AWI Quarterly Term Archive
Feature Article
AWI Report: Humane Slaughter Enforcement up, but Serious Problems Remain
Farmed AnimalsIn 1996, animal scientist Dr. Temple Grandin conducted an audit of 24 federal slaughter plants for the US Department of Agriculture. She found that only 30 percent of the plants...
Compassion in the Classroom
One of my personal goals every school year is to teach my students about compassion—not just what it is, but how to live compassionately. Compassion is such a great word....
AWI Calls for Mexican Shrimp Boycott on Behalf of Vaquita
Marine WildlifeMexico implemented a two-year ban on gillnets in April 2015 throughout the Upper Gulf of California to reduce vaquita deaths. Despite this, three of the tiny porpoises were found dead...
AWI Helps Kenya Wildlife Service Take Wing to Ward Off Poachers
Terrestrial WildlifeEighty elephants were killed by poachers in Kenya during 2016. Since 2013, a total of 642 elephants have been killed—none during daylight hours. AWI has been working to help the...
Isaac’s Story: Rhesus at Sanctuary Reveals Vivid Imagination
Animals in Laboratories, Terrestrial WildlifeWhen Isaac, a rhesus macaque, first arrived we were so worried about him. He cowered in the corner as he fear grimaced, and refused to eat or drink for several...
No Bored Bunnies: Environmental Enrichment for Rabbits in Research
Animals in LaboratoriesThe following email discussion took place on the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum in February 2016. Submissions by Carey Allen, Evelyn Skoumbourdis, Jacqueline Schwartz, Jennie Lofgren, Jennifer Defosses, Kristina...
Research Facility Gets Off Easy Despite Horrendous Animal Welfare Act Violations
Animals in LaboratoriesThe USDA reached an astonishingly weak settlement on December 2, 2016, with SNBL USA, an animal dealer and registered research facility—despite allegations of egregious violations of the Animal Welfare Act...
Updates to Humane Slaughter Regulations Long Overdue
Farmed AnimalsIn September, at a federally inspected slaughterhouse in Pennsylvania, a pig was shot three times in the head, but remained alive—vocalizing after each shot. The facility did not have a...
Requiem for Two Iconic Orcas
Marine WildlifeTilikum, the 12,000-pound male orca at SeaWorld Orlando who was featured in the documentary Blackfish in 2013, was probably born in 1980, give or take a year. Ever since he killed his...
Being a Better Friend to Butterflies
Terrestrial WildlifeA butterfly’s life is fragile at the best of times. But these are hardly the best of times. Indeed, all the indicators and experts agree: The butterflies are now enduring...