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Animal Group Has Its Critics -- Humane Society's New Leader Extremist, They Say

Posted on: Tuesday, 28 December 2004, 12:00 CST

WASHINGTON - Fifty years ago, four animal welfare advocates created the Humane Society of the United States as part of their dream of winning passage of federal laws protecting animals from cruelty in slaughterhouses and laboratories.

Since then the Humane Society has grown to become the "800-pound gorilla" of the animal protection movement. With its recent merger with the Fund for Animals, the Humane Society now has more than 8 million members, 350 staff members and an annual budget of nearly $100 million.

"If people really care about animals and want aggressive, effective action, we are the group to call," says Wayne Pacelle, the Humane Society's new chief executive officer.

Over the years, the Humane Society has had a string of notable successes in Congress. But the organization also has attracted many critics, who contend the Humane Society's agenda takes animal rights too far.

"They clearly have targeted hunting and trapping as part of their agenda. ... They are very much in the animal extremist movement," said Jeff Crane, policy director of the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation.

David Martosko, research director of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Consumer Freedom, contends the Humane Society "is out to transform America into a strict vegetarian utopia whether we like it or not."

"They are a $50 million, $60 million lobby machine, lobbying for things that most Americans don't want. The only mainstream thing about them is that they wear a suit and tie while doing it," Martosko said.

Critics such as Martosko expect the Humane Society to become "more extremist" with the elevation of Pacelle to the organization's top spot.

"He wants to abolish meat, outlaw hunting, and get rid of circuses, zoos and rodeos," Martosko said. "It's animal rights lunacy, and Wayne is king of it."

Pacelle, 39, acknowledges that he has strong beliefs about animals. He is a vegan who wears non-leather shoes and belts. But he also insists he has grown more tolerant of different views.

"My own commitment is very strong - I am a vegan," Pacelle says. "But I'm also conscious of the cultural complexities of this issue. People are raised to think of animals in a certain way, and to use animals in some ways."

Source: Commercial Appeal, The

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