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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
New Poll: Consumers Overwhelmingly Support Meaningful Standards for “Humanely Raised” Food Label
Eighty-eight percent of American consumers believe that claims such as “humanely raised” or “sustainably farmed” on meat and poultry products should be based on meaningful, measurable standards, according to a newly...
New Research: USDA Fails to Pursue Prosecutions of Slaughter Plants, Despite Repeat Violations
Repeat violators of the federal Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (HMSA) continue to escape meaningful enforcement by the US Department of Agriculture, resulting in continued animal cruelty and suffering, according...
Mink Legislation Reintroduced to Protect Public Health and Compensate Farmers
US Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) has reintroduced the Mink: Vectors for Infection Risk in the United States Act (Mink VIRUS Act), bipartisan legislation endorsed by the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI)....
Illinois Bill Requiring Disease Monitoring on Mink Farms Passes House Committee
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) celebrates today’s passage of the Mink Facility Disease Prevention Act (H.B. 2627) in the Public Health Committee of the Illinois House of Representatives. The bill...
USDA’s Bird Flu Strategy Inadequate to Control Disease and Prevent Inhumane Treatment
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) appreciates that the US Department of Agriculture has developed a revised strategy to address the staggering impacts of the current bird flu outbreak, yet the...
More than 860 Veterinarians, Students Call on AVMA to Discourage Cruel Killing Methods
Hundreds of veterinarians and veterinary students from across the country are urging the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) to revise its guidelines regarding methods of killing farmed animals during emergencies....
Illinois Bill Would Require Disease Monitoring on Mink Farms to Safeguard Human Health
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) commends today’s filing of the Mink Facility Disease Prevention Act in Illinois, which would protect public health and human safety by requiring disease prevention and...
More Than 1.5 Million Farmed Animals Died in Barn Fires in 2024
More than 1.5 million farmed animals perished in barn fires in 2024, accounting for 60% of the deaths reported in the last three years, according to an Animal Welfare Institute (AWI)...
Pork Industry’s Challenge to Sprinkler Requirement Fails
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is pleased that the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Standards Council has rejected an appeal filed by the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and other national animal...
USDA’s Revised Food Label Guidelines Insufficient to Protect Consumers, Animals
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is extremely disappointed by the revised meat and poultry guidelines released yesterday by the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS). Although the USDA...
Congress Urged Not to Use Taxpayer Money to Prop Up Dangerous Mink Farms
Today, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), joined by 46 public health scientists, veterinarians, animal welfare and conservation organizations, and other experts in their respective fields, delivered a letter to leaders of the Agriculture...
New Research: Weak Enforcement of State Farmed Animal Welfare Laws Continues
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) released a new report today that documents how state-level farmed animal welfare laws continue to be minimally enforced, even though such laws could substantially improve the lives...
Bill Introduced to Prohibit Interstate Transport of Vulnerable Livestock and Improve Travel Conditions for Others
Today, US Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) introduced 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...
House Farm Bill Draft Helps Domestic Violence Survivors and Their Pets, But Rewards Industries That Abuse Animals
The US House Committee on Agriculture will weigh in Thursday on the long-awaited, 942-page Farm Bill, a massive legislative package—reauthorized every five years or so—that serves as a key driver of...
Newborn Dairy Calves Endure Long, Grueling Journeys Across the United States
Every year, the dairy industry sends hundreds of thousands of calves—as young as 2 to 3 days old—on highly stressful journeys of a thousand miles or more, flouting international animal...