Animal Wellness Action Blog

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

Granville County bust this weekend offers a window into the ongoing lawlessness of illegal animal fighters, who are often tied to other crimes Granville County, NC — Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy report that a major cockfighting bust over the weekend with dozens of arrests, 200 roosters removed, buckets of … Read more

Case offers another indicator of the need for federal law to eradicate illegal staged animal fighting, animal welfare groups say Wausau, WI — Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, offered this statement on news that a Wausau man convicted in a cockfighting scheme is now facing federal … Read more

Press Release Rules are a ‘de facto’ ban, cruelly dividing humans from their beloved pets when American pet owners wish to travel home, animal wellness groups say Washington, D.C. — Animal wellness groups say new dog importation rules by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are unjustified and cruel, as eight airlines have responded with … Read more

Voter-approved ballot measure to restrict sales of pork from sows kept in gestation crates remains in effect at all food sales outlets in Massachusetts  Boston—Today, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts rejected claims from a Missouri-based factory farming corporation that Question 3, a 2016 voter-approved law that prohibited statewide the sale … Read more

Colorado District Attorneys’ Association has swung behind a national bill, called the FIGHT Act, to provide more tools for law enforcement to crack down on animal-fighting crimes. Denver—The weekend arrest of an Adams County man on cockfighting-related charges underscores the persistence of cockfighting and highlights the need for robust enforcement and perfection of federal and … Read more

Three-time U.S. Olympian Kendrick Farris connected with Louisiana lawmakers Rep. Troy Carter and Sen. John Kennedy, leaders of effort to help millions of lactose-intolerant kids. (Washington D.C.)—Three-time Olympic weightlifter Kendrick Farris came to Washington D.C. last week to appeal to leaders in both houses of Congress to drop a “milk mandate” in the National School … Read more

mountain lion

Press Release Trophy hunting not only is unnecessary for lion population control but interrupts the beneficial ecological services provided by lions, including cleansing herds of infected elk and deer (Denver)—“There’s no doubt that mountain lion hunting is not needed for broad-scale population control,” said Jim Keen, D.V.M., Ph.D., a former U.S. Department of Agriculture scientist … Read more

Where does it end for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service if it starts to manage competition and social relationships among native species? Last week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service formally approved its unprecedented plan to deputize hunters to kill nearly half a million barred owls to reduce social competition with threatened spotted owls. … Read more

Gruesome incident is another indicator of the need for federal law to eradicate illegal staged animal fighting, animal welfare groups say Santa Cruz County, California — Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, applauded the work of Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office for uncovering a cockfighting ring with … Read more

Press Release Last-minute amendment to Senate Fiscal Code overturns 30-plus-year ban, threatens local Law autonomy Pittsburgh, PA — Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy, along with Humane Action Pittsburgh, expressed profound disappointment and outrage over a last-second addition to Pennsylvania’s fiscal code that will undo the state’s long-standing ban on rodeos. … Read more