AWI Quarterly Term Archive
Quick Read
USDA Launches Antibiotic Sampling Program
Farmed AnimalsThe USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced in September that it had launched a new exploratory sampling program to assess the accuracy of “no antibiotic” marketing claims for beef...
Death Precludes Deliverance for Orca Tokitae
Marine WildlifeFor 53 years, the captive orca Tokitae (a.k.a. Toki, Lolita, and Sk’aliCh’elh-tenaut) lived in a tiny tank at Miami Seaquarium. She was a Southern Resident orca, a Pacific Northwest population...
NMFS Nixes Quick Steps to Protect Rice’s Whales
Marine WildlifeThe Rice’s whale was initially listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 2019 as a subspecies—the Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s whale—but was reclassified as a unique species in...
Orcas Ramming Rudders: It May Just Be Play
Marine WildlifeA critically endangered population of orcas, numbering only 40 individuals, inhabits the outer coastal waters of the Iberian Peninsula. Since spring 2020, these whales have been dramatically interacting with boats—mostly...
Whaling Season Ends with a Little Less Blood in the Water
Marine WildlifeThe 2023 commercial whaling seasons ended with over 800 whales killed, yet fewer than anticipated. Norwegian whalers killed 507 minke whales, falling short of the 1,000 quota. In a shrinking...
CITES Standing Committee Weighs Issues of Compliance
Marine Wildlife, Terrestrial WildlifeOver 700 delegates met in Geneva for five days beginning in late November to deliberate over a full slate of issues at the 77th meeting of the Standing Committee to the...
Seeking to Restore ESA Regulations
Terrestrial WildlifeIn June, the Biden administration proposed regulations aimed at restoring Endangered Species Act implementing regulations that were weakened in 2019 under the prior administration. Those rollbacks curtailed protections afforded to...
Ag Appropriation Bills Address Animal Welfare
Companion Animals, Equines, Farmed Animals, Terrestrial WildlifeThe House appropriations committee and the full Senate have approved spending bills for the US Department of Agriculture, and both include important provisions for animal welfare. The House bill expresses...
Celebrating 50 Years of the ESA
Marine Wildlife, Terrestrial WildlifeThe Endangered Species Act was signed into law in December 1973 to prevent the extinction of wildlife both at home and abroad. Fifty years later, it remains one of the...
Care Standards Considered for Cephalopods
Animals in LaboratoriesCurrently, there is no federal oversight of the use of invertebrates in research in the United States. In a welcome move, the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Laboratory Animal...