WASHINGTON - The HSUS, the nation’s largest animal protection
organization, today named Wayne Pacelle as its new leader and
Chief Executive Officer – Designate. Pacelle will fully assume
the executive leadership of the Society after a brief
transition period.
“I am pleased to announce that The Humane Society of the
United States has named a dynamic, aggressive, and visionary
leader to direct our domestic and global efforts to protect
animals, to halt animal cruelty and abuse, and to protect their
habitats,” said David O. Wiebers, M.D., HSUS chair of the Board
of Directors and a neurologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester,
Minn. “Wayne Pacelle has long been one of the nation’s leading
advocates of social reforms to benefit animals, and our Board
of Directors recognized that we need a leader of his
determination and inspiration in facing the challenges of the
21st century.”
A senior vice president for The HSUS for the last 10 years,
Pacelle has been instrumental in helping pass more than a dozen
new federal laws to protect animals, more than 15 statewide
ballot initiatives, and countless laws at the state level. From
toughening up laws for animal cruelty and animal fighting to
outlawing the use of steel-jawed leghold traps and bear baiting
to banning cruel industrial farming practices, Pacelle has led
an unprecedented effort to protect millions of animals. He has
helped to secure millions in federal dollars for enforcement of
federal laws to protect animals in the United States and
abroad.
“The HSUS will continue to focus on protecting companion
animals and wildlife, but we will make aggressive and
unprecedented efforts to halt institutional forms of animal
abuse, including the mistreatment of animals on industrial
factory farms,” said Pacelle. “In order to succeed, we need the
participation of millions of Americans in our cause to root out
suffering and abuse. I want to invite every American who cares
about animals to join with us in pursuing our important
mission.”
Pacelle joined the organization 10 years ago as vice
president for government affairs and media and was promoted to
senior vice president for communications and government affairs
in 1998. He is the organization’s leading spokesperson and has
led a wide variety of campaigns for The HSUS. Pacelle
previously served as executive director of The Fund for
Animals, the national advocacy group founded by author
Cleveland Amory. He graduated from Yale University in 1987 and
is a native of New Haven, Conn.
The HSUS board of directors voted late Friday to appoint
Pacelle to the position being vacated by Paul G. Irwin, who was
asked by the board of directors to stay on beyond his planned
retirement in 2002.
“Paul Irwin has helped to build The Humane Society of the
United States into the most influential animal advocacy
organization in the world,” said Dr. Wiebers. “One of every 40
Americans is a direct supporter of The HSUS thanks to his
leadership. We could not be more grateful to Paul for his
extraordinary and expansive leadership.” Irwin joined The HSUS
in 1976, and took over as president in 1992.
“Protecting animals has not only been a personal passion,
but a moral imperative,” stated Irwin. “I could not be more
proud of the work of The Humane Society of the United States in
halting cruelty and exploitation across the globe. I am
grateful to have had the opportunity to lead the organization
for the past 14 years and to serve it in various other
capacities for 28 years. I will continue to stay engaged with
the issues we address because they represent the core issues of
humane and sustainable life on this planet.”
Pacelle will announce other senior leadership changes in the
organization in the coming weeks.
The Humane Society of the United States represents more than
eight million members and constituents and has an annual budget
in excess of $80 million. The organization has a staff of
nearly 300 people working in the Washington area and in 10
regional offices across the country and in a number of offices
throughout the world. The HSUS maintains active programs in
companion animals and equine protection, wildlife and habitat
protection, animals in research, farm animals and sustainable
agriculture, and national and international humane education
and environmental protection. The group is marking its 50th
anniversary in 2004.
