The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) has been dedicated to alleviating animal suffering caused by people since its founding in 1951.

The Earth is currently experiencing its sixth major animal extinction event. One out of four of the world’s mammals and over 40 percent of amphibians are threatened with extinction due to human activity, including habitat destruction, overexploitation, climate change, and pollution, as well as human overpopulation.

AWI reports from the CITES Animals Committee meeting in Geneva and its implications for wildlife protections in international trade. We press the USDA to help state officials clamp down on animal abuse in US slaughter plants. A new AWI initiative helps researchers and policymakers access valuable FBI data to study and address animal cruelty crimes.

Animal cruelty involves gratuitously inflicting harm, injuring, or killing an animal. The cruelty can be intentional, such as kicking, burning, stabbing, beating, or shooting; or it can involve neglect, such as depriving an animal of water, shelter, food, and necessary medical treatment. Animal fighting, in which animals are trained or forced to attack each other in violent confrontations at ...

TWENTY-EIGHT HOUR LAW The main federal statute that provides minimal protection for animals during transport is 49 U.S.C. § 80502, known as the Twenty-Eight Hour Law.

In many cities, horse-drawn carriages are seen as tourist attractions, evoking nostalgic images of days gone by. Yet, underlying these quaint notions is the reality for the horses: daily exposure to noise and pollution, heavy traffic, hard pavement, long workdays, constant heavy loads, and lack of access to pasture. All of these aspects are directly detrimental to horses’ welfare.

Use AWI's Action Center to take action on critical animal welfare issues and legislation, sign up for email alerts, find your elected officials, and more.

Millions of pigs, calves, and chickens are forced to spend their lives confined in spaces so small they can't even turn around. Gestation crates, veal crates, and battery cages prevent animals from performing natural behaviors, thus causing injuries and significant physical and psychological stress. A growing number of states are passing legislation …

The Animal Welfare Institute is dedicated to alleviating animal suffering caused by people. We seek to improve the welfare of animals everywhere: in agriculture, in commerce, in our homes and communities, in research, and in the wild. Since 1951, AWI …

1. This would include, for example, a puppy mill operator who is engaged in interstate commerce and who drowns unwanted dogs. Exceptions are made, however, for normal veterinary or husbandry practices, hunting, trapping, fishing, predator or pest control, medical or scientific research, and actions to protect human life or property from serious threat.