AWI Quarterly Term Archive
Government/Legal
The Endangered Species Act and Wildlife Under Assault
Endangered Species, Marine Wildlife, Terrestrial WildlifeAn influential faction of the 115th Congress is expressing a clear animosity toward animal protection measures. Emboldened, perhaps, by an administration that appears sympathetic to their aims, this faction is waging...
Bills Aim to Eliminate US Shark Fin Market
Marine WildlifeAs apex predators, sharks play a vital role in global marine ecosystems. But shark numbers are declining at an alarming rate due to shark finning, the practice of cutting off...
ORCA Act Reintroduced
Marine WildlifeRepresentative Adam Schiff (D-CA) reintroduced the Orca Responsibility and Care Advancement (ORCA) Act (HR 1584), in March 2017. The original bill—introduced in November 2015—was quite simple: It would have amended the...
USDA Still Stonewalling on Access to Enforcement Records
After the public outcry regarding the US Department of Agriculture’s scrubbing of inspection records and other important enforcement documents from its website, the department began to restore selected records online....
USDA’s Cyanide Bombs Claim More Unintended Victims
Companion Animals, Terrestrial WildlifeFourteen-year-old Canyon Mansfield was walking with Kasey, his Labrador retriever, near his house when he noticed what looked like a sprinkler head. Unwittingly, he touched it, causing an explosion that...
USDA Scrubs Website of Enforcement Records
On February 3, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) abruptly removed from its website inspection reports and other key documents relating to enforcement of the Horse Protection...
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...
Fight for Canada Lynx Continues
Terrestrial WildlifeTwo lynx were found shot dead in northern Maine in November 2016, prompting an investigation by local and federal officials. A reward of $19,000 for information leading to convictions for...
114th Congress: Parting Shots
The continuing resolution that the 114th Congress passed in December to fund the government until April 28 kept in place AWI-supported language denying funds for horse slaughter plant inspections by the...
115th Congress: Opening Salvos
AWI welcomes Representative Vern Buchanan (R-FL) as the new co-chair of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus in the 115th Congress, replacing Representative Mike Fitzpatrick (R-PA), who retired at the end...