Animal Wellness Action Blog

Critical insights into issues at the intersection of animals and politics​

Several New Mexicans are doing business with Alabama cockfighters targeted in federal probe (Washington, D.C.) – Though lawmakers outlawed the practice 14 years ago, New Mexico continues to be a major hub for cockfighting, with a network of cockfighters staging fights at pits and trafficking animals for fights across state and national lines, according to … Read more

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Animal Wellness Action (AWA) executive director Marty Irby said this week that key leaders within the Thoroughbred racing industry are the leading voices within the horse racing industry for animal welfare issues, including ending race-day doping to enhancing performance on the track to halting horse slaughter for human consumption. Last week, … Read more

While most Americans savor the taste and smell of bacon and eggs, they often avert their gaze after a glimpse at the way sows and hens are treated in industrialized agriculture. The taste buds say “yes” when it comes to the meat of fast-food outlets but the eyes say “no” when it comes to the … Read more

Senate’s inaction rallies equine advocates to lobby against passage of infrastructure package if taken up by the House  Washington, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Senate passed a trillion-dollar infrastructure bill without any provision to ban the export of live horses to Canada and Mexico for slaughter for human consumption, putting in jeopardy the anti-slaughter provision … Read more

A small segment of Americans nearly wiped out wolves from the states in a scorched earth plan executed in the 19th and 20th centuries. Private actors and government agents killed countless hundreds of thousands of wolves, and just hundreds managed to hang on in the boreal forests of the northeast quadrant of Minnesota. Starting in … Read more

Announcement Comes After Solid Evidence Emerges of Illegal Fighting and Mass Transports of Fighting Animals to the Island  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Animal Wellness Action (AWA) and the Animal Wellness Foundation (AWF) have renewed their offer of a $5,000 reward to any individual providing information leading to the federal prosecution and conviction of any individual involved in illegal … Read more

“We have solid evidence that fighting birds are being shipped to Guam. The government of Guam has a duty to examine our findings and no longer play a role as intermediary in these felony violations of the law.” WASHINGTON, D.C. — The two top shippers of fighting roosters to Guam in 2021 – Bill McNatt (750 birds) … Read more

scared dog sleeping under blanket

Washington, D.C. – Late last night, the U.S House of Representatives passed an amendment led by Reps. Kathleen Rice, D-N.Y., Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Kurt Schrader, D-Oregon, designed to fund better inspections and streamline operations fulfilling the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) declaration in the federal register that more resources must be provided … Read more

Washington, D.C. – Late last night, the U.S House Committee on Rules advanced an amendment led by Reps. Kathleen Rice, D-N.Y., Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Kurt Schrader, D-Oregon, designed to fund better inspections and streamline operations fulfilling the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) declaration in the federal register that more resources must be provided … Read more

Washington, D.C. — On July 23, 2021, the Sault St. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and a coalition of 14 conservation groups, many centered in the Great Lakes region, sought leave from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to submit an amicus (friend of the court) brief that the U.S. Fish … Read more