Adoptions Director Denounces Animal Warehousing at Humane Society of New York

Bonnie Tischler, the former Adoptions Director of The Humane Society of New York (HSNY), is sounding the alarm about animal warehousing at the prominent cat and dog shelter on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. When she retired in early 2020 after serving for 22 years, Tischler assumed that her boss, Executive Director Sandra DeFeo, would hire a replacement. In August 2021, she learned that a whistleblower was reporting that adoptions had come to a virtual standstill and that the shelter was closed to the public for the indefinite future. In an on-camera interview with TheirTurn, Tischler speaks about the plight of the animals, the management culture that enables warehousing to take place and her decision to come out of retirement to advocate on their behalf.

Upon learning about the warehousing allegations in August 2021, TheirTurn conducted a two-month investigation and, in October 2021, posted a detailed report. The investigation, which corroborated the whistleblower allegations, revealed the following:

1. HSNY ignores adoption applications. (TheirTurn knows of 13 individuals who did not receive a response after submitting applications.)
2. HSNY’s website lists just 14 of the reported 90 animals in the shelter.
3. HSNY does virtually no adoption promotion on social media. (In response to a letter-writing campaign, HSNY made two unconvincing posts on Instagram)
4. Adopters are not meeting the animals because the shelter is closed to the public.
5. Sandra DeFeo is misleading the public about why the building is closed. HSNY’s website states that it’s due to COVID, but a lawyer retained by TheirTurn asserts that HSNY would expose itself to another ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) lawsuit if it reopens without making the building accessible to the public. If COVID was the reason for restricted access to the building, then DeFeo could allow vaccinated, masked adopters into the building to meet the animals who need homes.

When confronted with questions about animal warehousing, DeFeo claims that HSNY has been “doing adoptions all along.” Tischler, the former Adoptions Director, disputes that assertion, not only because of the evidence demonstrating otherwise, but also because members of the public don’t know that the animals exist. “If the building is closed to the public and the animals aren’t listed online, much less promoted, then few people are submitting adoption applications in the first place.”

During her interview with TheirTurn, Tischler also expressed concerns about DeFeo’s belief that the animals’ cages are like apartments. “If she believes that the animals are ‘home’ in their ‘apartments’ at the shelter, then she’s not going to act with a sense of urgency to find them forever homes.”

The Humane Society of New York has been warehousing cats and dogs for at least 22 months, according to an anonymous whistleblower and a two-month TheirTurn investigation which corroborated his or her allegations

Since posting the report, TheirTurn launched a grassroots campaign calling on HSNY to either reopen the shelter to the public and resume adoptions in earnest OR send the animals to foster homes or adoption facilities that are sending animals home. To date, the campaign consists of a Facebook page, a petition and a letter-writing campaign targeting several of the organization’s board members.

As of February 22, 276 advocates sent letters to Humane Society of New York board members calling on them to reopen the shelter to the public and resume adoptions or send the animals to foster homes or adoption facilities that are sending animals home.

Two of the five board members targeted in the letter-writing campaign, C. Jones Perry and James Gregorio, resigned from the board. Both men are attorneys.

Two of the five Humane Society of New York board members targeted in a grass roots letter writing campaign denouncing animal warehousing at the shelter, C. Jones Perry and James Gregorio, have resigned

Among the board members who have ignored the letters are Cornelia Guest and Alexandra Rowley. Guest, a famous socialite who describes herself on social media as an “animal rights” advocate who “finds animals new homes every day,” owns a catering company that sells meat and other animal products. Rowley, who adopted a dog from Bonnie Tischler, has ignored her letters and phone calls. “The board members, many of whom I’ve known for years, are ignoring me, despite my 22 years of service to the Humane Society,” said Tischler. “Maybe that’s because they can’t argue with the truth — that the animals have been languishing in cages for 22 months or longer because HSNY is doing hardly any adoptions.”

Despite the fact that she describes herself as an “animal rights” advocates who “finds homes for animals every day,” Humane Society of New York Board Member has ignored hundreds of letters from advocates concerned about animal warehousing at her shelter.

By turning a blind eye to the animal warehousing, the board members are, according to Tischler, betraying the animals for whom they are responsible, failing to fulfill their duty to uphold the shelter’s mission and deceiving their donors, who believe they are contributing to a bonafide adoption center.

TapInto Sutton Place/Lenox Hill, a media outlet on the East Side of Manhattan, reported on animal warehousing controversy in November 2020.

Instead of addressing the warehousing, several of the board members are participating in HSNY’s deception, posting congratulatory comments on the few posts in which the shelter is attempting to give the impression that it’s doing adoptions. On February 14th, Alexandra Gore and Sarah Gore Reeves, the two adult daughters of HSNY Board President Virginia Chipurnoi, wrote “Love @humanesoceityNY” and “So cute” on one of these posts, despite having been informed about the animal warehousing by TheirTurn in January. According to HSNY insiders, Mrs. Chipurnoi, who is in her mid-80s and lives out of state, is elderly and unable to fulfill her duties as President of the Board.

In response to complaints that it is not promoting animals for adoption, the Humane Society of New York posted two animals for adoption in February, but the posts contained very little information and did not encourage people to submit adoption applications.

According to scientific studies, keeping animals in cages for prolonged periods of time negatively impacts their physical and mental health. It also flies in the face of best practices for animal shelters. “Many of the animals at HSNY have been living in cages for two or more years, “said Tischler. “If HSNY continues to keep the shelter closed to the public while doing virtually no adoption promotion, these animals will spend the rest of their lives in a cage.”

With $6 million in annual revenues and $42 million in net assets, HSNY can afford to hire a new Adoptions Director and make the building ADA compliant in order to be able to reopen to the public. If it cannot or will not take these steps, then it should send the animals to adoption facilities that are sending animals home. 

If you’d like to be a voice for the cats and dogs, please take any or all of the following steps:

1. Follow the the Facebook group, Humane Society of NY: Stop Warehousing Animals, for action alerts
2. Send an automated letter to the members of the board
3. Sign the petition