Program Term Archive

Endangered Species

“God Squad” Seeks to Override Protections for Vulnerable Species

Endangered Species, Marine Wildlife

The Department of the Interior recently convened the Endangered Species Committee, aka the “God Squad,” for the first time in more than 30 years. During its meeting, the committee unanimously...

CITES

Endangered Species

Regulation of wildlife trade is essential to stem potentially irreversible reductions to wildlife populations. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was established...

Endangered Species Policy

Endangered Species

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the Engangered Species Act (ESA) are the primary international and US policies, respectively, in place...

Mexico’s Proposed New Regulations May Doom the Vaquita Porpoise to Extinction

Press ReleaseFebruary 5, 2026Endangered Species, Marine Wildlife

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...

CITES CoP20 Confers Wildlife Protections

Endangered Species, Marine Wildlife, Terrestrial Wildlife

The recently concluded 20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES CoP20), held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan,...

IUCN Reaffirms Long-Tailed Macaques’ Endangered Status

Animals in Laboratories, Endangered Species, Terrestrial Wildlife

In October, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the global authority on wildlife conservation, officially reaffirmed the “endangered” designation of long-tailed macaques (LTMs)—a monkey species used extensively for biomedical...

Ask Congress to Urge Taiwan to Protect the Critically Endangered Taiwanese White Dolphin 

Endangered Species, Marine Wildlife

The Taiwanese white dolphin (TWD) is a subspecies of the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin found only on the west coast of Taiwan. Due to entanglement in fishing nets and habitat loss,...

Speak up for Red Wolves! 

Endangered Species, Terrestrial Wildlife

We need your help to show that the American public supports the red wolf and the USFWS’ efforts to protect and recover this critically endangered species, and that we do...

Urge Indonesia’s President to Protect Endangered Orangutans 

Endangered Species, Terrestrial Wildlife

Orangutans, the only wild great ape species found in Asia, are under serious threat due to habitat loss, illegal killing, the pet trade, and wildfires used to clear land for...

387,000+ Public Comments Submitted in Defense of Endangered Species Act

Press StatementDecember 23, 2025Endangered Species

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...