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When a hunter shoots a deer, elk, or other animal with lead ammunition, the damage extends far beyond the target. Upon impact, the bullet splinters into tiny fragments that scatter throughout the body. Many of these particles are so small they are not detectable even by X-ray, and they are impossible to completely remove from
The ability of individuals to move among habitat patches and disperse to other locations is fundamental to population connectivity. Without such mobility, gene flow between populations is reduced or eliminated. When populations colonize new habitats, such as in urban areas, they can become isolated from the original population. In urban areas, dispersal and migration may
On December 2, AWI bestowed the Clark R. Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Award on eight recipients at the 20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP20) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The award—launched in 1994 and named in honor of the late chief of
This past October, in Kingston, Jamaica, AWI participated in the biennial meetings for the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region. This international treaty—adopted in 1983 in Cartagena, Columbia, and commonly known as the “Cartagena Convention”—is dedicated to the protection and sustainable use of the Wider Caribbean
The 2013 documentary Blackfish told the story of Tilikum, an adult male orca who killed his trainer, Dawn Brancheau, in February 2010 at SeaWorld Orlando. In response to this incident, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited SeaWorld for a willful violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act’s “General Duty Clause” (GDC), which requires employers
AWI Scholarship recipient Madison Kossow founded Mission Mutt Dog Rescue to tackle the pet overpopulation crisis one pup at a time. For Madison Kossow, the greatest benefit of attending virtual high school during the COVID-19 pandemic was that the less demanding schedule freed up her time to foster more than 30 cats, dogs, and rabbits.
AWI recently released new and improved versions of A Consumer’s Guide to Food Labels and Animal Welfare to help compassionate consumers purchase more humane food options. This guide includes definitions, and the animal welfare implications, of some of the most common labels applied to dairy, egg, meat, and poultry products. For those who wish to have something
Imagine not being able to lift your head for hours on end in a moving vehicle. For horses forced to travel in double-deck trailers, this is the reality. While experts agree that the proper ceiling height for horse trailers is 7–8 feet, double-deck trailers, which are designed to transport shorter livestock such as cattle and
The horse-drawn carriages in Central Park have long been a flashpoint in New York City, with some regarding them as a romantic tourist attraction and others viewing them as relics of the past that are harmful to the horses themselves. Indeed, in today’s urban areas, horses who pull carriages face a host of health and
The US Department of Agriculture’s long history of ineffective Animal Welfare Act (AWA) enforcement against noncompliant breeders, dealers, exhibitors, and research facilities appears to have reached a new low. AWI has analyzed extensive enforcement data and, in a recently published report, Trends in Animal Welfare Act Enforcement, presents evidence that a recent US Supreme Court decision
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
Experiments on animals (“in vivo” experiments) have long been the norm for learning about human health and disease, because testing on live animals enables researchers to investigate how chemicals, drugs, and disease affect a whole body, including the complex interactions between organs, tissues, and other biological systems. However, there are both ethical and scientific concerns
Every year, hundreds of millions of farmed animals are shipped across the United States to breeding, feeding, and slaughter facilities—transport that represents one of the most stressful experiences in a farmed animal’s life. AWI research, chronicled in the newly published second edition of our report Farmed Animals in Transport: The Twenty-Eight Hour Law, indicates that a
In March, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) sought public comment on the Makah Tribe’s request for a permit under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) to hunt gray whales off the Washington coast. This is the final step in the government’s decades-long effort to allow the Tribe to resume whaling after nearly a hundred-year
American pikas (Ochotona princeps) are small, adorable mammals found throughout the mountains of western North America. They have gained public attention and are a species of conservation concern due to a rapidly changing climate and their sensitivity to high temperatures. A proposal to list the species under the Endangered Species Act was denied by the
Hard facts: According to the National Park Service, 2 million large wild animals are struck by vehicles on America’s roads every year. About 440 people are killed in these collisions, as well, and another 59,000 injured. The annual price tag runs about $10 billion. Each incident is a needless, preventable tragedy. What’s more, the wildlife
Snares are ubiquitous around the world and are emptying our forests, meadows, wetlands, savannas, jungles, grasslands, and other habitats of wildlife, with particularly devastating effects in Africa. They are inexpensive and easy to fashion from wire, rope, or a variety of other ordinary materials. They are indiscriminate and cruel—catching target or nontarget species alike and
In the shadowy corners of the multibillion-dollar global wildlife industry, a quiet but flourishing market is often overlooked. As media and regulatory attention focuses primarily on illegal and unsustainable trade in high-profile wild animal species, parts, and products (e.g., live parrots, elephant ivory, and tiger bone pharmaceuticals), millions of live and dead invertebrates are also
The Good: Plans to Reduce Animal Experimentation On April 10, the US Food and Drug Administration announced it would phase out animal testing for certain drug studies. The agency published a roadmap that outlines a six-prong approach to reducing toxicity testing in animals over the next three years and six scientific and technical steps for
Scientists and philosophers call it the “meat paradox”—a type of cognitive dissonance that can occur among people who want to eat meat but not kill animals. The unfortunate reality, however, is that every meat and poultry product on grocery store shelves comes from a sentient individual who was slaughtered for food—nearly 10 billion of them