So much for Wayne Pacelle’s denials. Early in 2018, when women at the Humane Society of the U.S. alleged that Pacelle, the organization’s charismatic leader, had sexually harassed them, he maintained his innocence before resigning under pressure. “This is a coordinated attempt to attack me and the organization,” Pacelle said. “And I absolutely deny any suggestion that I …
For more than a year, the Humane Society of the United States, the US’s most powerful animal-welfare group, has been trying to recover from charges of sexual harassment levied against Wayne Pacelle, its former chief executive. The Humane Society’s board has apologized to women who lodged complaints against Pacelle, adopted new policies and practices, brought on new members, commissioned …
Last week, the Humane Society of the US announced a “reconciliation process” that is intended to heal its workplace. HSUS is inviting “anyone who may have experienced or witnessed sexual or other kinds of harassment, inappropriate workplace behaviors, a hostile work environment and/or retaliation” to share their experiences in confidential interviews with Kate Kimpel, a …
Well, that didn’t take long. Less than six months after stepping down as CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, Wayne Pacelle is returning to the animal welfare movement, this time as a part of a political action committee called Animal Wellness Action. Pacelle left the Humane Society (HSUS) in February under a …
Scandal? Tragedy? Farce? It’s been a roller-coaster week for the Humane Society of the US (HSUS), for the women who work there and for the animals they care about. But the controversy over sexual harassment that rocked the organization came to a climax on Friday afternoon when Wayne Pacelle, the chief executive of HSUS since …
Days after the Harvey Weinstein horror story broke, the anger among women in the animal welfare movement, which had simmered for years, boiled over during a panel on gender and race at the Animal Law Conference in Portland, Oregon. “Too often we excuse the wrongdoing of our colleagues who treat their employees with disrespect and …
Sexual harassment and gender bias in the animal welfare movement have been talked about for years, mostly but not entirely in private. Now the problems are bursting into public view, and not a moment too soon. Last night, the Chronicle of Philanthropy published my story about the Humane Society of the U.S. It reports that …
Life is improving for millions of animals in the US. Pigs are being freed from crates, and laying hens are being liberated from their cages. Progress is on the horizon for broiler chickens. Michael Budkie, a lifelong animal-rights activist, is unimpressed. Budkie, the co- founder and executive director of Stop Animal Exploitation NOW!, a nonprofit …
Not long ago, the animal welfare movement was at war with Perdue Farms over its treatment of broiler chickens. The Humane Society of the U.S. and Compassion Over Killing had sued Perdue and Kroger, which sells Perdue chickens, over labels claiming that their chickens were “raised in a humane environment.” Compassion in World Farming, working …
We may be the only lawyers on earth whose clients are all innocent. — a poster for the Animal Legal Defense Fund. Steven Wise is an attorney for animals, notably two chimpanzees, Tommy and Kiko, who live in captivity in upstate New York and are asking the courts for relief. A rumpled 60-something legal scholar who …
