December 9, 2004 | Read Time: 2 minutes
Two leaders in the field of animal protection have decided to join forces.
The boards of the Humane Society of the United States, in Washington, and the Fund for Animals, in New York, have voted to combine operations. The merger will formally occur on January 1.
The decision to merge was not driven by financial necessity, but by a recognition that the organizations could accomplish more together than they could separately, said Wayne Pacelle, chief executive officer of the Humane Society of the United States and a former chief executive of the Fund for Animals.
Mr. Pacelle said that both organizations were financially healthy and had substantial assets.
“We have many types of animal abuse that we’re looking to combat,” said Mr. Pacelle, “and the size and strength and power of an organization matters.”
Advocacy Priorities
The new organization, which will be based in Washington, will have a budget of more than $95-million in 2005. Its advocacy efforts will focus on four major issues: fur, sport hunting, factory farming, and malicious animal cruelty, such as cock fighting and dog fighting. The combined organization will also include a new litigation section with six full-time lawyers.
The current animal-care programs and facilities of the two groups will be combined and will operate under the Fund for Animals name.
As part of the merger, the two organizations have formed a new lobbying arm, the HSUS Fund for Animals, to augment the new charity’s public-policy work.
Michael Markarian, president of the Fund for Animals, sees the merger as a way to “level the playing field.”
“We have very sizable and wealthy opponents, whether it’s the National Rifle Association or the Farm Bureau or the Pork Council or Ringling Brothers,” said Mr. Markarian. “These are industries that have a lot of heft and wealth, and we need to take the animal-protection movement to the next level.”
