceful oratory on the subject of compassion to animals. Byrd’s legislative