Animal Wellness Action Blog

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

Penalties Come in Response to Animal Groups’ Letter Friday Calling for Action Against Notorious Trainer Towson, Maryland – Today, the Maryland Racing Commission responded to calls from the Center for a Humane Economy, Animal Wellness Action, and the Animal Wellness Foundation by suspending embattled horse trainer Bob Baffert in Maryland. The move bars Baffert from running horses in … Read more

Advocates Want Maryland and Preakness Stakes to Follow Lead of Kentucky, California, and New York BETHESDA, MD – Today, the Maryland-based Center for a Humane Economy, Animal Wellness Action, and the Animal Wellness Foundation, in a letter, called on the Maryland Racing Commission to issue a formal suspension of trainer Bob Baffert. Baffert was recently suspended for 90 … Read more

Please tell your legislators to support the FDA Modernization Act here. Congress has three fundamental responsibilities: pass new legislation, fund the implementation and enforcement of the enacted laws, and establish taxes to pay for them. And that’s the sequence: authorize programs and then implement them.  For instance, Animal Wellness Action (AWA) worked to ban animal … Read more

Ongoing concerns address wild horse management practices Reno, Nevada – A coalition of wild horse and animal protection organizations continues to press its case against the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and its dangerous and expansive 10-year roundup plan for the Pancake Complex in central Nevada. Additional briefing in federal district court has been filed … Read more

FRANKFORT , KENTUCKY – As the news of Kentucky Appellate Court Judge Allison Jones’ ruling denying notorious trainer Bob Baffert an emergency stay is breaking, Animal Wellness Action Action executive director Marty Irby issued the following statement:  “We applaud Judge Allison Jones for upholding the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission’s suspension of notorious trainer Bob Baffert that … Read more

When it comes to eating animals, certain species are off limits. American don’t eat dogs or cats; they are our companions. We don’t eat horses either; they’ve carried us into battle and helped us settle the nation. Yet, in a contradiction that cannot endure, the U.S. has been a “producer” nation when it comes to … Read more

(Oklahoma City) – Today, the Oklahoma House of Representatives chose not to take up House Bill 3283, by Rep. Justin Humphrey, that would have gutted penalties in Oklahoma’s comprehensive, voter-approved anti-cockfighting law.  The bill would have also decriminalized possessing and training of fighting animals.  Today was the deadline for a bill to get out of its chamber of … Read more

The violence at the Capitol on January 6th and the ongoing disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic guaranteed that the work of the 117th Congress, starting in early 2021, would be far from smooth or collegial.  But like “death and taxes,” there’s one thing that both humans and animals alike can count on: Congressional appropriations, the annual spending … Read more

The founder of Big Cat Rescue, Carole Baskin gained fame when Netflix released the sensationalized docu-series “Tiger King” in March 2020, with pandemic-bound Americans tuning in with their newfound surplus of time. Tens of millions watched and discovered a largely hidden trade in captive big cats for roadside zoo spectacles and other forms of private … Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Center for a Humane Economy, Animal Wellness Action, the Michelson Center for Public Policy, and other affiliated organizations applauded U.S. Reps. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, for soliciting and hearing testimony on the FDA Modernization Act, H.R. … Read more