Why is the Humane Society of New York Warehousing Animals?

In April 2020, adoptions at the Humane Society of New York (HSNY), large and prominent animal shelter in Manhattan, came to a virtual standstill because the Executive Director, Sandra DeFeo, closed the building to adopters. Almost 2.5 years have elapsed, and nothing has changed. In response to a viral video about the plight of the animals, hundreds of TikTokers posted comments asking why.

DeFeo claims that she is keeping the building closed due to COVID, but, according to whistleblowers and lawyers who corroborated their allegations, she cannot re-open because of violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The building is not wheelchair accessible under ADA guidelines, and allowing members of the public inside without making the required renovations would subject the HSNY to another costly ADA lawsuit. 

Based on feedback from whistleblowers and former employees, activists working on the campaign to help the animals believe that DeFeo is warehousing the animals for one or both of the following reasons: 

1.Facilitating adoptions while the building is closed to adopters is more labor intensive, and DeFeo can’t be bothered.

2. DeFeo is not motivated to do adoptions because she believes the animals are content in their cages, which she describes as “their apartments.” 

Lila and Teuscher, adoptable dogs, have been living in cages at the Humane Society of New York for over five years

Advocates believe that a lack of accountability has enabled DeFeo to warehouse the homeless animals in her care. When COVID shut down New York City in 2020, the HSNY’s once active Board President, Virginia Chipurnoi, left New York. Since then, she has not responded to letters, phone calls or texts from people with whom she has – or had – personal relationships.  Chipurnoi is 88 years old and is reportedly incapable of supervising DeFeo, much less serving as the HSNY’s Board President. Advocates attempted to contact her two daughters, Alexandra Chipurnoi and Sarah Gore Reeves, both of whom have been a presence at the Humane Society.  Neither has responded to emails or letters sent through regular mail. 

Three of the HSNY’s other board members resigned amid the reports of animal warehousing — Alexandra Rowley, James Gregorio and C. Jones Perry. The other board members are inactive, disinterested and/or elderly. 

Animal rights activists say that the veterinarians who work in the clinic at the Humane Society of New York are complicit in the warehousing of animals at the organization’s adoption center. (From Left to right Ralph Gutierrez, Ellen Hirshberg, Shingo Soeda, Lauren Postler, Yaron Schmid, Liz Higgins)

In addition to an adoption center, the HSNY operates a low-cost vet clinic, thanks to its generous donors. Six veterinarians work in the clinic, and none of them have addressed the animal warehousing. In a letter to TheirTurn, a whistleblower indicated that the veterinarians are turning a blind eye because they are content to keep the building closed so that clients can’t enter the exam rooms with their animal companions. Whatever the reason, their silence amounts to complicity. Advocates intend to hold Shingo Soeda, Ralph Gutierrez, Ellen Hirshberg, Lauren Postler, Yaron Schmid and Liz Higgins accountable until they use their leverage as veterinarians to compel DeFeo to send the animals to shelters that are open to adopters or to foster homes. 

Instead of addressing the activists’ concerns, the veterinarians at the Humane Society of New York attempt to hide their faces as they exit the building when protests are taking place (pictured: Dr. Lauren Postler)

Advocates are also holding accountable the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, an organization that has been advocating for NYC’s homeless animals since 2003. The President of the Mayor’s Alliance, attorney Jane Hoffman, has been a leader in NYC’s rescue community for decades, yet she has refused to intervene on behalf of the animals, claiming that she no longer has influence: “I believe I explained what the Alliance was and is now, how my leadership role in the shelter community has changed considerably since we transferred several initiatives to other animal welfare organizations in 2019, and finally, that Sandra DeFeo’s presence as an Alliance Board member does not give me the authority to dictate the internal operations of HSNY.” In response to Hoffman’s refusal to help, advocates launched a petition.

Petition calling on Jane Hoffman, the President of the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, to intervene on behalf of the cats and dogs being warehoused at the Humane Society of New York

In response to a viral TikTok video that thrust the HSNY into the spotlight, DeFeo posted a statement on the shelter’s Instagram page in which she claims to have facilitated approximately 160 adoptions since March 2020. If that is true (and we believe the number to be much lower), then a large shelter in a busy residential neighborhood that should be adopting out animals every day has facilitated an average of just over one animal per week since closing its doors to adopters.

A TikTok video about an animal warehousing protest at the Humane Society of New York went viral, leading the shelter to post a statement on its Instagram page

In the carefully worded statement, DeFeo attempts to justify the small number of adoptions by claiming to be “diligent,” but advocates argue that there is a big difference between being diligent and making it virtually impossible to adopt. That difference is perhaps best illustrated by what happens when people ring the HSNY’s doorbell to inquire about adoptions and to ask to see the animals. Instead of inviting them inside, a security guard at the entrance gives them a handout about the HSNY’s vet clinic that contains no information about adoptions.

A security guard at the Humane Society of New York gives a man who is interested in adopting an animal a handout about the organization’s vet clinic