Animal Welfare Institute

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: AWI's Center for the Study of NIBRS Animal Cruelty Data is pleased to offer two $5,000 stipends for master's and doctoral students to utilize animal cruelty data from the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) in their research. It is essential that analysis of NIBRS animal cruelty data play a central part in the proposed research project—AWI encourages use of this data to assess animal cruelty trends and inform more effective interventions to protect both animals and the communities in which they live. Applications are due January 31. Learn more and apply: https://lnkd.in/eUucJcr3

Promising news for red wolves! To help save this critically endangered species, the Federal Highway Administration announced today that the North Carolina Department of Transportation will receive $25 million to build wildlife crossings on US Route 64 to help mitigate vehicle strikes, now the leading cause of death for the species. Only 17 to 19 red wolves exist in the wild, and six have been killed on US 64 from vehicle strikes in the past five years. Five pups also died over the summer after their father was killed by a car. These desperately needed wildlife crossings will also improve public safety and benefit thousands of other animals who die on the road each year, including black bears, bobcats, snakes, and birds. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eWsKQtrv

🌟 Day 1 of AWI's 10 Wins for Animals Countdown! 🌟 With just 11 days left in 2024, we’re reflecting on some incredible wins we’ve achieved together for animals! Each day until December 31, we’re spotlighting one of our top accomplishments this year that is making a real difference for animals in agriculture, commerce, communities, research, and the wild. Join us on this journey to celebrate what compassion can do for animals. 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬: Through our Humane Education resources, AWI is empowering the next generation of animal advocates. In 2024, we were excited to build upon our free resources available on our page of the Teachers Pay Teachers website and continue our annual scholarship and essay contest. Additionally, we received an Educator’s Choice award in the category of Best Free Education Resources from the Association of Professional Humane Educators! By providing educational materials and a platform for advocacy, we help students turn their passion for animals into meaningful action, building a brighter future for all living beings. Learn more about our Humane Education work here: https://lnkd.in/e2DZJhgz

Hawaiian honeycreepers are in crisis. Their songs are being silenced by invasive predators and mosquitoes spreading deadly avian malaria. Only 17 species of these culturally treasured birds remain—with several facing extinction in the next few years. To increase public awareness of the honeycreepers’ plight, American Bird Conservancy has released “Vanishing Voices,” a short film depicting the importance of these vibrant birds to the forest ecosystem and to the local Hawaiian communities rallying to save them. AWI is working with American Bird Conservancy and Birds, Not Mosquitoes to advocate mosquito birth control—as highlighted in the film—to stop avian malaria before it is too late. Watch Vanishing Voices now to learn more about this urgent conservation issue: https://lnkd.in/g2kYyRz6

BREAKING: According to a report released today by China Cetacean Alliance (a coalition of international and Chinese animal welfare organizations), investigators have confirmed that, for the first time, China has overtaken the United States as holder of the highest number of captive orcas. The majority of China’s 22 captive orcas are now on public display with minimal welfare safeguards. As of July 2024, 101 captive cetacean facilities were operating in China, with an additional 11 under construction. “The Chinese ocean theme park industry is incapable of meeting the complex physical and behavioral needs of cetaceans. This industry is ripe for investigation and needs to be phased out.” –Dr. Naomi Rose, marine mammal biology senior scientist for AWI, a founding member of CCA. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/dwp7qef6

The holiday season is here! Alongside all the cheer and merriment, you’ll also find food labels claiming to be “humane” or “natural”—but not all labels are created equal. Swipe through our updated food label guide to help you make more compassionate choices with beef, pork, fish, or plant-based products this holiday season. Holiday meals are a time to gather with loved ones, but they’re also an opportunity to support improved living conditions for farmed animals. Visit FindHumane.com to source higher-welfare products, and take action by asking your local grocery store to stock products with meaningful animal welfare certifications this holiday season. Your choices can help create a better food system for animals and the planet!

Last week, AWI delivered a letter to the online retailer Etsy, urging the company to remove and ban listings of products containing horsemeat and ejiao (gelatin made from donkey hides). “Shoppers look to Etsy to find unique gifts for friends and family, particularly during the holiday season. To see listings for horsemeat and ejiao is both shocking and troubling. We hope that Etsy will act quickly to ban these cruel products from its platform.” – Joanna Grossman, AWI equine program director and senior policy advisor https://lnkd.in/eFVCy9E8

This #MonkeyDay, we’re sharing the story of Grandpa, a capuchin monkey who was rescued from private owners. While young primates are endearing, they quickly mature and exhibit natural, wild behaviors that are incompatible with life inside a human household. Such was the case with Grandpa. Once he began biting his owners, he was relegated to a solid wooden crate that required him to put his face on the floor to see out. Grandpa was imprisoned in this crate for many years. His owner would hose the crate out with Grandpa inside, the waste draining out through a small opening at the bottom. Mercifully, Grandpa was rescued by OPR Coastal Primate Sanctuary. OPR found that most of his teeth were badly fractured and malaligned. A chronic, untreated infection in his mouth resulted in two holes through the roof of his mouth, creating a direct opening between the mouth and sinus cavity. Grandpa was in surgery for five hours to repair the damage. His chances for survival were grim. However, Grandpa survived against all odds and lived to be nearly 40 years old! Stories such as Grandpa’s are a grim reminder that primates are wild animals—not pets. Tragically, thousands of primates languish under grim conditions in homes in the US, torn from their mothers as infants and sold at auctions or over the internet. Even the most well-meaning owners cannot provide the care, housing, diet, socialization, and mental stimulation that primates require. Learn about the Captive Primate Safety Act, a bill long supported by AWI, that would ban the private ownership of primates in the US—without impacting zoos and other exhibitors, universities, labs, or sanctuaries: https://lnkd.in/dQb8zNT2 📷: OPR Coastal Primate Sanctuary

Today, on the National Day of the Horse, let’s honor the profound contributions of horses to our culture and history by taking a stand against the cruelty of horse slaughter. American horses are not raised for human consumption. Yet, every year, tens of thousands of them are shipped to Mexico and Canada to be slaughtered for meat. This horrific industry preys on horses—wild and domestic—subjecting them to appalling transport and slaughter conditions. The bipartisan Safeguard American Food Exports (SAFE) Act (H.R. 3475/S.2037) seeks to ban horse slaughter in the US and stop the export of American horses for the same purpose. Take action today: Before the 118th Congress concludes next month, please contact your legislators and urge them to cosponsor the SAFE Act. With your help, we could reach a record number of cosponsors in the House of Representatives, bolstering support for this important cause. 👉 https://lnkd.in/e9PVpJmz 📷: Photo from Flickr by Velo City

Good news! Last week, Marineland France announced it will be closing its doors permanently on January 5. The park’s two remaining orcas—a mother and son named Wikie and Keijo—its dolphins, and all of its other animals (which may number in the thousands) will be relocated. AWI and other advocates—including Rachel Friend’s fourth-grade class at Carl E. Schluter Elementary in Texas—are urging the country to send Wikie and Keijo to sanctuary, rather than to another dolphinarium in Japan or elsewhere in the European Union, where they could continue to be exploited, bred, and kept in concrete tanks for human entertainment. In 2021, France enacted a ban on cetacean shows as part of a comprehensive law prohibiting the use of wild animals in circuses and other entertainment venues. Marineland has cited this law, which is set to go into effect in 2026, as its reason for closing. "For over a decade, I have been concerned about the quality of care at Marineland France. I have visited the park twice and observed the marine mammals, including polar bears, languishing in the hot Mediterranean sun. It presented itself as a zoo, but it was really just a circus; without its star performers, it has no raison d'être." – Dr. Naomi Rose, AWI marine mammal biology senior scientist ➡️ When we work together, our voices can make a difference for animals: We appreciate all the students in Ms. Friend’s class who are speaking up for Wikie and Keijo! Sign up to receive emails from AWI when key animal welfare issues are under consideration around the world: awionline.org/alerts https://lnkd.in/eXWn9hHK