AWI Newsroom
For media information regarding the Animal Welfare Institute or interview opportunities with one of our experts, please contact:
Kim Meneo, Animal Welfare Institute
kim@awionline.org, (202) 446-2116
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Farm Bill Passes House in a Missed Opportunity to Help Animals
Today, the House of Representatives voted 224-200 to pass the Farm Bill—the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 (H.R. 7567). In addition to continuing to utilize taxpayer dollars...
AWI Grant Helping to Expand Resources for Domestic Violence Survivors and Their Pets in Illinois
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is pleased to announce Oasis Women’s Center as the recipient of its 2026 Safe Havens for Pets Desert Grant to expand sheltering resources for the pets of...
AWI Awards Eight Refinement Grants to Improve the Welfare of Animals in Laboratories
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) today recognizes eight Refinement Research Award and Implementing Refinement Grant recipients who are working to improve the lives of animals used in laboratories across the...
New Colorado Bill Protects Beavers to Reduce Wildfire, Drought Risks
Conservation groups joined Colorado state lawmakers Representative Lindsay, Representative Velasco, Senator Kipp, and Senator Cutter last week to introduce House Bill 26-1323, a first-of-its-kind measure that would protect beavers on...
House Ag Committee Advances Farm Bill: Companion Animals Fare Better than Horses and Farmed Animals
This week, following deliberations over the course of two days, the House Committee on Agriculture voted to advance its version of the Farm Bill—H.R. 7567, the Farm, Food, and National...
Trump Administration Signals Potential Rollback of Lifesaving Protections for Critically Endangered North Atlantic Right Whale
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) today expressed deep concern following the publication of a Federal Register notice indicating that the Trump administration is considering weakening the 2008 vessel speed rule, one of the...
Colorado Bill Would Phase Out Heatstroke as a Poultry Depopulation Method
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) welcomes yesterday’s introduction of the Modernizing Depopulation Act in the Colorado General Assembly. The bill would establish Colorado as the first state to phase out...
Mexico’s Proposed New Regulations May Doom the Vaquita Porpoise to Extinction
Mexico is on the brink of publishing new rules that will significantly weaken protections for the vaquita porpoise—the world’s most endangered cetacean—potentially leading to the extinction of the species. The...
Illinois Bill Introduced to Protect Public Health from Disease Risks on Fur Farms
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) lauds today’s filing of the Finding Urgent Relief from Vectors for Infection Risk and Unchecked Spillover (FUR VIRUS) Act in Illinois, which would implement crucial...
AWI Celebrates 2025 Wins for Animals
With 2025 drawing to a close, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is celebrating some of the year’s most significant steps forward for animal welfare—wins that are making a real difference...
387,000+ Public Comments Submitted in Defense of Endangered Species Act
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and 29 other conservation groups facilitated the submission of more than 387,000 public comments to the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine...
International Wildlife Trade Conference Secures Essential Protections for Imperiled Species
The international wildlife trade is a multibillion-dollar industry that impacts hundreds of millions of plants and animals. It is often fueled by unsustainable demand for imperiled species and their body...
AWI Recognizes Eight Wildlife Defenders with Prestigious Clark R. Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Award
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), in coordination with the Species Survival Network (SSN), today recognized eight recipients across three continents with the Clark R. Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Award for going...
Trump Administration’s Proposed Regulations Would Gut the Endangered Species Act—Again
Yesterday, the Trump administration unveiled proposed sweeping changes to Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations that would undermine the law’s original intent and leave threatened and endangered wildlife at a heightened...
IUCN Reaffirms Long-Tailed Macaques’ Endangered Status Despite Industry Pressure
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) today released an update to its Red List of Threatened Species. The update revealed that the long-tailed macaque (LTM) remains listed as...
New Analysis: Animal Welfare Act Enforcement Deteriorates Following SCOTUS Ruling
The US Department of Agriculture, long known for its lackluster enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), appears in recent years to have drifted even further away from enforcement efforts....
AWI Awards Safe Havens for Pets Grant to Support Unhoused People and Pets in DC
This Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is pleased to announce a $15,000 grant to the Humane Rescue Alliance (HRA) to support pet owners experiencing domestic violence...
AWI Celebrates the Life of Dr. Jane Goodall, a Revolutionary Animal Advocate
Dr. Jane Goodall, world-renowned scientist and passionate advocate for animals, has died at the age of 91. “Dr. Jane Goodall was a force of nature,” said Susan Millward, executive director...
Ejiao Act Reintroduced as Consumer Poll Shows Overwhelming Support for Protecting Donkeys from Dangerous Gelatin Trade
Today, US Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) reintroduced the bipartisan Ejiao Act to ban the sale and trade of donkey-hide gelatin products in the United States; a recent survey shows that...
Titus Reintroduces Humane Transport of Farmed Animals Act as New AWI Report Reveals Feeble Enforcement of Welfare Violations
Today, US Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) reintroduced the Humane Transport of Farmed Animals Act to improve conditions for livestock transported across the United States. The bill would require federal officials to develop...