September 14, 2006 | Read Time: 2 minutes
The Humane Society of the United States and the Doris Day Animal League have merged.
The two Washington animal-advocacy organizations have worked together on many projects in recent years, such as providing aid to pets after Hurricane Katrina and fighting the use of animals in testing household products and cosmetics. After nearly a year of discussions, the two groups combined operations on August 26.
The merger will bolster the Humane Society Legislative Fund, a newly formed political arm of the organization. Sara Amundson, legislative director of the Doris Day Animal League, will serve as the legislative fund’s executive director, and some animal-league staff members will work for the fund.
Holly Hazard, executive director of the Doris Day Animal League, will serve as chief innovation officer at the Humane Society, where she will develop new business ventures for the organization and new projects for the Wild Neighbors and Pets for Life programs.
The new alliance follows the Humane Society’s merger with the Fund for Animals in 2005, and the organization’s hiring of two leaders from the organization Compassion Over Killing, Miyun Park and Paul Shapiro, in early 2005. In April, the organization hired Jennifer Fearing, former president of United Animal Nations.
The moves are part of the charity’s effort to improve its ability to bring about change in the area of animal welfare, says Wayne Pacelle, chief executive officer of the Humane Society, who believes that fragmentation has hurt the cause of animal protection.
“Diversity has great merit, but that’s not to say you should have quite this level of division and diffusion of resources,” he says. “There should be one large organization that has its own gravitational mass, that can influence policy makers, corporate leaders, the media, and humane-minded Americans. And I want the Humane Society of the United States to be that place.”
The Humane Society’s 2006 budget is $103-million, more than double the 1996 annual budget of $42-million. The group employs more than 400 people, a 60-percent increase from 2000.
