September 30, 2016

Wayne Pacelle Speaks to a Packed House

Our Lewis & Clark Law community had the opportunity to hear from Mr. Wayne Pacelle, President and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), when he spoke to a packed house of students, faculty, and members of the general public.

This past Sunday, the 25th of September, our Lewis & Clark Law community had the opportunity to hear from Mr. Wayne Pacelle, President and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), when he lectured to a packed house of students, faculty, and members of the general public.

Professor Kathy Hessler, Clinical Professor and Director of the Animal Law Clinic, welcomed those gathered and detailed the longstanding relationship that The Center for Animal Law Studies has with HSUS. Many HSUS staff members have come to our law school to serve as visiting faculty, including Peter Brandt ’04, senior attorney for farm animal litigation at HSUS, who will be teaching Animals in Agriculture here this spring. CALS has worked closely with HSUS on the Legislative Lobbying and Drafting competition, the Moot Court competition, and has also had many HSUS staff members speak at the Animal Law Conference, this year held at Pace University in New York City, as well as the Animal Law Symposium, occurring in the spring at Lewis & Clark Law School. Additionally, many Lewis & Clark Law students have gone on to work at HSUS after graduation and one current student is serving as a legal intern with them this year.

Mr. Pacelle’s lecture focused on the relationship that animals have within our economy and HSUS’s goal to create what he calls the “humane economy” where “our values align with a good business outcome.” Mr. Pacelle provided examples of how this transition towards a humane economy has occurred many times already, noting instances here in the United States from whaling to whale watching and pet stores opening their doors to rescue and shelter animals (which results, on average, in shelter-adopting customers buying five times more product than the average customer). Mr. Pacelle also highlighted areas for HSUS to focus its future progress, including no longer viewing wild animals as trophies- he described studies detailing how an elephant is economically worth 76 times more alive than as a trophy- as well as the technological advancements coming our way to create plant-based meat alternatives.

Mr. Pacelle was pleased to see so many animal-law-minded students in the audience, saying that “it is fabulous to see all of you here, all of you who have such a keen interest in animal protection and the environment… and to know that this program has endured and grown.”

If you could not join us for the event, you can watch a free recording.