The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and other animal advocacy organizations issued an open letter today to Joel Manby, CEO of SeaWorld, requesting the release of Tilikum’s necropsy (animal autopsy) report and his full veterinary records. Tilikum—the orca featured in the documentary Blackfish—died in January of a reported bacterial lung infection, but SeaWorld has refused to date to release these important data.
In response to SeaWorld’s lack of transparency, Dr. Naomi A. Rose, AWI marine mammal scientist, stated the following:
“SeaWorld’s reluctance directly contradicts Tilikum’s import permit from 1992, which requires the submission of this information to federal agencies upon his death and the death of his progeny.
For months, AWI and its allies have been working in an effort to persuade SeaWorld to release this scientifically valuable information voluntarily, but to no avail. We have called upon federal agencies, met with SeaWorld officials, and written numerous letters and emails explaining SeaWorld’s obligations, both to the law and to science. Despite these efforts, SeaWorld continues to argue that this information is proprietary and will not be released.
On July 24, Kyara, the last orca to be born at a SeaWorld park and Tilikum’s granddaughter, died at only three months of age. She, too, apparently succumbed to a bacterial lung infection. SeaWorld maintained in both deaths that similar lung infections are common in wild orcas, a baseless claim, given that the prevalence of this cause of death among orcas in the wild is unknown. Since it has made this claim, however, SeaWorld should make necropsy results and clinical histories freely available to the scientific community, at minimum, to assist authorities and conservation biologists who rescue stranded whales and dolphins who may be suffering from similar ailments. SeaWorld’s failure to do so is inexplicable from a scientific and conservation perspective.
SeaWorld has an opportunity to do the right thing. Making this information publicly available would be good not only for science, but also for business. It would demonstrate that SeaWorld has nothing to hide and has truly turned a corner in its relationship with its orcas and the public who loves them. It would demonstrate that SeaWorld intends to foster a new era of transparency.”
A breeding-age female vaquita porpoise died on November 4, following her capture by the VaquitaCPR (Conservation, Protection and Recovery) program—which seeks to capture and temporarily relocate the remaining vaquita to an ocean pen in the Upper Gulf of California. With fewer than 30 vaquita remaining in the wild, the loss of a reproductive female is catastrophic for the species’ future.
Concerns also remain about a six-month-old vaquita calf, the first porpoise captured as part of the CPR program. The calf showed signs of stress after its capture on October 19 and was quickly released to an unknown fate.
In reaction to these recent developments, the Animal Welfare Institute issued the following statement:
While our organization acknowledges that the VaquitaCPR program was borne out of a desperate, yet well-intentioned, desire to save the species, we believe that given the extreme risks involved, the vaquita capture plans must be brought to an immediate halt. These tiny porpoises do not respond well to the stress of capture, and not a single additional vaquita should be deliberately put in danger in this way.
The Mexican government must immediately and substantially increase enforcement efforts throughout the Upper Gulf of California, and bring illegal fishing to an end. The June 30 ban on gillnets issued by Mexico, unfortunately, still provides exemptions for the area’s corvina and Spanish mackerel gillnet fisheries. The ban also fails to prohibit the possession, sale and manufacture of these deadly nets.
Unless illegal fishing is ended through rigorous and stepped-up enforcement, and gillnets can no longer be found in the Upper Gulf, the regulations of the ban will remain inadequate to save the vaquita from extinction.
The US Fish and Wildlife Service issued today a notice in the Federal Register allowing hunters to bring trophies of elephants killed in Zimbabwe back to the United States, reversing a ban put in place by the Obama administration in 2014.
In reaction to this development, the Animal Welfare Institute issued the following statement:
Our organization is outraged and dismayed by the administration’s decision to facilitate the killing of African elephants, a threatened species. The US Fish and Wildlife Service’s reversal of a ban on imports of sport-hunted African elephants from Zimbabwe poses an additional threat to the survival of an already imperiled species– a clear violation of the Endangered Species Act.
Further, the timing of this reversal is irresponsible, considering the current political tumult in Zimbabwe. The updated management plan was developed by a government that is no longer in power, and therefore the US cannot assume that it will be honored under the new leadership, once it is established.
The USFWS failed to provide any new or relevant scientific findings in today’s Federal Register notice to justify the reversal of the 2014 import ban, and we believe there is no credible science to support their reckless claim that this action will aid the conservation of elephants in the wild. Thus, there is no sound basis for this drastic reversal of policy. AWI remains committed to the protection of the majestic, threatened African elephant, and is reviewing our legal options.
To read the issued notice, visit https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/11/17/2017-24974/issuance-of-import-permits-for-zimbabwe-elephant-trophies-taken-on-or-after-january-21-2016-and-on.
Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke issued a statement late Friday night halting a notice in the Federal Register—published earlier that day—allowing the importation of sport-hunted elephant trophies into the United States.
In reaction to this development, the Animal Welfare Institute issued the following statement:
The US Fish and Wildlife Service’s plan allowing the importation of sport-hunted elephant trophies into the United States to resume was reversed with extraordinary speed on Friday night. AWI welcomes President Trump’s and Secretary Zinke’s decision. AWI maintains that there is no credible science to support claims that sport-hunted elephant trophies will aid in elephant conservation, and is committed to ensuring that the 2014 ban of elephant trophy imports remains in place permanently in accordance with the Endangered Species Act.
To read Secretary Zinke’s statement visit, https://twitter.com/SecretaryZinke/status/931711307123974144
To read President Trump’s tweets visit, https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/931685146415255552
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/932397369655808001
The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) joins the growing number of citizens and elected officials from both parties in staunch opposition to the US Department of the Interior’s proposed plan to open and expand offshore drilling operations in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic oceans and the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
In reaction to this proposal, AWI issued the following statement today:
The Interior Department’s proposal to open more federal waters to oil and gas drilling is reckless and inherently problematic for US coastal communities and marine life.
This ill-considered scheme would make millions of miles of pristine US coastline vulnerable to catastrophic and permanent damage. As seen in previous cases, such as BP’s 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, oil spills have caused the deaths of thousands of birds and other wildlife, as well as severe habitat degradation.
This proposal would be devastating for the environment and cannot be allowed to move forward.
Following bipartisan outcry from elected officials and concerned Florida residents, Department of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced Tuesday that Florida is no longer among the states that will be opened to oil and gas drilling leases.
In reaction to this update, AWI issued the following statement today:
The Department of Interior’s proposal to open and expand offshore drilling operations in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic oceans and the eastern Gulf of Mexico is misguided and reckless. Secretary Zinke’s decision to remove the state of Florida from consideration for drilling under this plan is merely a political maneuver designed to appease allies who may suffer backlash at the polls.
Exempting one state from offshore drilling may provide political cover but it will not ensure that spills from neighboring states such as Georgia, Louisiana, or Alabama do not negatively affect Florida’s marine mammals and their habitat. Furthermore, Secretary Zinke’s proposal would still allow harmful seismic air gun testing to occur along Florida’s coast and continues to leave millions of miles of pristine US coastline vulnerable to catastrophic damage.
Following a comment period that produced over 100,000 comments, the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced late yesterday its rejection of a petition submitted by the National Chicken Council to implement a waiver system allowing for poultry lines to operate at unlimited speeds.
However, in a letter issued to the National Chicken Council this week, Acting Deputy Under Secretary Carmen Rottenberg stated that the FSIS plans to release criteria under which the agency will consider individual waiver requests for operation at speeds up to 175 birds per minute. Additionally, in a recent interview with industry publication Meatingplace, Rottenberg indicated that the agency may significantly increase the number of plants operating at high line speeds by granting such individual waivers.
In reaction to this update, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) issued the following statement:
The USDA’s rejection of the National Chicken Council’s petition to implement a waiver system for increasing poultry line speeds still leaves poultry at slaughter vulnerable. While it is encouraging that the FSIS has denied a legally indefensible waiver system, the agency still left the door open to individual waiver requests.
There is every indication that increasing line speeds will negatively impact the welfare of billions of birds by increasing incidents of loss of process control. The heightened speed increases the possibility that individual birds will be bruised or otherwise injured, and that birds will die other than by slaughter, such as by drowning in the scald tank.
SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Inc., announced today the resignation of CEO Joel Manby. The announcement came with the release of the company’s fourth quarter and fiscal 2017 results, which showed a loss of $20.4 million in revenue.
In reaction to this development, Dr. Naomi Rose, AWI marine mammal scientist, issued the following statement:
AWI regrets the departure of Joel Manby as CEO of SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. During his tenure as CEO, Mr. Manby ended the breeding of the company’s captive orcas and toned down the theatrical elements of the circus-like orca and dolphin shows.
While he needed to do much more, including set a goal of retiring the orcas to seaside sanctuaries, Mr. Manby clearly understood that the world is increasingly less accepting of keeping these large, wide-ranging, intelligent beings in concrete tanks. We strongly urge his replacement, John Reilly, to maintain the forward progress that Mr. Manby began and not reverse course by sending its animals to theme parks abroad.
SeaWorld’s cetaceans deserve retirement in sanctuaries. The company should strive to be a theme park that thrills and teaches people through technology and not rely on circus-like shows featuring captive, living animals.
The Iowa State Senate has now passed HF 2408, a bill that would force grocery stores to sell eggs from hens packed into cages so densely crowded they can barely move. Since the House already passed this piece of legislation, it is now up to Governor Kim Reynolds to either sign the bill into law, or to issue a veto and protect farm animals.
In reaction to this development, Alicia Prygoski, farm animal policy associate at the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI), has issued the following statement:
AWI is alarmed to see that the Iowa Legislature has passed HF 2408, which would harm Iowa businesses, increase food safety risks, and leave egg-laying hens susceptible to further cruelty. This measure sets a dangerous precedent and could open the door to an array of government mandates, potentially forcing grocery stores to carry even more products that are inhumane, unsafe, and out of step with consumer demand.
While the government has a responsibility to protect consumers, under no circumstances should it force stores to sell certain products, especially products that are a risk to consumer food safety and obtained from inhumanely raised animals. AWI urges Gov. Reynolds to stand up for Iowa citizens, business owners, and animals by vetoing HF 2408.
Click here to join AWI in urging Gov. Reynolds to reject HF 2408.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) finalized plans this week to withdraw the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices rule. The rule would have improved the lives of millions of animals raised under the Certified Organic Label.
In reaction to this update, the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) issued the following statement:
The USDA’s withdrawal of the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices rule leaves animals raised under the National Organic Program (NOP) vulnerable. The final rule, which was decades in the making, would have created the first substantive federal standards for the raising of farm animals.
The final rule would have significantly improved the welfare of animals raised as “organic.” If the rule had been implemented, birds would be guaranteed access to the outdoors and vegetation, and the practice of euthanizing piglets by manual blunt force trauma would have been prohibited. The final rule also would have created minimum space requirements for chickens raised for meat and for egg-laying hens, restricted physical alterations such as tail docking of pigs, and provided requirements for the more humane handling of animals during transport. Additionally, this rule marked the first federal law to consider the welfare of birds at slaughter.
Instead, the USDA has erased years of work and undermined the Organic Foods Production Act’s mandate to “assure consumers that organically produced products meet a consistent standard.” The agency’s statement that it does not have the authority to regulate animal welfare is contrary to its previously held position, and puts millions of farm animals at risk.
To read the pre-publication withdrawal notice, visit here.
