Program Term Archive
Companion Animals
Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act and PACT Act
Companion AnimalsThe Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act (PL 111-294) was signed into law in 2010. This law established a ban on the production, distribution, or sale of videos depicting animal cruelty,...
Canine Members of the Armed Forces Act
Companion AnimalsOn January 2, 2013, President Obama signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2013 (HR 4310), which authorizes the Secretaries of the various military services to transfer back to...
Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act
Companion AnimalsOn February 7, 2014, President Obama signed HR 2642, the Agricultural Act of 2014 into law. The Farm Bill, as it is more commonly known, included language from HR 366...
AWI Awards Safe Havens for Pets Grant to Support Unhoused People and Pets in DC
Press ReleaseOctober 6, 2025Companion AnimalsThis 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...
Life After the Lab
Animals in Laboratories, Companion AnimalsInitiatives to encourage adoption or sanctuary placement of animals whose time in the laboratory has come to an end have gained traction across the country at both state and federal...
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...
This Dog Will Change Your Life
Companion AnimalsElias Weiss Friedman—creator of the wildly popular social media brand, The Dogist—begins This Dog Will Change Your Life by describing how his Labrador retriever, Oreo, saved his life when he was a...
NIBRS Animal Cruelty Data Research Award
Companion AnimalsAWI's Center for the Study of NIBRS Animal Cruelty Data is pleased to offer up to $5,000 in grant funding for master's and doctoral students to address National Incident-Based Reporting...
Refuge from Cruel Trapping Act Reintroduced to Protect Wildlife and Pets on Public Lands
Press ReleaseJune 24, 2025Companion Animals, Terrestrial WildlifeThe Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) endorses the Refuge from Cruel Trapping Act, reintroduced today in the US House of Representatives by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY). This bill would prohibit the...
AWI Awards NIBRS Research Grant to St. Louis Student
Companion AnimalsFollowing an open call for proposals, AWI’s Center for the Study of NIBRS Animal Cruelty Data has selected Abigail Schweiger, a doctoral student from St. Louis University’s School of Social...