AWI Quarterly Term Archive
Quick Read
Plaintiffs Prevail Against Pungent Pig Farm
Farmed AnimalsA group of rural North Carolinians prevailed in court this April against Murphy-Brown LLC, a subsidiary of Chinese-owned global food giant Smithfield Foods. The landmark case concerned the stench of...
Trying to Torpedo the MMPA
Marine WildlifeThe picture for marine mammals isn’t entirely rosy, however. After 45 years as the nation’s premier law protecting marine mammals, the MMPA faces several attacks in Congress. Of particular concern...
USDA Proposes Faster Slaughter, Fewer Inspectors
Farmed AnimalsThe US Department of Agriculture recently proposed several changes to the process of slaughtering pigs, including allowing slaughterhouses to operate without any limits on the speed of the line. Pigs...
Switzerland Bans Live Boiling of Lobsters
Marine WildlifeThe traditional method of cooking lobsters is to boil them alive. In January, the Swiss Federal Council passed a law deeming this practice inhumane and requiring that lobsters and other...
Bowheads: 100-Ton Duke Ellingtons
Marine WildlifeThe haunting songs of the humpback whale are well known. (They are literally unearthly— phonograph recordings of their communications are currently passing through the outer reaches of the solar system...
Lesser Protection for Leatherback Turtles?
Marine WildlifeThe Northwest Atlantic subpopulation of leatherback turtles could soon lose important protections under the Endangered Species Act in response to a September 2017 petition filed by the Blue Water Fishermen’s...
Rare Dolphin Gains ESA Protection
Marine WildlifeIn a response to a 2016 petition by AWI and allies, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) agreed on May 8 to list the Taiwanese white dolphin (Sousa chinensis taiwanensis),...
Virgin Holidays Invests in Dolphin Sanctuary
Marine WildlifeVirgin Holidays has pledged $300,000 to support the creation of North America’s first dolphin sanctuary and the move of seven captive dolphins at the National Aquarium in Baltimore to the...
At Elephants’ Expense, USFWS Sticks to Its Guns
Terrestrial WildlifeIn November 2017, the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced it was reversing a 2014 Obama administration ban on the importation of sport-hunted elephant trophies from Zimbabwe and Zambia. (See AWI...
Marmosets Spread the Wealth When No One Sees
Terrestrial WildlifeIn 2007, a study at the University of Zurich (Burkart et al., 2007) looked at cooperative behavior among common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). The study found that the animals spontaneously provided...