More than 860 Veterinarians, Students Call on AVMA to Discourage Cruel Killing Methods Niki Thu, 02/06/2025 - 14:31 Photo by Victoria de Martigny/We Animals Media February 6, 2025 Washington, DC—Hundreds of veterinarians and veterinary students from across the country are urging the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) to revise its guidelines regarding methods of killing farmed animals during emergencies. The veterinary professionals and students are calling on the AVMA to do more to deter the use of particularly cruel killing methods such as inducing heat stroke in hens, suffocating pigs and cattle with water-based foam, and bludgeoning piglets. In a letter submitted last week, the 868 signers, including 504 AVMA members, urged the association to revise its draft “Guidelines for the Depopulation of Animals.” The guidelines apply to the large-scale killing of animals in emergency situations, such as the ongoing disease control efforts in response to the current bird flu outbreak. While the standards are voluntary, the US Department of Agriculture typically relies on them to facilitate the mass killing of animals, which has resulted in taxpayer-backed indemnity payments to producers totaling $1.25 billion since 2022. “As the leading voice for America’s veterinarians, the AVMA needs to be at the forefront of deterring killing methods that result in severe suffering for millions of animals. While we acknowledge some important improvements in this draft, it requires several key changes to ensure animal welfare is prioritized by the USDA and farm operators,” said Gwendolen Reyes-Illg, DVM, a veterinary medical consultant for the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and AVMA member. The letter was drafted by veterinarians and others who have expertise in depopulation, and signatures were collected by the Veterinary Association for Farm Animal Welfare. One controversial killing method called ventilation shutdown plus heat (VSD+) involves sealing a barn, turning off the airflow, and adding heat and sometimes steam to raise the temperature as high as 170 degrees. The process can take hours and cause extreme distress to the animals inside. Federal records show that, from February 2022 to November 2024, over 76% of poultry (about 86 million chickens, turkeys, and ducks) were killed in bird flu depopulations that used VSD+ alone or in combination with another method. For years, AWI has urged the AVMA to reclassify VSD+ as “not recommended” for any species. Yet the association’s proposed guidelines continue to recommend VSD+ for birds in “constrained circumstances” under a tiered ranking system. The recent letter calls on the AVMA to downgrade VSD+ from Tier 2 to the bottom Tier 3 in its draft guidelines—as it does for pigs—and explicitly state that VSD+ is “not recommended.” Tier 3 methods are defined as those for which there is “limited to no evidence to support their use,” or for which the “evidence may be contrary to good animal welfare.” The letter further asks that two additional cruel killing methods be downgraded to Tier 3: Water-based foam, which suffocates pigs or other livestock by painfully blocking their airways, and manual blunt force trauma, which typically involves striking a piglet in the head with a hammer or swinging the animal against the floor or a wall. Media Contact Information Marjorie Fishman, Animal Welfare Institutemargie@awionline.org, (202) 446-2128 The Animal Welfare Institute (awionline.org) is a nonprofit charitable organization founded in 1951 and 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. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, and LinkedIn for updates and other important animal protection news.

Illinois Bill Would Require Disease Monitoring on Mink Farms to Safeguard Human Health Niki Tue, 02/04/2025 - 15:54 Photo by Jo-Anne McArthur/Djurrattsalliansen February 4, 2025 Washington, DC—The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) commends today’s filing of the Mink Facility Disease Prevention Act in Illinois, which would protect public health and human safety by requiring disease prevention and surveillance measures at farms that raise and slaughter mink for their fur.Sponsored by State Rep. Joyce Mason (D-61), HB 2627 recognizes that mink on fur farms incubate diseases such as COVID-19 and avian influenza, creating the perfect conditions for new variants to jump to humans—with potentially devastating results. Mink farms in the state would be required to obtain a license from the Illinois Department of Public Health and follow procedures to ensure proper disease surveillance and containment.“I am proud to sponsor the Mink Facility Disease Prevention Act because the science is clear – mink farming poses a high risk of generating a future pandemic,” said Mason. “It is critical that we remain vigilant and test for viral outbreaks on mink farms to safeguard public health. This bill seeks to position Illinois as a leader in commonsense measures to detect and prevent the spread of dangerous novel viruses.”Mink farms raise and slaughter animals to sell their pelts to the fashion industry. They typically pack thousands of mink together in long rows of barren pens barely large enough for the animals to move around. The conditions not only are inhumane, they also create an ideal setting for pathogens to circulate among and across species.Mink pose a high risk to humans because their upper respiratory tract is physiologically similar to ours, which means they can become infected by—and potentially transmit to people—some of the same respiratory viruses. Mink’s susceptibility to acquiring and spreading both human and animal respiratory viruses render them potentially potent “mixing vessels” for generating novel viruses.COVID-19, in fact, has infected millions of farmed mink on more than 480 mink farms across 12 countries. In several instances, mink have passed a mutated form of this virus back to humans. New variants can emerge in such scenarios, undermining the effectiveness of vaccines and jeopardizing efforts to contain the pandemic.A deadly avian influenza virus (H5N1) has also infected tens of thousands of mink on dozens of fur farms since 2022. During an October 2022 outbreak on a farm in Spain, the virus mutated in a way that enabled it to spread between mink. Prior to this, mammals had contracted the virus primarily through direct contact with infected birds, not from infected mammals. Scientists called this H5N1 mink farm outbreak a “warning bell” and stated that it represented a “clear mechanism for an [H5N1] pandemic to start.” H5N1 infections have also been detected at multiple mink farms in Finland, demonstrating the potential for this dangerous virus to continue causing outbreaks on mink farms, and raising the specter that it will mutate into a form transmissible to and between humans.“We cannot turn a blind eye to the risk of disease proliferation on mink farms, and the possibility of human infection,” said Susan Millward, AWI’s executive director and chief executive officer. “For far too long, these farms have operated without any meaningful oversight, despite their capacity to incubate potentially devastating viruses. Pandemic prevention requires a multifaceted approach, and the Mink Facility Disease Prevention Act is crucial to that effort.” Media Contact Information Marjorie Fishman, Animal Welfare Institutemargie@awionline.org, (202) 446-2128 The Animal Welfare Institute (awionline.org) is a nonprofit charitable organization founded in 1951 and 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. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, and LinkedIn for updates and other important animal protection news.

Bill Introduced to Require Data Collection Linking Animal Cruelty and Child Abuse Niki Wed, 01/29/2025 - 12:39 Photo by 5second January 29, 2025 Washington, DC—The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) endorses the Child and Animal Abuse Detection and Reporting Act (H.R. 712), reintroduced last week by Reps. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) and Julia Brownley (D-CA). This legislation would amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) to require that data collected by the federal government from state child protection agencies include information about animal abuse as a risk factor for child abuse. Weighing this additional factor can help identify opportunities to prevent both child and animal abuse, as well as suggest when more specialized interventions are needed. “In a violent household, companion animals are often victims of the same abusive behaviors that harm children, intimate partners, and vulnerable adults,” said Nancy Blaney, director of government affairs for AWI. “Often, the first person to identify a child in a dangerous situation is a law enforcement officer responding to an animal cruelty call. There is an urgent need for more comprehensive information about these patterns so that social service providers can understand how to intervene safely and effectively.” As authorized by CAPTA in 1988, the Department of Health and Human Services established the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) to compile information from states about the nearly 700,000 American children abused annually. Case reports in NCANDS include a variety of details, such as the type of abuse a child suffered or whether the caregiver had a substance abuse disorder. This data helps researchers and service providers better understand the factors associated with child abuse. Animal abuse is one well-established factor, however, that is not considered under the current law. Information collected under NCANDS has been used to determine, for example, that children whose families face multiple stressors are at a higher risk of being repeatedly referred to child protective services, and that some types of mistreatment are more likely to recur than others. By tracking child abuse cases related to animal abuse, as provided for under the Child and Animal Abuse Detection and Reporting Act, NCANDS would offer another valuable tool to prioritize prevention and intervention. “It is a sad reality that in homes filled with violence, pets often endure the same mistreatment as children and other vulnerable family members,” Van Drew said. “By connecting the dots between animal cruelty and child abuse in households, we are empowering officials to identify when to intervene earlier and helping to prevent further mistreatment from taking place. This bill is an important step forward to protect every member of our community, human and animal alike.” “By expanding data collection to include animal abuse as a risk factor for child abuse, we’re equipping law enforcement and social service providers with crucial information to recognize warning signs earlier, intervene more effectively, and identify opportunities to prevent both child and animal abuse,” added Brownley. “This bill is a critical step in breaking the cycle of abuse before it escalates and protecting families from further trauma.” Click here for more information about the link between violence against animals and violence against humans. Media Contact Information Marjorie Fishman, Animal Welfare Institutemargie@awionline.org, (202) 446-2128 The Animal Welfare Institute (awionline.org) is a nonprofit charitable organization founded in 1951 and 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. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, and LinkedIn for updates and other important animal protection news.

Moscow sees economic and geopolitical benefits in humoring President Trump’s push for a cease-fire in Ukraine. But the Kremlin’s war aims haven’t shifted.

Firefighters confronted the blazes in the country’s southeast over the weekend. Most had been extinguished by Monday, but dry and windy conditions persisted.

Lai Ching-te, the president of Taiwan, may be betting that China’s appetite for retaliation will be limited by Beijing’s interest in containing tensions with the Trump administration.

A New York Times reporter and photographer were the first Western journalists to visit central Khartoum since the civil war broke out two years ago. The scale of how much has been lost was inescapable.

It’s no Bondi Beach, but Pondi, or Penrith Beach, has been a welcome relief to the city’s sweltering western suburbs.

The release of the five employees, detained during a crackdown on foreign due diligence, comes as Beijing is trying to bring back overseas investment.

The United Nations is withdrawing about one-third of its international work force in Gaza, with the reduction coming after an Israeli tank shell hit a U.N. compound.