Program Term Archive
Marine Wildlife
Save the Whales, Save the Planet
Marine WildlifeAs whales go about the business of being whales—feeding, defecating, migrating, and breeding—they provide vital ecological services to the planet. This includes fertilizing the plankton that provide half of all...
South Atlantic Humpbacks Bounce Back
Marine WildlifeCommercial whaling decimated global whale populations, causing the extirpation of some populations and leaving others on the precipice of extinction. At least 300,000 humpback whales were killed between the late...
House Natural Resources Committee Approves Animal Welfare Bills
Marine Wildlife, Terrestrial WildlifeThe Committee on Natural Resources in the House of Representatives has jurisdiction over many bills supported by AWI. Fortunately, Chairman Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) is a champion of animal welfare and...
The World Beneath
Marine WildlifeThe World Beneath: The Life and Times of Unknown Sea Creatures and Coral Reefs, by Dr. Richard Smith, is a fascinating description of the aquatic life in coral environments. Smith’s...
House Passes Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act to Protect Sharks from Cruel Finning
Press ReleaseNovember 20, 2019Marine WildlifeThe Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) applauds the US House of Representatives for passing the bipartisan Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act (H.R. 737) today. The bill would prohibit the sale, purchase,...
New Recovery Plan Seeks to Ward Off Extinction of Taiwanese White Dolphin
Press ReleaseNovember 15, 2019Marine WildlifeThe Taiwanese government must act quickly to ban gill and trammel nets and stop development from further degrading the habitat of the critically endangered Taiwanese white dolphin, according to a...
Mystic Aquarium Does Not Need to Import Belugas to Conduct Research
Press ReleaseNovember 14, 2019Animals in Laboratories, Marine WildlifeThe Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and a coalition of environmental and animal protection organizations strongly oppose Mystic Aquarium’s unprecedented request to import five captive-born beluga whales from Canada for scientific...
Japan Sells Sei Whale Meat in Violation of CITES
Marine WildlifeHaving failed to persuade the International Whaling Commission (IWC) at its September 2018 meeting to overturn its longstanding ban on commercial whaling, Japan left the IWC on June 30, 2019,...
Vaquita Habitat Finally Recognized as “In Danger”
Marine WildlifeIn early July, in response to a 2015 petition from AWI and the Center for Biological Diversity, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee (WHC) approved an “in danger” designation for Mexico’s...
Animals Get Added Trade Protections at CITES Conference
Marine Wildlife, Terrestrial WildlifeThe 18th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) took place in Geneva, Switzerland, in...