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HSUS’s Financial and Ethical Obligations to the Chimpanzees at Project Chimps and the New Iberia Research Center

December 6, 2021 by 9 comments


The News

Since June 2020, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has come under public scrutiny over its failure to provide a humane retirement for the chimpanzees at Project Chimps, its sanctuary in Georgia that is home to 82 former lab chimpanzees. When, in 2020, whistleblowers and animal rights groups, including the Nonhuman Rights Project and PETA, began calling on HSUS to improve welfare conditions, HSUS took steps to distance itself from the sanctuary instead of fulfilling its obligations to the chimpanzees.

Project Chimps, an HSUS chimpanzee sanctuary in Georgia that has been in the spotlight since 2020 over poor animal welfare conditions

Project Chimps, a Humane Society of the United States chimpanzee sanctuary in Georgia that has been in the spotlight since 2020 over poor animal welfare conditions.

The following report details the conflicts of interest and obfuscation that have enabled HSUS to provide substandard care to the chimpanzees while giving the public the impression that Project Chimps is a true sanctuary. It also describes HSUS’s obligation to the approximately 110 chimpanzees waiting to be rescued from the New Iberia Research Center, a laboratory at the University of Louisiana.

Whistleblowers and animal rights groups erected a billboard near Project Chimps to raise awareness of the plight of the chimpanzees at the HSUS sanctuary.

Who are the stakeholders?

New Iberia Research Center (NIRC) – The NIRC is a biomedical research facility at the University of Louisiana that, until 2015, bred chimpanzees, used them in experiments and leased them to other laboratories. When chimpanzee research in the United States ended in 2015, NIRC retired the 220 chimpanzees that it owned in the laboratory itself.

Project Chimps – Project Chimps is a Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) sanctuary in Northern Georgia that was incorporated in 2014 and is home to chimpanzees owned by NIRC. The original contract between Project Chimps and NIRC, signed in 2015, indicates that Project Chimps intended to transfer all 220 chimpanzees from NIRC to the sanctuary by the end of 2020.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) – HSUS is a Washington, D.C.-based animal protection organization. With annual revenues of between $125 and $160 million, iis the wealthiest animal protection organization in the world. In 2020, HSUS had over $284 million in net assets and spent $28.4 million in fundraising. That year, Forbes ranked HSUS number 78 on its list of the wealthiest 100 charities in the United States. 

The Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS) – GFAS is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit that sets standards that sanctuaries must meet in order to receive its coveted accreditation. Since being founded in 2007 by two HSUS executives (and two others who were not affiliated with HSUS), GFAS has had close administrative and financial ties to HSUS.

How was Project Chimps created?

In 2014, Sarah Baeckler and Bruce Wagman, both of whom were attorneys and chimp advocates, met with the University of Louisiana to ask if it would release the 220 chimps it owned at NIRC to a sanctuary. When the university agreed, they incorporated Project Chimps, and Wagman became the Chairman of the Board. As an outside attorney for HSUS, Wagman had a close working relationship with the organization and solicited its support in the expensive endeavor of creating Project Chimps.

In 2015, HSUS helped Project Chimps purchase a defunct gorilla sanctuary in Georgia that would serve as Project Chimps’ home. In exchange, HSUS took over a majority of seats on Project Chimps’ Board of Directors and “fully integrated” the sanctuary into the organization.

After Project Chimps was incorporated, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) took control of its Board of Directors, thereby taking responsibility for the welfare of the 220 chimpanzees that Project Chimps committed to rescuing from the New Iberia Research Center (NIRC) at the University of Louisiana.

After Project Chimps was incorporated, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) took control of its Board of Directors, thereby taking responsibility for the welfare of the 220 chimpanzees that Project Chimps committed to rescuing from the New Iberia Research Center (NIRC) at the University of Louisiana.

In December 2015, the University of Louisiana  and Project Chimps signed a contract that stipulated that the University would pay Project Chimps up to $19,000 for each of the 220 chimps it took over a five-year period. After five years, Project Chimps would have to pay the University a penalty of $42.24/day for every chimp it left behind. Project Chimps therefore had a strong financial incentive to take in all 220 chimps within five years (by the end of 2020).

The 2015 contract between the University of Louisiana and Project Chimps. The contract was amended in 2019 to remove the penalty and the understanding that Project Chimps would take all 220 chimpanzees.

The 2015 contract between the University of Louisiana and Project Chimps. The contract was amended in 2019 to remove the penalty and the understanding that Project Chimps would take all 220 chimpanzees.

By the end of 2019, Project Chimps had taken in 80 of the reported 220 chimps at NIRC. If it didn’t rescue the remaining NIRC chimps by the end of 2020, then it would have to pay the University a penalty of approximately $177,000/month, according to the contract. In July 2019, however, the University removed the penalty from the contract, eliminating any sense of urgency around expanding Project Chimps to accommodate the remaining NIRC chimpanzees. The amended contract also removed the language indicating that Project Chimps would take all of the chimpanzees. These significant changes to the contract, which appear to be an attempt by HSUS to minimize its expenses associated with expanding Project Chimps, could sentence many of the remaining NIRC chimps to life in the lab.

The revised contract between between Project Chimps and the University of Louisiana could sentence chimpanzees to life at the lab because it removed the language indicating that Project Chimps would rescue all 220 of them, and it removed the penalties to Project Chimps associated with leaving chimpanzees behind.

The revised contract between between Project Chimps and the University of Louisiana could sentence chimpanzees to life at the lab because it removed the language indicating that Project Chimps would rescue all 220 of them, and it removed the penalties to Project Chimps associated with leaving chimpanzees behind.

Today, Project Chimps has just 82 of the approximately 220 NIRC chimpanzees.

What is the relationship between HSUS and Project Chimps?

Project Chimps is an HSUS affiliate, and the organizations are operationally intertwined. HSUS manages Project Chimps’s Information Technology department; pays its Executive Director; and files its tax returns. According to internal documents, Project Chimps employees are “HSUS professionals.”  In 2017, the sanctuary’s Executive Director Ali Crumpacker sent an email to the staff indicating that Project Chimps would soon be “fully integrated” into HSUS.

In an apparent attempt to absolve itself of its financial commitments to the chimpanzees and distance itself from the animal welfare controversy, HSUS has publicly claimed that Project Chimps is independent despite that fact that it has been "fully integrated" into HSUS since 2017 and despite the evidence that proves that Project Chimps is an HSUS affiliate.

In an apparent attempt to absolve itself of its financial commitments to the chimpanzees and distance itself from the animal welfare controversy, HSUS has publicly claimed that Project Chimps is independent despite that fact that it has been “fully integrated” into HSUS since 2017 and despite the evidence that proves that Project Chimps is an HSUS affiliate.

In 2020, HSUS controlled 7 of the 11 seats on Project Chimps’s Board of Directors.

In 2020, HSUS held 64% of the seats on Project Chimps Board of Directors while simultaneously claiming that it did not have decision making power and that it merely provided financial support to the sanctuary.

In 2020, HSUS held 64% of the seats on Project Chimps Board of Directors while simultaneously claiming that it did not have decision making power and that it merely provided financial support to the sanctuary.

When, in 2020, animal rights organizations began calling on HSUS to improve living conditions and animal care at Project Chimps, HSUS attempted to distance itself from the sanctuary – and its obligations to the chimpanzees – by removing several members of its leadership team from the sanctuary’s Board of Directors. It also claimed that it was merely a financial supporter of Project Chimps, despite the evidence proving that the sanctuary had been fully integrated into HSUS.

Today, four HSUS leaders have a seat on the board of Project Chimps. In order to give the public the impression that HSUS has fewer seats on the board than it does, Project Chimps removed reference to HSUS from two of their bios.

Reference to HSUS was removed from the bios of Marsha Perelman and Elizabeth Bradham, giving the public the impression that HSUS has fewer seats on the board - and exerts less influence over Project Chimps - than it does.

Reference to HSUS was removed from the bios of Marsha Perelman and Elizabeth Bradham, giving the public the impression that HSUS has fewer seats on the board – and exerts less influence over Project Chimps – than it does.

Despite of the evidence demonstrating its control over Project Chimps, HSUS is now claiming on its tax return that it has no operational control over its sanctuary.

Despite all of the evidence demonstrating otherwise, HSUS claims on its 2020 tax return that it has no operational control over Project Chimps.

 

Given HSUS’s vast wealth, why does animal welfare at Project Chimps fall short of the standards set by the North American sanctuary community? 

Project Chimps posts photos on social media that show chimpanzees enjoying a lush outdoor habitat and living their best possible lives in a captive setting, The day-to-day reality, however, is much different. 

The 82 chimpanzees at HSUS sanctuary Project Chimps have access to the outdoors just once every three days, but Project Chimps' public statements and social media posts suggest that they spend every day in a natural setting.

The 82 chimpanzees at HSUS sanctuary Project Chimps have access to the outdoors just once every three days, but Project Chimps’ public statements and social media posts suggest that they spend every day in a natural setting.

Project Chimps sits on 236 forested acres. Only six of them (2.5%), however, serve as outdoor space for the chimps. This outdoor area, referred to as the “habitat,” is divided into two yards, each of which can accommodate one group of chimps at a time. With six chimpanzee groups sharing two yards, each group has access to the habitat just once every three days (for four to six hours). The chimpanzees spend the rest of the time in covered, concrete rooms that have one or two open-air walls with metal bars. Because Project Chimps describes these concrete and metal enclosures as “outdoor porches,” the public is led to believe that the chimpanzees spend seven days a week outside in a natural setting.

Whistleblowers and animal rights activists assert that HSUS and Project Chimps are misleading donors and the public by describing the concrete rooms where the chimpanzees spend their days as "outdoor porches."

Whistleblowers and animal rights activists assert that HSUS and Project Chimps are misleading donors and the public by describing the concrete rooms where the chimpanzees spend their days as “outdoor porches.”

According to Project Chimps’ strategic plan, HSUS should have created three additional habitats at Project Chimps by now, but it hasn’t broken ground on any of them. HSUS hasn’t even announced a timeline for this desperately needed expansion.

HSUS was supposed to have created three additional habitats (A, B and C) by 2021, but it hasn't created any. As a result, the 82 chimps rotate into the one habitat just once every three days for part of the day.

HSUS was supposed to have created three additional habitats (A, B and C) by 2021, but it hasn’t created any. As a result, the 82 chimps rotate into the one habitat just once every three days for part of the day.

Despite the fact that sanctuaries are supposed to prioritize the needs of the animals, Project Chimps recently created hiking trails and banquet facilities for visitors.

The lack of sufficient habitat space for the chimpanzees begs several questions:

  1. Why didn’t HSUS create enough habitat space at Project Chimps in 2015, before it began bringing in chimpanzees from NIRC. And why, more than five years later, hasn’t HSUS announced a timeline for new habitats?
  2. Why does HSUS CEO Kitty Block blame COVID for the delay in creating additional habitats when HSUS should have broken ground on them several years before the pandemic?
  3. With its enormous wealth, why does HSUS allow Project Chimps to remain a substandard facility compared to other chimpanzee sanctuaries in North America?
  4. Why is HSUS withholding funds to improve and expand Project Chimps for the chimpanzees who are already there and for the 110 chimpanzees who are waiting to be rescued from NIRC? Twenty-six chimps have already died at NIRC while waiting.

According to Project Chimps, 26 chimpanzees have died at NIRC while waiting to be rescued. If HSUS had expanded Project Chimps when it took over its Board of Directors in 2015, then many of these chimps could have spent their final years in a sanctuary setting.

In May 2020, 22 employees and volunteers at Project Chimps wrote a letter to Bruce Wagman, the Chairman of the Board, to express their concerns about the lack of outdoor space and other serious welfare deficiencies. After Wagman dismissed their concerns, two former employees, Crystal Alba and Lindsay Vanderhoogt, launched a website, HelpTheChimps, which exposed not only their grim day-to-day lives in concrete rooms, but also poor veterinary care and pervasive neglect. An inspection report written by primatologist Dr. Steve Ross, a chimpanzee behavior specialist, and an investigative story published in National Geographic corroborated some, if not many, of the whistleblowers’ allegations.

Despite the fact that Project Chimps received a D on its welfare management programs at Project Chimps, HSUS uses Dr. Steve Ross' assessment of the sanctuary to defend against allegations of poor animal welfare conditions. Project Chimps blurred the report so that people who see it will read its reaction instead of the report itself.

Despite the fact that Project Chimps received a D on its welfare management programs at Project Chimps, HSUS uses Dr. Steve Ross’ assessment of the sanctuary to defend against allegations of poor animal welfare conditions. Project Chimps blurred the report so that people who see it will read its reaction instead of the report itself.

In July, 2021, HSUS CEO Kitty Block publicly acknowledged the need for additional yards at Project Chimps, but she did not specify when HSUS would create them. In a response to advocates who contacted her about the issue, Block blamed “COVID” and “weather” for the delay, despite the fact that the chimpanzees have been living in these conditions since 2016.

HSUS CEO Kitty Block's response to advocates calling on her to create additional yards at Project Chimps so that the 82 chimpanzees have daily access to the outdoors. She and Susan Atherton, HSUS's board chair who also had a seat on the board of Project Chimps until 2020, have ignored the pleas of whistleblowers and advocacy groups to improve animal welfare at Project Chimps.

HSUS CEO Kitty Block’s response to advocates calling on her to create additional yards at Project Chimps so that the 82 chimpanzees have daily access to the outdoors. She and Susan Atherton, HSUS’s board chair who also had a seat on the board of Project Chimps until 2020, have ignored the pleas of whistleblowers and advocacy groups to improve animal welfare at Project Chimps.

Why is Project Chimps accredited? 

According to the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS), great apes who live at sanctuaries that it accredits should be “able to enjoy lives that are as close as possible to that of their wild counterparts.” Despite the fact that Project Chimps does not meet this and many other GFAS standards, GFAS continues to accredit the HSUS sanctuary. HSUS, in turn, uses this accreditation to dismiss criticism and discredit those advocating for better conditions. Neither GFAS nor HSUS has disclosed, however, the conflicts of interest between the organizations — GFAS is comprised of people affiliated with HSUS; is partially funded by HSUS; and has administrative ties to HSUS. In fact, the GFAS domain name is managed by HSUS.

Advocates assert that GFAS cannot objectively assess Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) sanctuaries if HSUS funds GFAS, manages its domain and shares staff members and board directors,

Advocates assert that GFAS cannot objectively assess Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) sanctuaries if HSUS funds GFAS, manages its domain and shares staff members and board directors,

GFAS was founded in 2007 by four individuals, two of whom worked for HSUS. Mike Markarian was HSUS’s Chief Operating Officer, and Adam Roberts was the treasurer of HSUS’s political action committee. From 2008 to 2015, Roberts was the President of Board of GFAS, and Markarian was the Vice President. From 2016 to 2019, Roberts was the Secretary. In 2019, he became the Board president again. While 2020 tax documents are not yet public, the GFAS website lists both Roberts and Markarian as board members today. In fact, 40% of GFAS’s current board is comprised of executives who work – or worked – for HSUS.

Since GFAS was incorporated in 2007, its Board of Directors has been comprised in large part by current and former HSUS leaders. Given that GFAS is charged with inspecting HSUS sanctuaries, HSUS's representation on GFAS's board represents a conflict of interest.

Since GFAS was incorporated in 2007, its Board of Directors has been comprised in large part by current and former HSUS leaders. Given that GFAS is charged with inspecting HSUS sanctuaries, HSUS’s representation on GFAS’s board represents a conflict of interest.

In 2008, a former Executive Director of a division of HSUS (the National Association for Humane and Environmental Education) became the Executive Director of GFAS. This former HSUS executive, Patty Finch, held the top staff position at GFAS from 2008 to 2013.

GFAS and HSUS have attempted to erase some of their connections in order to minimize the appearance of a conflict of interest and to help GFAS maintain a veneer of independence. For instance, the biography of Adam Roberts on GFAS’s website omits his work for HSUS, and the biography of GFAS board member Melissa Rubin omits her 31 years of employment at HSUS. In fact, it only lists a job that she has held for nine months.

Melissa Rubin's biography on the GFAS website omits her almost 31 years of employment at HSUS. This removal of her HSUS career minimizes the appearance of the conflict of interest between GFAS and HSUS.

Melissa Rubin’s biography on the GFAS website omits her almost 31 years of employment at HSUS. This removal of her HSUS career minimizes the appearance of the conflict of interest between GFAS and HSUS.

Following are examples of other GFAS board members and executives who have – or had – close ties to HSUS:

  • GFAS board member Nicole Paquette is Chief Programs and Policy Officer for HSUS. (Paquette also had a seat on the board of Project Chimps until 2020.)
  • GFAS executive Grettel Delgadillo is a Program Coordinator for HSI, a division of HSUS.
  • GFAS executive Kristin Leppert was formerly employed by HSUS. (In 2020, Leppert inspected Project Chimps on behalf of GFAS)
  • Former HSUS board member Peter Bender served on the board of GFAS from its inception until 2020. 

These financial, staffing and administrative conflicts of interest between GFAS and HSUS compromise GFAS’s ability to make unbiased assessments of an HSUS sanctuary. In order to remain credible and avoid diminishing the value of its accreditation, GFAS should publicly disclose its conflicts of interest with HSUS and recuse itself from inspecting HSUS sanctuaries.

In public statements using its GFAS accreditation to dismiss concerns about animal welfare at its sanctuary, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) doesn't disclose its conflicts of interest with GFAS.

In public statements using its GFAS accreditation to dismiss concerns about animal welfare at its sanctuary, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) doesn’t disclose its conflicts of interest with GFAS.

In April 2021, TheirTurn published a story describing in detail the conflict of interest between HSUS and GFAS.

In recent years, GFAS suspended its accreditation from two other primate sanctuaries that did not meet its standards, Chimps Inc and Jungle Friends. Advocates believe it would have suspended the accreditation of Project Chimps too if it didn’t have a conflict of interest with HSUS.

What is HSUS’s Obligation to the Chimps?

When HSUS took control of the board of Project Chimps in 2015, it made a commitment to fulfill the sanctuary’s mission to provide humane retirement to the 220 chimpanzees at NIRC. As part of that commitment, HSUS should have built enough housing structures to accommodate all of the NIRC chimpanzees and created enough habitat space to enable them to have daily access to the outdoors. By reneging on its commitment and by distancing itself from Project Chimps, HSUS has betrayed the chimpanzees, its fiduciary duties and its obligations to its affiliate sanctuary.

As the 78th most wealthy charity in the United States, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has the resources to expand its Project Chimps sanctuary to humanely accommodate the 82 chimps who are already there and the approximately 130 chimps waiting to be rescued from NIRC.

As the 78th most wealthy charity in the United States, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has the resources to expand its Project Chimps sanctuary to humanely accommodate the 82 chimps who are already there and the approximately 110 chimps waiting to be rescued from NIRC.

Save The Chimps, a sanctuary in Florida that has approximately 230 chimpanzees, is backed by The Arcus Foundation. Similarly, Chimp Haven, a sanctuary in Louisiana with more than 300 chimpanzees, receives 75% of its chimp care funding from the NIH. In order to rescue the approximately 110 chimpanzees who remain at NIRC and to humanely accommodate the 82 chimpanzees who are already at the sanctuary, Project Chimps also needs financial backing. HSUS made a commitment to do so. And it has the resources. Over the past several years, HSUS has raised millions of dollars off of the plight of captive chimpanzees and, according to an inside source, it recently received a $100 million estate gift from a donor who had an affinity for chimpanzees.

Instead of misleading the public about conditions at Project Chimps, attempting to extricate itself of its obligations and making excuses for it hasn’t expanded Project Chimps, HSUS must use a fraction of its substantial wealth to break ground on new habitats and transform the 236 acre forested property into a true sanctuary that meets and exceeds the standards of other North American chimpanzee sanctuaries provide. The chimpanzees have already waited far too long for a safe, natural and enriched life.  

In 2020 and 2021, animal rights activists with Progress for Science staged multiple protests at the Los Angeles home of HSUS board member Steven White. White is no longer listed as a board member, but activists argue that his decision to step down or remove his name from the list did nothing to help the chimpanzees who he neglected while he had a seat.

In 2020 and 2021, animal rights activists with Progress for Science staged multiple protests at the Los Angeles home of HSUS board member Steven White. White is no longer listed as a board member, but activists argue that his decision to step down or remove his name from the list did nothing to help the chimpanzees who he neglected while he had a seat.

People around the world have been frustrated about the pandemic “lockdowns” despite the fact that most have been able to enjoy the outdoors and the comforts of home. If we feel like our freedoms have been compromised, then imagine the stress experienced by the chimpanzees who have spent up to five years largely confined in concrete rooms at Project Chimps and up to several decades in a laboratory before that.

After Project Chimps sued the whistleblowers who exposed substandard living conditions, poor veterinary care animal other forms of neglect at the sanctuary, animal rights activists and national animal rights groups, including PETA and the Nonhuman Rights Project, began calling on HSUS to improve its facility.

After Project Chimps sued the whistleblowers who exposed substandard living conditions, poor veterinary care animal other forms of neglect at the sanctuary, animal rights activists and national animal rights groups, including PETA and the Nonhuman Rights Project, began calling on HSUS to improve its facility.

*If you know of any information in this report or previous or future articles on this topic to be inaccurate, please contact us with documentation.


Kaporos 2021: Chaos, Care and Rescue in Brooklyn, and a New Film

October 25, 2021 by 11 comments


The News

From September 7 – 20, 2021, NYC’s animal rights community staged a multi-front effort to help the victims of Kaporos, an annual ritual animal slaughter that takes place in some Orthodox Jewish communities in the days leading up to Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement. In Brooklyn alone, an estimated 100,000 chickens are used in the ritual each year. 

The chickens used in the Kaporos slaughter ritual are held in crates for up to several days with little to no food or water. Each year, activists find hundreds of dead chickens mixed in with the living.

The chickens used in the Kaporos slaughter ritual are held in crates for up to several days with little to no food or water. Each year, activists find hundreds of dead chickens mixed in with the living.

The chickens are trucked into the city from factory farms; stored in crates for up to several days with little to no food or water; swung in the air as practitioners say a prayer; and killed in makeshift slaughterhouses erected on public streets without permits. Despite the lack of permits and multiple health code and animal cruelty violations, the NYPD provides many of the chicken vendors with barricades, floodlights and orange traffic cones in which the chickens are bled out onto the street. In some neighborhoods, the NYPD also cordons off public streets.

In Brooklyn, tens of thousands of Orthodox Jews swing chickens around their heads as part of an annual ritual sacrifice called Kaporos.

In Brooklyn, tens of thousands of Orthodox Jews swing chickens around their heads as part of an annual ritual animal slaughter called Kaporos.

For over 10 years, New York City’s animal rights community has engaged in protest, civil disobedience, litigation, lobbying, educational outreach and animal rescue in an effort to eliminate the practice and help the victims. Despite these efforts, Kaporos continues unabated because the practitioners represent a powerful voting bloc that can help make or break elections in New York.

The city subsidizes Kaporos despite the fact that it violates multiple health code violations that put the public at risk of infectious disease transmission.

The city subsidizes Kaporos despite the fact that it violates multiple health code violations that put the public at risk of a zoonotic disease outbreak.

Making the Switch from Protests to Chicken Care

From 2010 to 2017, the Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos, the organization that has led community efforts, staged protests at the largest Kaporos sites in Brooklyn, but the organization stopped because the practitioners doubled down on the use of chickens. In addition, many taunted activists by handling the chickens more aggressively. In 2018, the Alliance transitioned from protesting to providing the chickens with watermelon and water. The “chicken care” approach provides a bit of relief to the chickens, who would otherwise receive no nourishment, and it demonstrates to the practitioners that the animals are sentient. 

Animal rights activists provide water to some of the chickens who are stacked in crates for up to several days with no nourishment.

Animal rights activists provide water to some of the chickens who are stacked in crates for up to several days with no nourishment.

Putting the Public at Risk of a Zoonotic Disease Outbreak 

The approximately 30 Kaporos sites in Brooklyn are, in effect, unregulated live animal markets where the customers physically handle the chickens, often without protective gear. This close contact could expose them to pathogens harbored by the chickens. Over the years, many activists who have come into physical contact with the chickens have contracted e. Coli and campylobacter. 

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, actress and model Daisy Fuentes Marx tweets about the public health risks associated with Kaporos

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, actress and model Daisy Fuentes Marx tweeted about the public health risks associated with Kaporos

According to a toxicologist who studied fecal and blood samples taken from the streets, Kaporos “constitutes a dangerous condition” and “poses a significant public health hazard.” If the living and dead chickens, who are crowded together in crates, harbor viruses that commingle and mutate into a strain that can be transmitted to humans, an avian flu could spread throughout the community and into the general public before it’s even detected.

Dr. Dave Chokshi and the NYC Health Commissioners who preceded him have refused to address a toxicology report that outlines the risk posed by the mass slaughter of over 100,000 animals on public streets during Kaporos.

As part of lawsuit filed against NYC on behalf of Brooklyn residents negatively impacted by the health codes violations, attorney Nora Constance Marino hired a toxicologist to investigate the health risks associated with Kaporos and produce a report. Dr. Dave Chokshi and the NYC Health Commissioners who preceded him have refused to address the toxicology report.

Animal Rescue

During the 2021 Kaporos events, activists in New York City rescued 708 chickens, the most ever. At a triage center in Brooklyn, a rescue crew led by the Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos and Tamerlaine Sanctuary (a refuge for farm animals in NJ) provided the chickens with wound care, antibiotics and nourishment before loading them into vans that transported them to sanctuaries around the country.

In the days leading up to Yom Kippur, activists with the Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos rescued 708 chickens and transported them to farm animal sanctuaries around the country.

In the days leading up to Yom Kippur, activists with the Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos rescued 708 chickens and transported them to farm animal sanctuaries around the country.

The rescuers also brought over 20 chickens to veterinarians for surgical procedures that totaled over $15,000. According to Jill Carnegie, a rescuer with the Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos, the mortality rate of the rescued chickens who were brought to the triage center was the lowest ever.

The Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos rescued 708 chickens from slaughter during the 2021 Kaporos events in Brooklyn

The Alliance to End Chickens as Kaporos (a project run by United Poultry Concerns) rescued 708 chickens from slaughter during the 2021 Kaporos events in Brooklyn

A New Documentary Film 

In September, Cavelight Films, a New York-based production company, released a highly-anticipated documentary film about Kaporos, The 12-minute film, Voting Bloc: Slaughter in the Streets of Brooklyn, takes viewers deep inside the insular Orthodox Jewish communities where Kaporos takes place and follows several animal rights activists who document the ritual and rescue animals. 

The Campaign to End the Use of Chickens as Kaporos

In September 2017, animal rights activists in New York began calling on the New York City Department of Health to enforce the health laws violated during Kaporos, including the slaughter of animals in residential neighborhoods and the contamination of public streets with blood, feces and body parts. They were hopeful that the Health Commissioner, Dr. Mary Bassett, would shut down the mass ritual slaughter not only because of the well documented health risks and violations, but also because she presented herself as a social justice advocate who had regrets about not speaking out against other injustices when she had the platform to do so. When Dr. Bassett dismissed the activists’ concerns, they began protesting  at her public speaking engagements. At several events, including a global public health conference at the New York Hilton, the disruptions forced Dr. Bassett to forfeit her presentation.

In August 2018, after being subjected to 10 months of unrelenting protests, Dr. Bassett resigned as Health Commissioner with three years left in her term and moved to Boston to take a job at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her departure was not the outcome that the activists sought, but it did demonstrate the power of protest, civil disobedience and pressure campaigns. Neither she nor the media acknowledged the role that the protests played in her decision to resign.

In 2018, animal advocacy groups in NYC held a press conference at the Department of Health calling on Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett to enforce the city’s health codes that are violated during Kaporos, an annual ritual animal slaughter in which an estimated 100,000 chickens are killed in the streets of Brooklyn’s Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods.

While Dr. Bassett never did acknowledge her refusal to enforce her own health codes, she did publicly admit that she was constrained by politics. In anticipation of a protest during a presentation at the Boston University School of Public Health, she stated, “Those of us who work in government face the reality of the fact that the people who appoint us have to go back to the public and back to the ballot box to be reappointed, so there’s always going to be a need for advocacy from people outside of government. For someone who is passionately committed to many issues embraced by advocates, it can be difficult to acknowledge the role that I play as a political appointee. I can’t always be at the barricades.”

Multiple health codes are violated during Kaporos, a ritual animal sacrifice, but NYC Health Commissioners  turns a blind eye because the practitioners represent a powerful voting bloc.

Multiple health codes are violated during Kaporos, a ritual animal sacrifice, but NYC Health Commissioners  turns a blind eye because the practitioners represent a powerful voting bloc.

While most of the audience members did not know what Dr. Bassett was talking about, the animal rights activists who were present or watching the livestream did. In New York, many elected officials go to great lengths to support of the ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) Jewish communities because they represents a powerful voting bloc. Dr. Bassett’s boss, Mayor Bill de Blasio, undoubtedly forbade her from shutting down Kaporos, despite the fact that it violates so many laws, because it could have cost him future endorsements from that community. To appease her boss, Dr. Bassett prioritized politics ahead of public health.  

In September 2021, New York Governor Kathy Hochul hired Dr. Bassett to serve as the state’s Health Commissioner, a position that once again gives her the authority to enforce health codes and take measures to protect the public health.

Animal rights activists plaster NYC with posters highlighting the risk of zoonotic disease transmission during Kaporos in 2020

When Dr. Bassett resigned in 2018, the activist community turned its attention to the Deputy Commissioner of Disease Control, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis. He seemed like an appropriate target, given the e. Coli and campylobacter infections and the toxicology report which outlined the public health risks. After he ignored letters requesting a meeting and refused to talk to advocates in the lobby of the Department of Health, activists staged two protests at a spin (cycling) studio he co-owned with his husband. After the second protest, he falsely accused protest organizer Donny Moss of assault and had him arrested. Instead of engaging in a discussion with the activists or simply enforcing the health codes, Dr. Daskalakis used his power as a high-ranking city official to silence and intimidate activists in order to prevent future protests at his spin studio.

Discomfort about Kaporos Among the Practitioners 

After Yom Kippur, TheirTurn posted a Kaporos video in an Orthodox (Lubavitch) Facebook group with almost 8,000 members. The video, taken in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, shows bloody chickens flailing around in great distress after workers at a makeshift slaughterhouse sliced their throats and tossed them into the street. While several Lubavitchers argued that the chickens were dead despite their movements, the majority of people expressed anger about the cruelty and the reckless disregard for “God’s creatures.” Some also expressed concern about the chickens being discarded, as they are told from a young age that the chickens are donated to the poor. 

Video footage of chickens being tossed into the street while still alive after their throats were sliced generated angry responses from Lubavitcher Jews who are told that the chickens are donated to the poor.

Video footage of chickens being tossed into the street while still alive after their throats were sliced generated angry responses from Lubavitcher Jews who are told that the chickens are donated to the poor.

During the 2021 Kaporos, the NYPD took the unprecedented step of shutting down two of the Kaporos sites after dozens of activists filed sanitation, animal cruelty and underage worker complaints with the city. While this enforcement act did nothing to help the chickens, who were transferred to other Kaporos sites, it did offer the activist community a glimmer of hope. Still, after years of protest and other forms of advocacy, many NYC activists have concluded that the mass ritual slaughter will continue until a deadly zoonotic disease outbreak forces city or state officials to shut it down. Until then, the animal rights community will continue to engage in chicken care and rescue to reduce the suffering and save lives.


Animals Languish in Prominent NYC Shelter That’s Keeping Out The Public Under False Pretenses

October 12, 2021 by 7 comments


The News

On July 22, 2021, an anonymous whistleblower informed animal rights activists in New York City that dozens of cats and dogs had been languishing in cages for at least 15 months at the Humane Society of New York, an animal shelter and low-cost vet clinic in midtown Manhattan. The whistleblower alleged that shelter management closed the building to the public under false pretenses; has done virtually nothing to find homes for the animals; and has discouraged people from adopting in order to avoid the extra work associated with introducing people to the animals when the building is closed.

Upon hearing the allegations that HSNY is warehousing animals despite its mission to place them in homes, advocates with TheirTurn, which is based in NYC, decided to investigate. 

The Humane Society of New York is centrally located in a heavily populated residential neighborhood in Manhattan, but members of the public cannot enter the building to meet the animals who need homes

The Humane Society of New York is centrally located in a heavily populated, easily-accessible residential neighborhood in Manhattan, but the animals are languishing in cages because members of the public cannot enter the building to meet the animals.

FINDINGS:

HSNY IS MISLEADING THE PUBLIC ABOUT WHY THE BUILDING IS CLOSED

The HSNY closed its building to the public in April 2020. During a phone call on August 16th, 2021, Sandra DeFeo, the Executive Director, told Donny Moss of TheirTurn that, in order to protect her staff from COVID-19, she would not allow anyone in the building to meet the animals. She also stated that she has no plans to re-open.

The Humane Society claims that the adoption center is closed to the public due to COVID when, in fact, it cannot re-open until it takes steps to make the building wheelchair accessible

The Humane Society claims that the adoption center is closed to the public due to COVID when, in fact, it cannot re-open until it takes steps to make the building accessible to people with disabilities.

According to attorney Bonnie Klapper, who reviewed an ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) lawsuit filed against HSNY, Ms. DeFeo cannot re-open the building to the public until HSNY begins renovations to make it accessible to people with disabilities.

A wheelchair-bound client of the Humane Society of New York's veterinary clinic sued the organization under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

A wheelchair-bound client of the Humane Society of New York’s veterinary clinic sued the organization under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

If fear of COVID-19 was the real issue, then Ms. DeFeo could require adopters to show proof of vaccination and wear a mask. These are safety precautions being taken by dozens of other New York City shelters that are open to the public, including Bideawee, Animal Haven, Best Friends and Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC).

The Humane Society of New York is closed to the public and is warehousing animals instead of finding homes for them

HSNY IS DISCOURAGING CALLERS FROM ADOPTING

In August, TheirTurn asked several advocates, including people interested in adopting, to call HSNY to inquire about the process. In every case, Anne-Marie Karash, the Associate Director of HSNY, directed them to submit an application and wait for a response. When the callers asked specific questions about how they could meet the animals after submitting their application, Ms. Karash refused to provide any information and, in several instances, suggested they contact another shelter.

HSNY IS NOT RESPONDING TO ADOPTION APPLICATIONS

TheirTurn asked nine other people who have or had companion animals and were willing to adopt to fill out and submit adoption applications. HSNY did not respond to any of them.

Six of the nine people called HSNY one or more times to follow up on their applications. Two of them left voicemails but did not receive a return call. Four of them called back until they reached Ms. Karash, who either discouraged them from adopting or told them that the Executive Director of the shelter would follow up with them, which did not happen.

HSNY DOES VIRTUALLY NO ADOPTION PROMOTION ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Since closing its shelter to the public 18 months ago, HSNY has posted just 12 photos of adoptable animals (on Instagram only), and it did not respond to questions posted by people who expressed an interest.

HSNY rarely promotes adoptions on social media. When they do, they do not respond to inquiries from people who are interested.

THE HSNY WEBSITE LISTS JUST 14 ANIMALS, A FRACTION OF THE TOTAL

According to the whistleblower, the list of animals on HSNY’s website is not only incomplete, but it is also several years old. If the 14 animals listed are still there, then they have been living in cages for far too long. If they are gone, then HSNY is wasting the time of people who are taking the time to apply for them.

The Humane Society of NY lists 14 animals available for adoption despite having 85, according to the organization’s Executive Director

ADOPTERS HAVE NO WAY TO MEET THE CATS

HSNY is located on a busy street in midtown Manhattan. While HSNY staff could, if motivated to do so, bring dogs outside to meet prospective adopters, they cannot introduce people to cats in this setting. That might explain why HSNY has made just two social media posts about adoptable cats since closing the building to the public in April 2020.

HSNY HAS AT LEAST 85 ANIMALS

During the August 16th call with Donny Moss, Ms. DeFeo stated that HSNY has approximately 85 cats and dogs in the shelter. HSNY’s tax forms indicate a much higher number of animals in the shelter– approximately 200  in 2018 and 175 in 2019.

Tax filing indicate that the Humane Society of New York has approximately "175 animals in the shelter."

Tax filings indicate that the Humane Society of New York has approximately “175 animals in the shelter.”

In March, 2020, the adoptions manager of 22 years resigned. Ms. DeFeo has not replaced her, and she is now the point person for adoptions, despite the fact that she is the Executive Director of an organization with $6 – $7 million in annual revenues.

THE ANIMALS’ CAGES ARE “APARTMENTS” 

When asked by Donny Moss why she doesn’t send the animals to foster homes or active adoption centers until she re-opens the building to the public, Ms. DeFeo stated that HSNY is their foster home. She also described their cages and kennels as “apartments.” 

The Executive Director of the Humane Society of New York, a shelter that is not allowing members of the public to meet the animals, describes the cages as “apartments.”

CONCLUSION

Given that the cages at the HSNY are filled with animals who need homes, we don’t know why the organization is neither responding to adoption applications nor promoting the adoptable animals online. Ms. DeFeo either doesn’t want to dedicate the extra time needed to adopt while she keeps the building closed to the public, or she truly believes that the animals are “home” at HSNY. One thing we do know (and any well-intended, experienced animal welfare professional would agree) is that animals are better off in real homes with families than in shelters. In a loving home, animals can move about freely, interact with their human families, play, climb, explore, patrol, stalk and engage in other behaviors that come naturally to them.  In shelters, which are stressful for animals, the dogs and cats spend the vast majority of their time in cages and kennels, where they pace, over-groom and show other signs of distress. 

If Ms. DeFeo is unwilling to begin making renovations that would allow her to re-open the building to the public, then she should send the animals to foster homes and/or adoption centers where they would have a chance of finding permanent home. The animals who have been living in HSNY cages for months or years have waited long enough.

Note: In August and September, Donny Moss and several other advocates sent letters to HSNY board member Cornelia Guest to address the issues raised in this article. She did not respond.

OTHER FINDINGS

HSNY SHOULD BE A HIGH VOLUME ADOPTION SHELTER 

Unlike NYC’s municipal shelters, HSNY is located in an easily-accessible, heavily-trafficked residential neighborhood in midtown Manhattan. Given its prime location and the large number of homeless animals it has at any given time, HSNY should be a high-volume shelter that sends dogs and cats to foster homes and/or permanent homes every day. If Ms. DeFeo was motivated to find homes for the animals, then she could be emptying several cages every day, as other shelters do, even before she re-opens the building.

FULL CAGES AT “NO KILL” HSNY = MORE KILLING AT OPEN-ADMISSION SHELTERS

If HSNY doesn’t move its adoptable animals into permanent homes, then it can’t free up space to accept newly surrendered animals. As a result, those animals are often taken to open-admission shelters that kill adoptable animals due to over-crowding.

HSNY IS PASSING OFF BREEDER DOGS AS RESCUES

According to the whistleblower, a backyard breeder in Brooklyn has, over the course of many years, given HSNY hundreds of designer dogs in exchange for free vet care for her own animals. Ms. DeFeo passes these dogs off as rescues, often giving them to friends of HSNY and to celebrities. In 2021, for example, Ms. DeFeo gave Shih Tzus to Kelly Ripa and her producer Michael Gelman. For every breeder dog who HSNY takes in, a dog in a high kill shelter in need of rescue pays the ultimate price. 

The Humane Society of New York is passing off dogs from a backyard breeder in Brooklyn as rescue dogs

The Humane Society of New York is passing off designer dogs from a backyard breeder in Brooklyn as rescues. Among those who have received these dogs are TV host Kelly Ripa and and her producer Michael Gelman.

THE LOW-COST VET CLINIC IN THE SAME BUILDING PROVIDES VITAL SERVICES

Each year, HSNY provides thousands of New Yorkers with high quality, low cost vet care in a clinic housed in the same building as the shelter. This clinic is a lifeline for people who cannot afford to pay standard prices for veterinary care. Ms. DeFeo should make the necessary ADA renovations so that members of the public can not only meet the animals in the shelter who need homes, but also accompany their animals into the clinic, especially for euthanasia appointments.


Activists Erect Billboard in Georgia to Expose Cruelty at Project Chimps

September 28, 2021 by 7 comments


The News

Chimpanzee advocates have erected a billboard near Project Chimps in Georgia to raise awareness of the plight of the 77 chimpanzees who live there. At this Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) facility, the 77 chimpanzees have access to the outdoors for just a few hours every three days. They spend the rest of the time languishing in concrete rooms. Activists put up the billboard on the weekend of September 25th to coincide with “Discovery Days” at Project Chimps, a semi-annual, two day open house that attracts hundreds of visitors.
Advocacy groups erected a billboard calling on The Humane Society of the United States to transform its Project Chimps facility from a warehouse to a true sanctuary

Advocacy groups erected a billboard calling on The Humane Society of the United States to transform its Project Chimps facility from a warehouse to a true sanctuary

The billboard is the latest tactic in a campaign to compel HSUS to improve animal welfare at Project Chimps. Activists with Chimps Deserve Better, Progress for Science and TheirTurn launched the campaign in July, 2020, after Project Chimps filed a lawsuit against two whistleblowers who came forward with extensive evidence of animal cruelty. As part of the campaign, the advocacy groups are calling on HSUS to transform the facility from a warehouse into a true sanctuary where the chimps spend their days in an outdoor habitat on the 236 acre forested property.
At Project Chimps, the Humane Society's chimpanzee "sanctuary" in Georgia, the 77 chimpanzees spend most of the time in concrete rooms.

At Project Chimps, the Humane Society’s chimpanzee “sanctuary” in Georgia, the 77 chimpanzees spend most of the time in concrete rooms.

In July, 2021, HSUS CEO Kitty Block acknowledged the need for additional yards, but she did not specify when Project Chimps would create them. In a response to advocates who contacted her about the deficiency, Block blamed “COVID” and “weather” for the delay, despite the fact that the chimpanzees have been living in these conditions since 2016.

HSUS CEO Kitty Block’s response to advocates calling on her to create additional yards at Project Chimps so that the 77 chimpanzees have daily access to the outdoors.

“How can HSUS blame COVID-19 for its inability to build yards for the chimps when Project Chimps was able to create elaborate hiking trails for visitors during the pandemic?” said Lindsay Vanderhoogt, one of 22 whistleblowers who sent a letter to the Chairman of the Board, Bruce Wagman, to sound the alarm about poor welfare conditions. “Project Chimps is supposed to be a sanctuary, not a zoo, yet it continues to prioritize the entertainment of tourists ahead of the welfare of the animals.”
At Project Chimps, HSUS has prioritized amenities for tourists ahead of some of the basic needs of the chimps.

At Project Chimps, HSUS has prioritized amenities for tourists ahead of some of the basic needs of the chimps.

HSUS’s multi-year delay in creating additional yards doesn’t only affect the 77 chimpanzees at Project Chimps; it also impacts the estimated 120 retired chimpanzees at New Iberia Research Center (NIRC) who are waiting to be sent to a sanctuary. In 2016, Project Chimps signed a contract with NIRC which stipulated that its 220 chimps would be sent exclusively to Project Chimps. In a call on August 9th, however, NIRC Director Dr. Francois Villinger told Donny Moss of TheirTurn that he would not transfer any additional chimpanzees to Project Chimps until the sanctuary addresses the space issues. “Because HSUS is dragging its feet on expanding Project Chimps, the chimps at NIRC are stuck there for the indefinite future,” said Moss. “This is especially troubling given the recent instances of animal cruelty uncovered at NIRC by the advocacy group Stop Animal Exploitation Now (SAEN).”

Through a Freedom of Information Act request, Stop Animal Exploitation Now (SAEN) uncovered and publicly exposed animal cruelty at the New Iberia Research Center

Through a Freedom of Information Act request, Stop Animal Exploitation Now (SAEN) uncovered and publicly exposed animal cruelty at the New Iberia Research Center

Among the NIRC chimpanzees transferred to Project Chimps before the moratorium are Hercules and Leo, clients of the Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) who were made famous by the 2016 documentary film Unlocking The Cage. In 2015, a New York lab (that leased them from NIRC) released them after years of legal pressure applied by NhRP.  To ensure a humane retirement for Hercules and Leo, NhRP made arrangements to transfer them from NIRC to Save The Chimps, a sanctuary in Florida where they would spend their days outdoors. Because of its exclusive contract with Project Chimps, however, NIRC sent Hercules and Leo to the Georgia sanctuary instead, where they spend most of the time in concrete rooms. Now, NhRP is engaged in another battle on behalf  Hercules and Leo – this time with HSUS. After HSUS privately dismissed their concerns about their clients’ captivity at Project Chimps, NhRP took the unusual step of publicly calling on HSUS to provide Hercules and Leo with daily access to the outdoors.
Through a Freedom of Information Act request, Stop Animal Exploitation Now (SAEN) uncovered and publicly exposed animal cruelty at the New Iberia Research Center

The Nonhuman Rights Project (NhRP) and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) are engaged in a public battle over the plight of Hercules and Leo, NhRP clients who are languishing in concrete enclosures at HSUS’s Project Chimps facility in Georgia.

Crystal Alba, a Project Chimps whistleblower who created a website to expose the mistreatment at the facility, summed up the sentiments of all of the advocates working on the effort to help these chimpanzees: “For the sake of all of the chimps – those awaiting sanctuary at the NIRC and those already at Project Chimps, I hope that HSUS addresses the most serious animal welfare issues by creating more outdoor habitats, hiring a qualified veterinarian, and providing the comprehensive care these chimps need to thrive in captivity.”


PETA Protests Hermès Crocodile Abuse

September 9, 2021 by 6 comments


The News

Undercover footage taken by Farm Transparency Project reveals shocking abuses at three crocodile factory farms in Australia owned by Hermès. Upon release of the footage, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) staged provocative protests at Hermès stores in New York City, London and Paris to call on the company to replace crocodile skin with cruelty-free fabrics for their handbags.

Australia accounts for 60% of the global trade of crocodile skins. Crocodiles, who have a natural lifespan of 70 years, are slaughtered by Hermès when they are just 2-3  years old. Birkin bags, which are made from the skins of four crocodiles, sell for tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of dollars at Hermès stores.

Hermès slaughters four crocodiles to produce one Birkin bag

Kindness Project, an Australian animal rights organization that released the Transparency Project footage, has launched a campaign to shut down Australia’s commercial crocodile farms and transition the workers into other jobs. “With so many sustainable and animal friendly alternatives available, there is no need for fashion houses to harm animals in the production of their clothing and accessories. We are asking for an end to Hermès crocodile cruelty, demanding they #dropcroc from their collections, in favor of protecting precious wildlife from cruelty and suffering.”

According to PETA, Hermès is planning to build what would be Australia’s largest crocodile farm, which would hold up to 50,000 individuals. Previous PETA investigations have shown workers shooting reptiles in the head; cutting into their bodies as they struggle to escape; and stabbing still-conscious animals in an effort to dislocate their vertebrae. They also show reptiles moving their legs and tails several minutes after these slaughter attempts. “No purse is worth an animal’s agonizing death,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on Hermès to listen to the outcry against cruelty to crocodiles and bag exotic skins.”

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) staged a protest at Hermès in NYC after Kindness Project released undercover video footage of crocodile abuse at the company’s crocodile factory farms in Australia.