2023 Ann Cottrell Free National Press Club Animal Reporting Award Winners
L-R: Marina Bolotnikova for The Intercept & The Guardian, Kenny Torella of Vox, Steve Sapienza of the Pulitzer Center and Avery Travis, KXAN
Print:
Winner: “Amid Bird Flu, the Poultry Industry Normalizes Mass Killing of Animals by Heatstroke” - Marina Bolotnikova, The Intercept & The Guardian
In multiple stories in The Intercept and The Guardian, journalist Marina Bolotnikova takes an in-depth look at a painful culling method called “ventilation shutdown” used on tens of millions factory-farmed turkeys and chickens in the wake of avian flu outbreaks.
Bolotnikova’s reporting found that this culling practice, which seals off airflow and increases temperatures to lethal levels, essentially roasts animals alive, resulting in a slow and agonizing death, often taking hours. Veterinarians have called this practice, which has been used on pigs as well as poultry birds, the cruelest of all methods.
Using USDA public records requests, extensive interviews and research, Bolotnikova details how ventilation shutdown rapidly became the meat industry default. She reports that the industry is now lobbying to make it a “preferred” method of destroying animals.
Bolotnikova’s work was key in helping the public understand how animals are being treated, and it uncovered how ventilation shutdown was being used. Her reporting has been cited by philosopher and Princeton Professor Peter Singer and by Senator Cory Booker as context for his introduction of the Industrial Agriculture Act last November. Booker’s bill would effectively ban ventilation shutdown.
Honorable Mention: Body of Work about Animal Cruelty in Animal Agriculture - Kenny Torella, Vox Future Perfect
In a series of stories in Vox, Kenny Torella examines the intertwining issues of factory farming, the meat industry, and animal welfare.
His topics included exemptions from the Animal Welfare Act; the impact of food waste on billions of animals; how the increased demand for meat and seafood is affecting animals and the planet; a court case that could result in legal protections for farm animals; and the impact of alternative proteins, such as plant-based and cultivated meat, on animals and the environment.
By focusing on topics that affect the welfare of billions of animals but are often overlooked, Torella’s thought-provoking reporting informs and educates the public about the many threats they face.
Broadcast:
Winner: “Inside the Multi-Billion Dollar Trade of Endangered Monkeys for Medical Research” - Rich Schapiro, Anna Schecter, Andy Lehren, Yasmine Salam, Narin Sun, Stephanie Gosk, Jody Henenfeld, Anton Delgado, - NBC News, in collaboration with the Pulitzer Center and the Southeast Asia Globe
For close to a year, using the Freedom of Information Act, Securities and Exchange Commission filings, and court documents, the reporting team uncovered detailed and thorough connections of illegal monkey trade to research facilities in the U.S.
They tracked planes around the globe transporting long-tailed and pig-tailed macaques, and documented the animals' arrivals in the United States with cameras. They examined U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection records and Centers for Disease Control data. They developed key sources -- including some who feared for their safety in Cambodia. The work also included journalists on the ground in Cambodia, visits with U.S. monkey facilities and interviews with experts, activists and scientists,
Their body of work put a spotlight on a little-known part of the world of science and medicine. It pressured federal investigators to step up inquiries and arrests. In the wake of the reporting, more than 1,000 poached monkeys were ordered returned to Cambodia, and the plight of these endangered species has emerged as an international issue in how monkeys are obtained for lab testing.
Honorable Mention: “Vetting Your Pet’s Vet” - Avery Travis, Chris Nelson, David Barer, Josh Hinkle, KXAN
Prompted by stories of animals who suffered due to poor medical care in Texas, KXAN investigated the state agency in charge of licensing and regulating veterinarians. They found that despite prior orders from state lawmakers to fix its license look-up website - a tool that enables pet owners to search for their veterinarian's disciplinary history - serious problems remained.
When the KXAN team discovered dozens of disciplinary records still missing from the look-up tool, they built their own database to fill in the blanks and started tracking problems on their own - later creating a special landing page with their findings and interactive features. Their reporting resulted in top agency officials resigning and a renewed push for transparency.
They later followed state lawmakers’ progress in the 2023 legislative session, as the legislature used KXAN's 2022 reporting to bolster laws to move the vet board’s operations to a different agency - the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation – for four years, giving vet board officials oversight and time to fix the problems discovered by KXAN.
Winner: “Amid Bird Flu, the Poultry Industry Normalizes Mass Killing of Animals by Heatstroke” - Marina Bolotnikova, The Intercept & The Guardian
In multiple stories in The Intercept and The Guardian, journalist Marina Bolotnikova takes an in-depth look at a painful culling method called “ventilation shutdown” used on tens of millions factory-farmed turkeys and chickens in the wake of avian flu outbreaks.
Bolotnikova’s reporting found that this culling practice, which seals off airflow and increases temperatures to lethal levels, essentially roasts animals alive, resulting in a slow and agonizing death, often taking hours. Veterinarians have called this practice, which has been used on pigs as well as poultry birds, the cruelest of all methods.
Using USDA public records requests, extensive interviews and research, Bolotnikova details how ventilation shutdown rapidly became the meat industry default. She reports that the industry is now lobbying to make it a “preferred” method of destroying animals.
Bolotnikova’s work was key in helping the public understand how animals are being treated, and it uncovered how ventilation shutdown was being used. Her reporting has been cited by philosopher and Princeton Professor Peter Singer and by Senator Cory Booker as context for his introduction of the Industrial Agriculture Act last November. Booker’s bill would effectively ban ventilation shutdown.
Honorable Mention: Body of Work about Animal Cruelty in Animal Agriculture - Kenny Torella, Vox Future Perfect
In a series of stories in Vox, Kenny Torella examines the intertwining issues of factory farming, the meat industry, and animal welfare.
His topics included exemptions from the Animal Welfare Act; the impact of food waste on billions of animals; how the increased demand for meat and seafood is affecting animals and the planet; a court case that could result in legal protections for farm animals; and the impact of alternative proteins, such as plant-based and cultivated meat, on animals and the environment.
By focusing on topics that affect the welfare of billions of animals but are often overlooked, Torella’s thought-provoking reporting informs and educates the public about the many threats they face.
Broadcast:
Winner: “Inside the Multi-Billion Dollar Trade of Endangered Monkeys for Medical Research” - Rich Schapiro, Anna Schecter, Andy Lehren, Yasmine Salam, Narin Sun, Stephanie Gosk, Jody Henenfeld, Anton Delgado, - NBC News, in collaboration with the Pulitzer Center and the Southeast Asia Globe
For close to a year, using the Freedom of Information Act, Securities and Exchange Commission filings, and court documents, the reporting team uncovered detailed and thorough connections of illegal monkey trade to research facilities in the U.S.
They tracked planes around the globe transporting long-tailed and pig-tailed macaques, and documented the animals' arrivals in the United States with cameras. They examined U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection records and Centers for Disease Control data. They developed key sources -- including some who feared for their safety in Cambodia. The work also included journalists on the ground in Cambodia, visits with U.S. monkey facilities and interviews with experts, activists and scientists,
Their body of work put a spotlight on a little-known part of the world of science and medicine. It pressured federal investigators to step up inquiries and arrests. In the wake of the reporting, more than 1,000 poached monkeys were ordered returned to Cambodia, and the plight of these endangered species has emerged as an international issue in how monkeys are obtained for lab testing.
Honorable Mention: “Vetting Your Pet’s Vet” - Avery Travis, Chris Nelson, David Barer, Josh Hinkle, KXAN
Prompted by stories of animals who suffered due to poor medical care in Texas, KXAN investigated the state agency in charge of licensing and regulating veterinarians. They found that despite prior orders from state lawmakers to fix its license look-up website - a tool that enables pet owners to search for their veterinarian's disciplinary history - serious problems remained.
When the KXAN team discovered dozens of disciplinary records still missing from the look-up tool, they built their own database to fill in the blanks and started tracking problems on their own - later creating a special landing page with their findings and interactive features. Their reporting resulted in top agency officials resigning and a renewed push for transparency.
They later followed state lawmakers’ progress in the 2023 legislative session, as the legislature used KXAN's 2022 reporting to bolster laws to move the vet board’s operations to a different agency - the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation – for four years, giving vet board officials oversight and time to fix the problems discovered by KXAN.
