Wayne Pacelle

In 2018, Chronicle of Philanthropy reported that Pacelle was under investigation for a "sexual relationship with an employee". In December 2018 HSUS launched an internal investigation, hiring the law firm Morgan, Lewis & Bockius to investigate three separate allegations of sexual harassment. Investigators found that the charity had offered settlements to three additional individuals who alleged they were dismissed or demoted after reporting instances of harassment by Pacelle. The New York Times subsequently reported on an interview with a Humane Society employee who alleges Pacelle sexually assaulted her in his office. Pacelle has denied each allegation. The investigation also included female leaders who allegedly said their "warnings about his conduct went unheeded." The HSUS voted at the end of January 2019 to retain Pacelle as CEO, prompting seven board members to resign in protest. Other donors threatened to sever ties with the organization, insisting that Pacelle should resign instead. Donors like the Greenbaum Foundation, which donated nearly $100,000 to the HSUS in 2017, claimed they would likely stop funding the HSUS because of the board’s handling the allegations against Pacelle. Other donors such as Nicole Brodeur had stopped providing funding when allegations came to light in October 2017. Facing internal and external dissent, Pacelle resigned on February 2, 2018.

Some defended Pacelle's placement as CEO. The Washington Post's Kathleen Parker offered support in the wake of Pacelle's resignation, claiming that it was not necessarily the best "for the organization he built or the animals it has served..." and thanked Pacelle for his "stewardship, advocacy and legendary work ethic." She added "No person is all one thing, good or bad, and Pacelle is no exception." Other affiliates of the organization supported Pacelle's resignation, claiming that the HSUS board had put Pacelle's fundraising abilities above concerns for other employees in their evaluation of the evidence against Pacelle. Iowa director Josh Skipworth claimed that it was "ridiculous to put the business outlook over the female employees" in the board's original decision to retain Pacelle as CEO. In March 2018, The Washington Post reported on the aftermath of Pacelle's resignation; the article details additional allegations of sexual harassment and assault involving Pacelle.

In 2018, Pacelle was noted in the book Rescuing Ladybugs by author and animal advocate Jennifer Skiff as having “arguably orchestrated more positive legal change for animals than any human being in modern times, during the period he was head of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) from 2004 to 2018.”

In March 2016, Pacelle and SeaWorld CEO Joel Manby forged an agreement to cooperate on several issues of mutual concern, and SeaWorld agreed to phase out its use of orca whales in performance, to end breeding of captive orcas, and to implement reforms including the introduction of humanely raised products to menus at SeaWorld's theme parks.

Published in April 2016, Pacelle's book The Humane Economy: How Innovators and Enlightened Consumers are Transforming the Lives of Animals argues that every business involving animal use is susceptible to disruption and that there are new opportunities to displace or modify animal use while creating wealth and enhancing animal welfare. Jack Welch called it "a critically important read for anyone who cares about business success or animals -- or, like so many of us, both."

In 2011, Pacelle and Chad Gregory of the United Egg Producers (UEP) agreed to work together in support of federal hen welfare legislation. This agreement expired in 2013 after the bill supported by the UEP and The HSUS failed to pass.

Published in April 2011, Pacelle's book The Bond: Our Kinship with Animals, Our Call to Defend Them is an exploration of mankind's bond with animals, and a call to respond to the needs of at-risk animals. Jane Goodall says of this book, "If the animals knew about this book, they would, without doubt, confer on Wayne Pacelle, their highest honor." The book debuted at #11 on The New York Times, #8 on the Los Angeles Times, and #8 on The Washington Post best-seller lists.

In early 2008, the HSUS's investigation of animal treatment at the Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company sparked the largest beef recall in American history and congressional calls for reform of the slaughterhouse inspection system. In late February 2008, Pacelle testified on the downer cow issue before a subcommittee of the Senate Agriculture Committee on a panel with USDA Secretary Edward Schafer.

Pacelle has been the subject of profiles by the New York Times Magazine (2008), the Los Angeles Times (2008), The New York Times (2007), The Wall Street Journal (2006), The Washington Post (2004), Newsweek (2007), and other major publications. In 2014, he was named one of the Non-Profit Times' "Power and Influence Top 50." The citation read, "He has played a role in the passage of more than two-dozen federal statutes and 26 successful statewide ballot initiatives, which is why he is a punching bag for puppy mills and pseudo-PR firms that profit from animal cruelty."

Two November 2006 ballot initiatives conducted with HSUS's support outlawed dove hunting in Michigan and abusive farming practices in Arizona. In January, 2007, several months after passage of the Arizona ballot measure, Smithfield Foods, the largest pork producer in the world, announced that it would phase out the use of gestation crates that immobilize pregnant sows through confinement. During the same month, Maple Leaf Foods, Canada's largest pork producer, did the same. The Strauss Veal company also followed suit.

For his management of HSUS's response to Hurricane Katrina, The NonProfit Times named Pacelle "Executive of the Year" (2005). In 2008, Pacelle also received a Special Achievement Award for Humanitarian Service from the National Italian American Foundation. The same year, Supermarket News named Pacelle one of its "Power 50", citing his leadership on farm animal welfare issues.

Pacelle is a cofounder of the Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF), a 501(c)(4) social welfare organization that lobbies for animal welfare legislation and works to elect humane-minded candidates to public office. He also cofounded Humane USA, a nonpartisan political action committee (PAC) that supports candidates of any political party based on their support for animal protection. These two organizations helped defeat lawmakers in Congress they consider hostile to animals, including Rep. Chris John of Louisiana (2004), Rep. Richard Pombo of California (2006), and Senator Conrad Burns of Montana (2006).

The HSUS experienced major growth since 2004, primarily as a result of corporate combinations Pacelle forged with The Fund for Animals in 2005 and the Doris Day Animal League in 2006. During the first 30 months of Pacelle's tenure, overall revenues and expenditures grew by more than 50 percent. HSUS's annual budget for 2006 was $103 million. The organization claims nearly 10 million members and constituents.

Since he joined the HSUS in 1994, Pacelle has played a role in the passage of more than 25 federal statutes and amendments designed to protect animals, including laws to increase penalties for harming law enforcement animals, protect great apes in their native habitats (2000), halt interstate transport of fighting animals (2002), halt commerce in big cats for the pet trade (2003), require government agencies to include pets in disaster planning (2006), make interstate transport of fighting animals a felony (2007), ban the import of puppy mill dogs from abroad (2008), mandate accurate labeling of fur garments (2010), outlaw cruel "animal crush" videos (2010), elevate protection for sharks from the practice of finning (2011), make it a spectator to be at an animal fight (2013), ban the sale of dog and cat meat in the U.S. (2018), pass a national ban on animal fighting (2019), and establish a federal anti-cruelty statute (2019). Pacelle has testified before U.S. House and Senate committees on a wide variety of animal protection issues, including farm animal welfare, "canned hunting", the treatment of downer cows, funding for the Animal Welfare Act and other programs, trophy hunting of threatened and endangered species, cockfighting and dogfighting, puppy mills, the exotic pet trade, bear baiting, and chronic wasting disease. The animal protection organizations he's led have helped pass more than 1000 state statutes during his tenure as a leader.

Pacelle was born in New Haven, Connecticut, of Greek and Italian descent. His parents are Richard L. Pacelle Sr., and Patricia Pacelle. Pacelle is the youngest of four children. His older brother, Richard L. Pacelle Jr., is a political science professor at The University of Tennessee. Growing up in New Haven, Pacelle enjoyed reading natural history as a child and developed an early concern about mistreatment of animals. He attended Notre Dame High School and graduated with degrees in history and environmental studies from Yale University, where William Cronon served as his adviser. Pacelle's environmental studies sensitized him to the fact that "a destructive attitude toward animals in the natural world, along with innovations in technology, could produce colossal damage to animals and ecosystems". His activism led to his appointment in 1989, at age 23, as Executive Director of The Fund for Animals, the organization founded by Cleveland Amory.

Wayne Pacelle (born August 4, 1965) is an American activist who was the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). Pacelle took office June 1, 2004, after serving for nearly 10 years as the organization's chief lobbyist and spokesperson. While the HSUS board voted overwhelmingly to keep Pacelle on as CEO, he chose to resign on February 2, 2018, after accusations of sexual harassment against him. Pacelle has vociferously denied these accusations.