NYC Lawmakers Encourage Humane Society of New York to Relocate Animals

In an open letter to the Humane Society of New York (HSNY), two New York City Council Members have suggested that the large and prominent NYC shelter relocate their adoptable animals to “another facility that is open to the public, where the prospect of adoption is much greater,” or to “foster homes” so that “these animals have the best possible chance to find their forever homes.” According to whistleblowers and animal rights activists, adoptions at the HSNY came to a virtual standstill in April 2020, when the organization closed its doors to the public.

NYC Council Members Julie Menin and James Gennaro sent a letter to the Humane Society of New York expressing concern about the welfare of the animals in the prominent Manhattan shelter

In the letter, which is addressed to the organization’s Executive Director Sandra DeFeo, the lawmakers express concern about the welfare of the animals, noting that “8 out of 14 cats and dogs on your adoption page in October 2021 are still listed as available for adoption on your current website.”

Since August 2021, animal rights activists have been sounding the alarm about the warehousing of animals at the Humane Society of New York

The Council Members, Julie Menin and James Gennaro, sent the letter after being contacted by constituents who expressed concern about the welfare of the animals.

In an interview with Pix11 News, Council Member Menin, whose district includes the Humane Society of New York, remarked on the slow pace of adoptions: “Why are the adoptions only one per week? That seems like a very slow pace for a relatively large organization that’s well funded. So, we do have concerns about that. We’re also concerned about why can’t the public come in?” Discussions between the Council Members and the HSNY are ongoing.

Pix11, a TV news station in New York, aired a three minute story about the animal warehousing controversy at the Humane Society of New York

Animal rights activists learned that animals were being warehoused at the HSNY in July 2021 when a whistleblower wrote that adoptions had come to a virtual standstill 15 months earlier and that DeFeo, the Executive Director, was keeping the building closed to the public under false pretenses. After conducting an investigation which corroborated the allegations and revealed that the building was closed indefinitely due to violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), animal rights activists began calling on the HSNY to send its animals to shelters that are open to the public or to foster homes, where they could live with a family outside of a cage and where adopters could more easily meet them. During a phone call in August 2021 in which Donny Moss of TheirTurn asked DeFeo why she wasn’t sending the animals to foster homes while the building was closed to the public, DeFeo said that the HSNY is their foster home and that their cages are “apartments.”

While reporting on the animal warehousing controversy at the Humane Society of New York, Pix11 News zoomed in on the adoption cards that show intake dates of 2018 and 2019 for two of the cats. Because the shelter has been closed to adopters for three years, advocates suspect that many of animals have been living in the shelter for at least that long

After being dismissed by DeFeo and ignored by the HSNY’s board members, animal rights activists began staging protests at the HSNY and the nearby home of one of its board members, Alexandra Rowley. During the approximately 20 protests that have taken place so far, dozens of area residents stopped to share their stories of being ignored or turned away after submitting adoption applications or calling to inquire about adoptions. Videos with these testimonials have gone viral on TikTok, garnering over 2.5 million views and attracting national attention to the plight of the animals.

Videos of the protests at the Humane Society of New York have gone viral on TikTok, garnering more than 2.5 million views

In an effort to silence protesters outside of the building, the Humane Society of NY has put up signs asking for quiet despite the fact that they are subjecting the animals inside to loud interior and exterior construction projects instead of sending them to foster homes

Throughout the course of the campaign, members of public have asked the advocates why the HSNY has kept the cats and dogs instead of placing them in shelters that are open to the public or to foster homes. According to Donny Moss of TheirTurn, an organizer in the campaign, the problem lies with the Executive Director. “Sandra DeFeo has always held the view that cages are ‘apartments’ and that the shelter is a ‘home,’ but that warped perspective mattered less before 2020 because guardrails were in place to protect the animals – an adoption center that was open to adopters; an Adoption Director who was sending animals home and a board president who worked at the shelter four days per week. When the guardrails came down, the animals were at the mercy of someone who believes that a cage in a shelter is home.”

During bi-weekly protests at the Humane Society of New York, animal rights activists call on the Manhattan shelter to send the cats and dogs in their care to foster homes where they won’t have to live in a cage or be subjected to construction noise

In addition to operating an adoption center, the HSNY runs a low cost vet clinic that is subsidized by private donors. Like the adoption center, the vet clinic, which is located on the ground floor of the same building, has been closed to the public for the past three years. Despite pleas from the advocates, the six veterinarians who work in the clinic have refused to address the warehousing of animals. During the first two protests at the HSNY, the advocates asked the vets to use their influence to relocate the animals to foster homes, but they refused to engage them. The vets — Drs. Lauren Postler, Shingo Soeda, Ellen Hirshberg, Yaron Schmid, Ralph Gutierrez and Liz Higgins —  avert their eyes and ignore the advocates as they exit the building.

Advocates assert that the veterinarians who work in the Humane Society of New York’s clinic are complicit in the warehousing of animals in the organization’s adoption center. (From left to right: Drs. Ralph Gutierrez, Ellen Hirshberg, Shingo Soeda, Lauren Postler, Yaron Schmid, Liz Higgins)

Among the other senior HSNY staff members who have ignored the advocates are the Associate Director, Anne Marie Karash, and the Director of Animal Behavior and Training, Bill Berloni. When Pix11 News reported on the animal warehousing scandal, Karash acknowledged that some of the animals have been living in the adoption center for years. She justified the long-term captivity by stating that the animals have medical conditions and that they’re selective about the people to whom they adopt. Bonnie Tischler, the HSNY’s Adoption Director who retired in early 2020 after serving in that role for 22 years, is not convinced:

“People will adopt and foster animals with special needs and animals who are elderly, so there’s no reason those animals should be there for so many years. Every animal, if given the opportunity, can be adopted. That said, the longer these animals are held in cages, the more issues they have due to the stress of the long-term confinement. Also, being selective about the adopters is commendable, but there’s a big difference between ‘being selective’ and ignoring adoption applications altogether, which is what the HSNY has done for the past three years.”

During an interview with Pix11 News, Anne Marie Karash, the Associate Director of the Humane Society of New York, attempted to use medical conditions and a highly selective adoption process to justify the long term captivity of animals at the shelter.

Bill Berloni, the animal trainer and behaviorist, owns a company called Berloni’s Theatrical Animals that leases animals to Broadway shows, movies, TV shows and commercials. According to former HSNY employees, he finds the animals in shelters or buys them from breeders, depending on the needs of his clients. When the musical Gypsy ended its run on Broadway, Berloni told colleagues at the HSNY that he brought the lamb who he procured for the production to a slaughterhouse after telling the show’s star, Bernadette Peters, that he retired her to a sanctuary.

During the pandemic, when Broadway had no use for his animals, Berloni’s friend created a GoFundMe campaign that raised $91,332 for his company. By calling the campaign a fundraiser for the “Theatrical Animals Fund,” at least some of the donors must have assumed they were donating to an animal rescue charity, not a for-profit animal enterprise.

Bill Berloni, who owns a company that leases animals to Broadway shows, movies, TV shows and commercials, has not addressed the public’s concerns about the warehousing of animals at the Humane Society of New York, where he is employed as the Director of Animal Training and Behavior

The HSNY states the animals’ participation in Broadway shows “changes their lives forever,” but advocates disagree: “Dogs don’t aspire to be props in Broadway shows,” said Edita Birnkrant, the Executive Director of NYCLASS, a NYC-based animal rights organization. “They want to live in a home, go for walks, play ball and curl up on the sofa with their family.”

Prospective adopters who ring the bell at the the Humane Society of New York are asked to leave when they inquire about meeting the animals available for adoption

In the Pix11 News interview, Karash, the Associate Director, said that 27 cats and 13 dogs remain in the shelter. Like Council Members Menin and Gennaro, the advocates are calling on DeFeo to send the remaining animals to foster homes, where they could live uncaged and with a family, until the HSNY completes the renovations and resumes adoptions in earnest.