Animal Wellness Foundation

ANIMAL WELLNESS FOUNDATION BEGAN OPERATIONS FOCUSED MAINLY ON THE RESCUE AND REHABILITATION OF COMPANION ANIMALS. WE HAVE EXPANDED OUR WORK TO ADVANCE A RANGE OF ANIMAL PROTECTION PRIORITIES, BUT THE CARE OF COMPANION ANIMALS HAS REMAINED AT OUR CORE.

ANIMAL WELLNESS FOUNDATION (AWF) IS WORKING TO ENFORCING OUR LAWS AGAINST ANIMAL FIGHTING AND TIGHTENING THE LAWS WHERE NEEDED SO THAT ANIMAL FIGHTING DOES NOT CONTINUE AND CAUSE SUFFERING TO ROOSTERS AND DOGS CONSCRIPTED INTO THESE BLOODY BATTLES. STAGED DOGFIGHTS AND COCKFIGHTING HAVE NO PLACE IN A CIVILIZED SOCIETY, YET THEY REMAIN RAMPANT IN CALIFORNIA AND THROUGHOUT MUCH OF THE UNITED STATES.ANIMAL WELLNESS ACTION (AWA) CONTINUES TO LEAD THE WAY IN PROMOTING ENFORCEMENT OF OUR FEDERAL ANIMAL-FIGHTING, INCLUDING THE 2018 AMENDMENTS THAT APPLY THE PROHIBITIONS TO EVERY PART OF THE UNITED STATES, INCLUDING THE TERRITORIES. A SERIES OF FEDERAL COURTS, WITH THE AWF PARTICIPATING AS AN AMICUS PARTICIPANT IN ALL OF THE PROCEEDINGS, AFFIRMED THAT COCKFIGHTING IS BANNED ON EVERY INCH OF U.S. SOIL, INCLUDING IN THE U.S. TERRITORIES. ITS A RARE EVENT WHEN THE NATION ENACTS WHOLESALE PROHIBITIONS ON A WIDESPREAD, LUCRATIVE FORM OF ANIMAL EXPLOITATION. COCKFIGHTING DAMAGES THE REPUTATIONS OF JURISDICTIONS WHETHER U.S. TERRITORIES, STATES, OR NATIONS DOWNGRADING THE REPUTATION AND TOURISM APPEAL OF THESE DESTINATIONS.WE CONTINUE OUR INVESTIGATION INVOLVING A REVIEW OF LIVE-ANIMAL SHIPPING RECORDS SHOWING A CONTINUING PATTERN OF ILLEGAL MOVEMENTS OF FIGHTING BIRDS FROM SEVERAL STATES, WITH SHIPMENTS FROM CALIFORNIA AND OKLAHOMA CONSTITUTING THE MAJORITY OF ALL ILLEGAL TRANSPORTS TO GUAM. WE DOCUMENTED MORE THAN 10,000 FIGHTING BIRDS SOLD ONTO THE SMALL ISLAND IN THE WESTERN PACIFIC. WITH OUR SISTER ORGANIZATIONS, WE MAINTAIN A WEBSITE FOCUSING ON THIS CONTINUING PROBLEM FOUND AT WWW.ENDCOCKFIGHTING.ORG.OUR REWARDS PROGRAM HAS YIELDED HUNDREDS OF TIPS OF ILLEGAL FIGHTING, FROM PUERTO RICO TO OKLAHOMA TO GUAM. WE FOLLOW UP ON THESE TIPS AND ENCOURAGE FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT TO ACT. WE HAVE SECURED DEDICATED FUNDING FOR ANIMAL FIGHTING ENFORCEMENT FOR THE USDAS OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL. WE ALSO SECURED LANGUAGE IN THE SPENDING BILL DIRECTING THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TO FOCUS ON ANTI-CRUELTY ENFORCEMENT, INCLUDING OUR LAWS AGAINST ANIMAL FIGHTING.OUR ANIMAL WELLNESS NATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT COUNCIL URGES PROSECUTORS TO BRING CASES FORWARD WHERE THERE ARE OBVIOUS VIOLATIONS OF LOCAL, STATE, AND FEDERAL LAWS. OUR ANIMAL WELLNESS NLEC CONSISTS OF MORE THAN 25 LAW ENFORCEMENT PROFESSIONALS, INCLUDING 15 FORMER STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL. NLEC MEMBERS, LED BY FORMER OKLAHOMA ATTORNEY GENERAL DREW EDMONDSON, ARE COMMUNICATING WITH U.S. ATTORNEYS IN GUAM, OKLAHOMA, ALABAMA, AND OTHER STATES TO BRING CHARGES AGAINST DOZENS OF INDIVIDUALS KNOWINGLY VIOLATING THE LAW. SHOWING HORSE SENSETHERE ARE NO MAJOR ORGANIZATIONS THAT TAKE ON THE ARRAY OF INSTITUTIONAL FORMS OF CRUELTY TO HORSES. AWF IS CENTRALLY INVOLVED IN THIS WORK, WITH THREE SUB-CAMPAIGNS.ENDING SORING IN SHOWINGSORING IS A PAINFUL TECHNIQUE USED TO PRODUCE AN ARTIFICIALLY HIGH-STEPPING GAIT KNOWN AS THE BIG LICK IN TENNESSEE WALKING, RACKING, AND SPOTTED SADDLE HORSES. SHARP OBJECTS ARE INSERTED INTO THE HORSES FRONT HOOVES OR CAUSTIC CHEMICALS SUCH AS MUSTARD OIL OR DIESEL FUEL ARE APPLIED TO THEIR PASTERNS. THE HORSE PROTECTION ACT WAS SIGNED INTO LAW IN 1970 TO STAMP OUT THE PRACTICE, BUT UNETHICAL TRAINERS AND OWNERS CONTINUE TO DEFY THE LAW. THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA) HAS NOT HAD THE RESOLVE TO STOP THEM AND CONDUCTED VERY FEW ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS DURING THE LAST FOUR YEARS.IN 2021, WE SUBSTANTIALLY INCREASED FUNDING FOR ENFORCEMENT OF THE HORSE PROTECTION ACT, SECURING $3 MILLION IN FUNDING FOR ENFORCEMENT OF THE FEDERAL ANTI-SORING LAW. THIS IS THE BIGGEST INCREASE EVER IN FUNDING FOR THIS PROGRAM. IT IS ESPECIALLY SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE IT IS PLAINLY EVIDENT TO ANYONE THAT THE HORSES EXAGGERATED GAIT IS INDUCED AND THE PRODUCT OF ILLEGAL WORK DONE BY THE TRAINERS OF THE HORSES.WITH ITS AFFILIATES, AWF HAS NEGOTIATED A COMPROMISE MEASURE WITH THE INDUSTRY TO BAN ACTION DEVICES AND TAIL BRACES, TO REDUCE THE SIZE AND WEIGHT OF THE SHOE COMPLEX BY MORE THAN HALF, TO ELIMINATE AN INDUSTRY SELF-REGULATION PROGRAM, AND TO ESTABLISH FELONY-LEVEL PENALTIES FOR VIOLATORS. SOME ANIMAL WELFARE GROUPS OPPOSE THIS COMPROMISE, BUT AWF BELIEVES THIS IS THE ONLY WAY FORWARD, GIVEN THAT DETERMINED OPPOSITION OF KEY U.S. SENATORS TO THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE OF THE PREVENT ALL SORING TACTICS ACT.NO DOPING IN RACINGAWF WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN WORKING FOR THE ENACTMENT OF THE HORSERACING INTEGRITY AND SAFETY ACT, WORKING ON A COMPROMISE WITH KEY PLAYERS IN THE INDUSTRY AND SEEING THAT MEASURE SIGNED INTO LAW AT THE VERY END OF 2020. IT IS THE FIRST FEDERAL HORSE PROTECTION MEASURE TO BE ENACTED IN THE CONGRESS IN 50 YEARS. IN 2021, WE SERVED AS A WATCHDOG FOR THE INDUSTRY, CALLING OUT ON-TRACK HORSE-RACING DEATHS AND MADE THE PUBLIC CASE FOR PROPER IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LAW.KEEPING WILD HORSES WILDIN JULY, WE LED THE WAY IN LOBBYING FOR THE PASSAGE OF A U.S. HOUSE AMENDMENT REQUIRING THE BLM TO DEVOTE A MINIMUM OF $11 MILLION TO FERTILITY CONTROL FOR WILD HORSES AND BURROS ON THE RANGE FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW WE ARE ALIGNED WITH DOZENS OF WILD HORSE GROUPS AND ARE PART OF A MAJOR COALITION MAKING OUR ARGUMENTS PUBLICLY, WHILE THE ANIMAL PROTECTION GROUPS FAVORING MASS ROUNDUPS ARE MUTED BECAUSE OF THE SHEER UNPOPULARITY OF THEIR POSITIONS. OUR GOAL IS TO REDUCE ROUND-UPS AND KEEP WILD HORSES AND BURROS ON THE RANGE. THIS REMAINS A CONTINUING PROBLEM OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MISMANAGEMENT OF HORSES, WITH THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT SUBVERTING FEDERAL LAW.BANNING GREYHOUND RACINGAWF IS WORKING DILIGENTLY TO END GREYHOUND RACING IN THE UNITED STATES. WE CONTINUED TO LOBBY IN 2021 FOR THE ADVANCE OF THE GREYHOUND PROTECTION ACT IN THE HOUSE. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TONY CARDENAS, FROM LOS ANGELES, IS LEADING THIS EFFORT. THIS IS THE FIRST ANTI-GREYHOUND LEGISLATION EVER INTRODUCED IN CONGRESS, AND IT WAS REINTRODUCED IN THE 117TH CONGRESS AND HAS PICKED UP BIPARTISAN SUPPORT.GREYHOUNDS GET INJURED OR DIE AT THE TRACKS THEY CONTINUE TO STREAK AROUND THE FEW OVALS WHERE THIS SPECTATOR SPORT CONTINUES. THE ANIMALS AT THESE TRACKS TYPICALLY ENDURE CONFINEMENT FOR 20-23 HOURS A DAY, AND TRAINERS ARE KNOWN TO ADMINISTER PERFORMANCE-ENHANCERS AND OTHER DRUGS TO THEM. GREYHOUND RACING HAS BEEN IN A DEATH SPIRAL FOR YEARS. TWENTY YEARS AGO, THERE WERE 60 TRACKS IN THE U.S.; BY THE END OF 2021, THERE WERE JUST THREE TRACKS OPERATING, WITH ONE OF THOSE SET TO CLOSE BY THE END OF 2022. STATE GOVERNMENTS SHOULD NOT BE SUBSIDIZING OR REQUIRING RACING, AND NO PRIVATE BUSINESS SHOULD BE INVOLVED WITH THIS KIND OF INHUMANE ENTERPRISE.KANGAROOS ARE NOT SHOESWITH OUR PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS, WE LAUNCHED THE KANGAROOS ARE NOT SHOES CAMPAIGN TO SECURE CORPORATE PLEDGES FROM NIKE AND OTHER ATHLETIC SHOE COMPANIES TO STOP SOURCING KANGAROO PARTS FOR THEIR SHOES, ENFORCE CALIFORNIAS BAN ON THE TRADE IN KANGAROO PARTS, PASS THE KANGAROO PROTECTION ACT IN THE U.S., AND PASS SIMILAR LEGISLATION IN EUROPE. CALIFORNIA U.S. REPRESENTATIVE SALUD CARBAJAL IS LEADING THIS EFFORT.WE BUILT A MICROSITE THAT COMPILES RAFTS OF INFORMATION ON THE SUBJECT. COMMERCIAL HUNTERS, WITH THE APPROVAL OF THE STATE AND FEDERAL GOVERNMENTS IN AUSTRALIA, ANNUALLY KILL MORE THAN TWO MILLION WILD KANGAROOS, MAINLY FOR THEIR SKINS. WHEN THE NIGHT SHOOTERS SLAY ADULT FEMALES, THE JOEYS ARE COLLATERAL DAMAGE. AS PRESCRIBED BY LAW, THE SHOOTERS SMASH THE SKULLS OF THE JOEYS OR DECAPITATE THEM. (THERE ARE MORE JOEYS KILLED THAN BABY HARP AND HOODED SEALS AT THE HEIGHT OF THE SLAUGHTER IN ATLANTIC CANADA.) NIKE, ADIDAS, PUMA AND OTHER COMPANIES SELL SOME 72 MODELS OF KANGAROO SKIN SOCCER SHOES, CREATING THE DEMAND THAT DRIVES THE COMMERCIAL KILLING OF THESE ICONIC MARSUPIALS. TELLINGLY, THESE COMPANIES USE PLANT-BASED AND SYNTHETIC KNIT, MESH AND EVEN FAKE K-LEATHER FABRICS IN THEIR MOST POPULAR LINES OF SOCCER SHOES. SCIENTISTS ESTIMATE MORE THAN THREE BILLION NATIVE ANIMALS DIED IN THE RECENT BUSHFIRES IN AUSTRALIA, COMBINING WITH THE DROUGHT AND COMMERCIAL SLAUGHTER TO ADD AN EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO ANIMALS. THERE HAS BEEN NO SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH INVESTIGATING THE IMPACTS ON KANGAROO POPULATIONS FROM THE FIRES, NOR THE RAZING AND DEGRADATION OF MILLIONS OF ACRES OF BUSHLAND.WE CONTINUE TO PURSUE STATEWIDE INVESTIGATIONS REVEALING MASSIVE NON-COMPLIANCE WITH CALIFORNIAS LAW FORBIDDING THE SALE OF KANGAROO PARTS. WE WORKED DILIGENTLY TO SEE THAT CALIFORNIAS BAN ON THE SALE OF KANGAROO PRODUCTS IS ENFORCED, LITERALLY GOING STORE TO STORE TO DETERMINE IF THE VENDORS ARE ILLEGALLY SELLING SHOES. WE WORKED WITH THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE TO SEND LETTERS TO VIOLATORS AND HAVE GOTTEN GRUDGING ACCEPTANCE FROM DOZENS OF STORES TO ABIDE BY THE LAW. THIS IS CRUCIAL GIVEN THE SIZE OF CALIFORNIAS MARKET OF 40 MILLION CONSUMERS. NIKE AND OTHER COMPANIES DO NOT WANT TO CONTEND WITH A BIFURCATED MARKET AND ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAW IN CALIFORNIA IS CRUCIAL TO OUR SUCCESS.WE ARE LEADING A WORLDWIDE CAMPAIGN TO UNITE THE ANIMAL PROTECTION COMMUNITY TO ADVANCE OUR