Humane Society chief being investigated on sexual harassment charges

Rick Jervis | USA TODAY

The Humane Society of the United States is investigating its longtime chief executive, Wayne Pacelle, on sexual harrassment charges.

The non-profit group's board of directors recently hired a Washington law firm to look into workplace misconduct charges against Pacelle, including allegations of sexual relationships with subordinates, donors and volunteers stretching back more than a decade. The investigation, first reported by the Chronicle of Philanthropy, began last month.

Pacelle has denied the allegations. “This is a coordinated attempt to attack me and the organization,” he told The Washington Post. “And I absolutely deny any suggestion that I did anything untoward.”

A Humane Society memo describing the investigation and obtained by the Post depict a pattern of alleged improper behavior beginning in 2005, including an intern who says Pacelle gave her an unwanted kiss and another woman who alleged sexual advances and acts by the chief executive on work trips.

The memo also states that several high-ranking female employees at the non-profit group warned Pacelle that his sexual relationships could hurt the charity, according to the Post, something Pacelle denies. "I enjoy the support of senior women throughout the organization," he told the Post. "No one has ever warned me of such a thing, ever."

The investigation is being conducted by the law firm Morgan Lewis and includes interviews with 33 people, evidence provided by witnesses and emails on Pacelle’s work computer, according to the memo.

Some employees defended Pacelle to investigators, describing his relationships with adults as consensual, while others said Pacelle's actions created a toxic work environment in which employees thought they had to sleep with the chief executive to get ahead, according to the Post.

The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's premiere animal protection organization, providing hands-on care and services to more than 100,000 animals each year. Pacelle joined the charity in 1994, became its chief executive in 2004 and was paid about $380,000 in 2016, according to IRS filings.

The Humane Society investigation comes amid a #MeToo-style debate within the animal welfare community and allegations of a misogynist "bro culture" at the upper echelons of the movement, as well as reports of sexual harassment and assault.

Pattrice Jones, co-founder of the Vermont-based animal sanctuary VINES, wrote in a blog post last month that she has heard sexual assault claims from at least a dozen women over the past 17 years.

"Like survivors in other realms, women who have survived sexual assault or other forms of intimate partner violence within the vegan and animal advocacy movements experience a range of reactions including PTSD, suicidal depression, difficulty trusting people, and profound lack of confidence in themselves," Jones wrote. "All of these, it shouldn’t be necessary for me to say, inhibit their ability to be effective advocates for animals."

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