AWI Quarterly Term Archive
Government/Legal
USFWS Recommends Continued Protections for Grizzly Bears
Terrestrial WildlifeFollowing a recent review of the conservation status of grizzly bears in the continental United States, the US Fish and Wildlife Service recommended in March that the bears continue to...
Zoonotic Disease Transmission Addressed in Stimulus Package
The American Rescue Plan Act, signed on March 11 in response to the COVID-19 crisis, contains funding to address public health risks resulting from the exploitation of animals. The law...
Anti-confinement Regulations Overdue in Massachusetts
Farmed AnimalsAt the start of 2021, animal protection organization Humane Farming Association (HFA) filed suit against the Massachusetts attorney general for failing to promulgate regulations mandated under the state’s Prevention of...
Administration Shows Early Enthusiasm for Wildlife Protection
Terrestrial WildlifeThe president and the executive branch hold enormous sway in setting US wildlife policy—from signing (or vetoing) wildlife-related legislation, to issuing orders and regulations that enhance (or remove) protections for...
Court Orders USFWS to Get Red Wolf Recovery Back on Track
Terrestrial WildlifeThe US District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina ruled in January that the US Fish and Wildlife Service must quickly draft and execute a plan to resume...
Efforts to Weaken Migratory Bird Protections on Hold
Terrestrial WildlifeIn the former administration’s final days, the US Fish and Wildlife Service published a rule that weakens the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) by no longer penalizing individuals and corporations...
High Hopes Secretary Haaland Will Halt Surgical Sterilization Scheme
Equines, Terrestrial WildlifeLast October, the Bureau of Land Management finalized plans to employ an inhumane surgical sterilization procedure—ovariectomy via colpotomy—to control the population of wild horses in Utah’s Confusion Herd Management Area...
Animal Welfare Measures in the 117th Congress
The 117th Congress got underway in January, and a number of AWI-supported animal welfare bills were reintroduced within the first few weeks. Among them are the Preventing Future Pandemics Act, which...
National Academies Report is a Positive Step Toward End of Soring
EquinesThe Horse Protection Act (HPA) was enacted in 1970 to clamp down on the scourge of “soring”—the term for a host of abusive practices inflicted upon Tennessee walking horses and...
NOAA Proposes Rule to Curb Right Whale Deaths
Marine WildlifeAfter years of delay, NOAA Fisheries released a proposed rule in December 2020 to reduce the number of North Atlantic right whales killed by gear in northeast lobster and Jonah...