Humane World for Animals

Background and Goals

Humane World for Animals (HWA) is one of the largest animal rights organizations in the country. Prior to February, 2025, HWA was known as the Humane Society of the United States. 

Through various corporate campaigns, lobbying, and litigation, HWA promotes veganism and advocates against eating meat, dairy, and eggs. HWA also advocates against animal-based fibers such as fur, leather, and wool, and lobbies to restrict pet ownership. HWA policy positions are commonly at odds with veterinarians.  

There is no affiliation between HWA and local humane society pet shelters, despite similar names. 

ESG Activism 

HWA has been involved in numerous shareholder activism and corporate pressure campaigns. Since 2007, often in conjunction with allied vegan/animal rights organizations, HWA has run pressure campaigns asking companies to pledge to change their animal protein sourcing. 

Pork

HWA demands food companies pledge to remove individual maternity pens (also known as gestation crates) from their supply chains. These pens are used to protect sows from aggression and fighting, and HWA’s position is at odds with veterinarians and animal care specialists. (For background information on this issue, see Issue Brief: Sow Housing.)

In 2022, HWA and investor Carl Icahn launched a proxy campaign against McDonald’s over the company’s pork-sourcing policy. HWA and Icahn ran two candidates for the McDonald’s board. The HWA campaign suffered a heavy defeat, receiving only about 1% of the shareholder vote. HWA and Icahn subsequently withdrew a similar campaign against Kroger. (For more information, see Case Study: McDonald’s)

Poultry

HWA advocates companies pledge to only buy chicken that meets the standards of the so-called Better Chicken Commitment (BCC). The BCC is a program controlled by activists, and an environmental analysis found that its implementation would have a significantly negative environmental impact. (For more information on BCC, click Review: Better Chicken Commitment.) 

Antibiotics

HWA advocates against farmers and veterinarians using antibiotics to prevent disease. This is at odds with the recommendations of veterinarians and will harm animal welfare. Banning the use of preventive medicine leads to more animals getting sick. It will also have a negative environmental impact if more livestock perish from illness. (For more information on antibiotics, click Issue Brief: Antibiotics.)

“Enforcement” of Past Pledges

In 2020, HWA released a Food Industry Scorecard finding that many restaurants and supermarkets were not able to meet past pledges or were quietly rolling back past pledges. This may be due to several reasons including lack of supply of alternative products, high prices of alternative products, and lack of customer interest. Recent HWA campaigns have focused on pressuring companies to keep these previous pledges. (For more information, see Report: Companies Roll Back Animal Protein Pledges.)

Governance Criticisms

Prior to its February 2025 name change, the Humane Society of the United States/HWA was hounded by over a decade of scandals. Below are key scandals from the organization’s history, which preceded its name change. 

Supporting Pet Ownership for Dog Killer Michael Vick

A 2007 investigation found that NFL quarterback Michael Vick ran a dog fighting ring, where he oversaw the killing and torturing of pet dogs. After his release from prison in 2009, Vick would start working with HWA. Shockingly, the partnership led to HWA endorsing Vick owning another dog. Than-HWA President Wayne Pacelle told reporters: “I have been around him a lot, and feel confident that he would do a good job as a pet owner.” HWA also put out a statement saying, “Vick could eventually be a good pet owner.”

These statements in support of Vick came after Vick’s post-prison employer, the Philadelphia Eagles, gave HWA a $50,000 “grant.”

Calls for Investigation

Numerous elected officials have called for investigations into HWA. Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt issued a public consumer alert in 2014 that HWA was separate from local humane societies.

In 2010, Congressman Pete Visclosky also raised concerns to the Internal Revenue Service over HWA’s alleged lobbying activities, and in 2011 six Congressmen sent a letter to the US Treasury Inspector General calling for an investigation into HWA’s charitable status. 

RICO Settlement

In 2014, HWA agreed to settle a lawsuit filed against it under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act – a law famous for its use to prosecute the mafia. In the settlement, HWA and its co-defendents agreed to pay $15.75 million to Feld Entertainment, the owner of Ringling Bros. circus. This, combined with an earlier $9.3 million settlement by the ASPCA, made a total settlement of $25 million paid for by animal activists. 

Alleged Sexual Harassment

In 2018, Wayne Pacelle resigned as HWA CEO following a series of sexual harassment allegations against him. Multiple female employees and interns accused Pacelle of making advances on them and pressuring them for sexual favors. According to the Washington Post, Pacelle asked one of his accusers “to stop by his hotel room after an event. He asked if he could masturbate in front of her, requested that she take off her clothes and offered to perform oral sex on her, according to two people briefed on the matter and the memo. When the woman refused, Pacelle told her not to tell anyone or she would destroy the Humane Society and lose her job.”

Amazingly, the HWA board initially stood with Pacelle. When asked about the allegations, HWA Board Member Erika Brunson asked reporters “which red-blooded male hasn’t sexually harassed somebody” and then said, “Women should be able to take care of themselves.” Pacelle eventually resigned, but claimed the allegations were a “coordinated campaign against the Humane Society.”

Shortchanging Pet Shelters

HWA has faced heavy scrutiny over its lack of support for local pet shelters. Despite ads full of dogs and cats and despite sitting on $390 million in investments, in 2023 HWA gave less than one percent of its budget to local pet shelters via financial grants, according to its tax return. A number of local pet shelters have made complaints about this state of affairs. A recent petition calling on HWA to donate its massive investment portfolio to local shelters has gathered almost 20,000 signatures.