AWI Quarterly Term Archive

Quick Read

McDonald’s Adopts Cage-Free Policy 

Farmed Animals

McDonald’s announced that for its US and Canadian restaurants, over the next 10 years it will transition to eggs acquired solely from producers using cage-free operations. This move applies to...

Missing the MARC: OIG’s Investigation Veers Off Target

Farmed Animals

In September 2015, the USDA Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued an interim report on its investigation into the allegations of animal abuse at the US Meat Animal Research Center...

Court Axes Aquarium’s Beluga Acquisition Effort

Marine Wildlife

After a long and winding process, a federal court has turned aside Georgia Aquarium’s attempt to import wild beluga whales from Russia. In June 2012, Georgia Aquarium applied for a...

Florida Manatees May Get More Maneuver Room in Crystal River

Marine Wildlife

Three Sisters Springs is an important 1.5 acre manatee wintering area within the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge on Florida’s Gulf coast, about 50 miles north of Tampa. The Florida...

Navy Ocean Noise Settlement Signals Safer Haven for Marine Life

Marine Wildlife

For more than a decade, AWI has been working to stop the US Navy from using harmful active sonar in areas where it can negatively impact marine animals. Over the...

Utah Case Casts Cloud over ESA

Terrestrial Wildlife

A case currently on appeal in federal courts could have serious implications for the scope of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The case involves the Utah prairie dog (Cynomys parvidens),...

Zimbabwe Sells (Out) Elephant Calves to China

Terrestrial Wildlife

The government of Zimbabwe has sold 24 elephant calves captured late last year in Hwange National Park to China. The young elephants—who were forcibly separated from their families—are headed to...

Illinois Steps Up for Children and Companion Animals, Steps Back on Bobcats

Companion Animals, Terrestrial Wildlife

HB 3231, a bill proposed by AWI that provides for additional penalties when animal abuse is committed in front of a minor, passed the Illinois legislature (unanimously, in both chambers!)...

North Carolina Legislature Approves Ag-Gag Law

Farmed Animals

The North Carolina legislature really doesn’t care to know about animal abuse on farms. In May, it sent an ag-gag measure (HB 405) to Governor McCrory for his signature, but...

Testing Empathy While Showing None 

Animals in Laboratories

An increasing number of scientists have been proposing that empathetic behaviors are not limited to human beings. They argue that animals are aware not only of themselves, but also of...