![Paul Markow Photography
Wayne Pacelle, CEO and president of The Humane Society of the United States, will discuss his new book, \"The Bond: Our Kinship with Animals, Our Call to Defend Them,\" when he stops at the Barnes & Noble at the Francis Scott Key Mall tonight.](/storyimage/PN/20110818/ENTERTAINMENT/708189954/AR/0/AR-708189954.jpg "Paul Markow Photography
Wayne Pacelle, CEO and president of The Humane Society of the United States, will discuss his new book, \\"The Bond: Our Kinship with Animals, Our Call to Defend Them,\\" when he stops at the Barnes & Noble at the Francis Scott Key Mall tonight.")
Wayne Pacelle’s bark is as loud as his bite.
The CEO and president of The Humane Society of the United States has helped pass more than 500 laws in the U.S. regarding animals, tackling issues from seal hunting in Canada to addressing concerns about farm factory conditions.
But a first for the 46-year-old came this year when he released his first book, “The Bond: Our Kinship with Animals, Our Call to Defend Them.” Released in April, the book shot to No. 11 on the New York Times bestseller list, leading Pacelle to embark on a 100-city tour.
Tonight, Pacelle will visit Barnes & Noble in the Francis Scott Key Mall for a book signing. Pacelle says he will discuss some of his book’s major themes during the free event. First, he will elaborate upon the title and the bond he believes every person shares with animals — a connection, he says, that is expressed in several ways.
“We have ‘Animal Planet’ on television, we have tens of millions of people who go to zoos every year,” Pacelle says. “There are 10,000 animal welfare groups in the United States.”
Despite this affinity, Pacelle believes the country is also contradictory in its feelings toward animal welfare.
“We also have so much cruelty and callousness exhibited toward animals, and I explain in my book it’s not just random acts of cruelty,” he says. “It’s large-scale and institutionalized abuses of animals.”
Pacelle also will address the third section of his book, which lists 50 ways readers can make a difference when it comes to animal welfare. When asked if he had to choose one to start with, Pacelle says consumers should consider the fact that every time they sit down for a meal, they are making “life or death” decisions for animals.
“We’re asking people think about their food choices, and even to think about eating less meat then they do now,” Pacelle says. “If every American just reduced meat they consumed by 10 percent, we could save a billion animals a year from ... slaughter, and that’d hardly be a sacrifice.”
A vegetarian for 27 years, Pacelle is quick to point out that he is not advocating the end of the poultry or meat industries. Instead, he calls for a “humane economy.”
“One where our commerce and our economic activity are synced up with our values and our ideas including our opposition to animal cruelty,” he says.
While the concept may sound lofty, Pacelle has been at work trying to put his words into action, and he is no stranger to advocating for legislation.
In July, he helped broker a deal with the United Egg Producers, which owns 95 percent of America’s egg-laying hens, in which the organization would invest $4 billion in repurposing their treatment of factory floor animals.
“We’re talking about doubling the space for the birds [in their cages] and banning certain inhumane practices like feed withdrawal and water withdrawal to induce molting,” Pacelle says.
Locally, the Humane Society recently rescued 133 neglected horses from a property in Centreville. In April, the organization also passed legislation regarding puppy mills, animals in domestic abuse cases, and spay and neutering programs.
Pacelle says the Gaithersburg campus of the Humane Society is the central base for the organization and he considers Maryland to be its backyard. Despite this, Maryland was listed at No. 19 in its 2010 “Humane State Ranking,” with nearby states like Virginia coming in at No. 12.
Issues like the proliferation of gestation crates, the unchecked hunting of its small black bear population, the use steel-jaw leghold bear traps and weak puppy mill laws are still issues the state should address, according to Pacelle.
For Pacelle, change is always possible and his book highlights the evolution of an unlikely partnership between the author and one of America’s most notorious dog fighters: Michael Vick. One of Vick’s representatives approached Pacelle shortly after Vick’s 2009 release from prison, to establish a relationship between Vick and the Humane Society. At first, Pacelle was not sure what to make of the newly released NFL star’s offer.
“My initial instinct was ‘No way. Never. I’m not interested,’” he says. “I had helped write the federal law under which he was prosecuted, the 2002 federal law against interstate transport of animals for fighting, and we demanded his prosecution.”
Inevitably, Pacelle felt Vick’s offer was a step in the right direction for the fallen-from-grace athlete and his celebrity as a spokesman would help reach target audiences where dog fighting is prominent. In the two years they have worked together, Vick and Pacelle have spoken to some 15,000 children and Vick generally partakes in two Humane Society programs each month.
Pacelle’s visit to Frederick will be stop No. 87 on his book tour. He hopes his message inspires those present to consider the need of the planet’s other constituents.
tforhecz@gazette.net
If you go
Wayne Pacelle
When: 7 p.m. tonight
Where: Barnes & Noble, Francis Scott Key Mall, 5500 Buckeystown Pike, Frederick
Tickets: Free
For information: 301-698-0121, store-locator.barnesandnoble.com/event/3110783
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