Program Term Archive
Animals on Factory Farms
Emergency and Disaster Preparedness for Farm Animals Act
Farmed AnimalsThe Emergency and Disaster Preparedness for Farm Animals Act would require farmers and ranchers to have and implement a preexisting disaster preparedness plan in order to receive federal assistance for...
Administration Takes Aim at California Animal Welfare Law
Farmed AnimalsThe Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the state of California in July, alleging that a combination of its “voter initiatives, legislative enactments, and regulations” have contributed to higher...
Egg Producer Loses 6 Million Hens to Bird Flu
Farmed AnimalsIn May, Hickman’s Family Farms—a major US egg company—announced the loss of a staggering 95 percent of its chicken flock after highly pathogenic avian influenza (bird flu) swept through several...
Securing Funding for Animal Welfare Priorities
Companion Animals, Equines, Farmed AnimalsIn encouraging news, both Senate and House fiscal year 2026 Agriculture Appropriations bills winding their way through Congress contain provisions that continue to bar horse slaughter operations in the United...
Mink VIRUS Act
Farmed AnimalsThe bipartisan “Mink: Vectors for Infection Risk in the United States Act” (Mink VIRUS Act) would end the farming of mink for fur, after a one-year phase-out period, and establish...
Mink Legislation Reintroduced to Protect Public Health and Compensate Farmers
Press ReleaseMarch 19, 2025Farmed Animals, Terrestrial WildlifeUS 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
Press ReleaseMarch 13, 2025Farmed AnimalsThe 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
Press ReleaseMarch 7, 2025Farmed AnimalsThe 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
Press ReleaseFebruary 6, 2025Farmed AnimalsHundreds 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
Press ReleaseFebruary 4, 2025Farmed Animals, Terrestrial WildlifeThe 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...