AWI Newsroom
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Kim Meneo, Animal Welfare Institute
kim@awionline.org, (202) 446-2116
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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...
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...
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...
US to Ban Seafood Imports from 42 Nations to Protect Whales, Dolphins
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) determined today that 42 nations may not export certain seafood products to the United States because fishers in these countries catch marine mammals in violation of...
North American Environmental Commission Confirms Mexico’s Role in Imperiling Vaquita
A commission under the United States-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA) released a report yesterday confirming that Mexico’s unwillingness to enforce its own wildlife protection, trade, and fisheries laws is driving the extinction of...
Trump Administration Seeks to Slash Habitat Protections for Endangered Wildlife
Today the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (the Services) issued a proposed rule that would undermine protections for habitat that threatened and endangered species need to...
National Endangered Species Coalition Responds to Republican-led Congressional Attacks on ESA and Gray Wolves
Today, the Republican-led US House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries considered legislation that would dramatically weaken the widely popular Endangered Species Act and strip protections for gray wolves in 48 states....
UNESCO Keeps Mexico Vaquita Habitat on World Heritage ‘In Danger’ List
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee renewed its call today for urgent action to protect the critically endangered vaquita porpoise in Mexico. With merely six to eight individuals estimated remaining, the vaquita faces...
USMCA Council to Investigate Mexico’s Failure to Protect the Vaquita
After a two-year delay, the Council of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) voted unanimously yesterday to investigate Mexico’s failure to protect the critically endangered vaquita porpoise. Mexico has not enforced its own...
New Survey: No More Than Eight Vaquita Remain
Only six to eight critically endangered vaquita may remain on the planet, the Mexican government announced last week in reporting the results of a new survey. Compared to the 8...
Big Money Talks in Fight to Save Endangered Monkeys from Extinction
This month, a committee of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is scheduled to determine whether long-tailed macaques (LTMs) should continue to be classified as “endangered” on its...
USFWS Increases African Elephant Protections, But Misses Crucial Opportunities
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) commends the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for releasing a final rule today that provides additional Endangered Species Act protections for imperiled African elephants. However, AWI...
Biden Administration’s ESA Regulations Restore Important Protections to Imperiled Species, But Don’t Go Far Enough
The Biden administration has released three Endangered Species Act regulations that reinstate some critical protections for imperiled species and their habitats, yet fail to reverse many of the dangerous rollbacks implemented by...
Pygmy Three-Toed Sloth Proposed for ESA Listing In Response to AWI Petition
The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has proposed listing the pygmy three-toed sloth under the Endangered Species Act in response to a 2013 emergency petition filed by the Animal Welfare Institute...
Africa’s Atlantic Humpback Dolphins Win US Endangered Species Protections
The National Marine Fisheries Service announced today that the highly imperiled Atlantic humpback dolphin will be protected under the US Endangered Species Act. Atlantic humpback dolphins are found only along...
Fifty Years Later, ESA Remains Strongest Tool to Protect Animals from Extinction
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act, landmark legislation that, in the face of relentless political attacks, continues to serve as a global model for the preservation of...
UNESCO World Heritage Committee: Vaquita Porpoise Habitat Still “In Danger”
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee decided today to maintain the “in danger” status for the last remaining habitat of the vaquita porpoise and the totoaba fish. Only 10 vaquitas remain in the...
US Proposes Ban on Imports, Exports of Banggai Cardinalfish
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has announced a proposed rule to ban the import and export of threatened Banggai cardinalfish, following a 2021 petition from conservation groups. “Far too many of these gorgeous little...
Historic Settlement Secures Conservation of Endangered Red Wolves in the Wild
Conservation groups and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced a historic settlement today to recommit to the conservation and recovery of the world’s only wild red wolf population, which in...