Animal Wellness Action Blog

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

Science Study Documents Continent-Wide Effects of Lead Ammo on Eagles If sport hunters had shot and injured or killed thousands, or even tens of thousands of bald and golden eagles, there’d be an uninterrupted uproar. Rightly so. The perpetrators, if there were any justice, would be prosecuted under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Or, under … Read more

by Josh Marquis The 2011 movie “Contagion” turned out to be prescient. The movie, featuring Matt Damon, posited a world-wide pandemic from a “zoonotic virus” (one that jumps from one species into another) that rapidly turns deadly as one of the film’s main characters says, “The wrong bat met the wrong pig.” And just as … Read more

by Wayne Pacelle Despite the unmistakable verdict of California voters that they want to wrap up the era of extreme confinement of farm animals, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and other agribusiness and food-industry players are working to bully the courts and the Congress to undermine Proposition 12 and to allow the indefinite imprisoning … Read more

by Marty Irby American horse racing remains steeped in controversy because of deaths on the track, recurring scandals involving doping of horses, and questions about the enforcement authority for the recently enacted Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA). It’s an especially vulnerable time for horse racing, with the surge in sports betting threatening to leave … Read more

Oregon’s second city, Eugene, is home of the University of Oregon, storied track and field athletes, and Lane County District Attorney Patty Perlow. The first woman elected to the top prosecutor’s post in Eugene, Perlow has held almost every position a lawyer can have in serving as a career prosecutor. She began as a deputy … Read more

white mink with pink paws standing up in cage

Think about the horrors animals endure from human conduct at its worst. Then cherry-pick the worst features of the most severe forms of animal exploitation in America. You might, then, come up with the compound cruelties of mink farming. Add in the human and wildlife health risks associated with it and you have a crisis … Read more

Groups charge that the bill gives comfort to known criminals in the state Oklahoma City – Animal Wellness Action, the Animal Wellness Foundation, the Center for a Humane Economy, and other anti-cruelty organizations condemned a bill to weaken penalties for certain cockfighting crimes and to decriminalize others. The bill, H.B. 3283 is authored by Rep. … Read more

Despite the unmistakable verdict of California voters that they want to wrap up the era of extreme confinement of farm animals, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) and other agribusiness and food-industry players are working to bully the courts and the Congress to undermine Proposition 12 and to allow the indefinite imprisoning of sows in … Read more

Changes to Further Mission to Better the Treatment of Animals in Business (Washington, D.C.) – Today, the Center for a Humane Economy announced new positions at the national organization. The organization welcomes Marty Irby as senior vice president of public policy and communications; Jennifer McCausland as senior vice president of corporate policy; Karen Duarte as … Read more

San Francisco, CA. — Animal Wellness Action (AWA), and the Center for a Humane Economy (CHE), and affiliates applauded a U.S. District Court for doing away with a last-minute Trump administration rule removing wolves from the Endangered Species Act and restoring protections for the species across most of the lower 48 states. AWA, CHE, the … Read more