As president of the Humane Society of the United States, Wayne Pacelle probably doesn’t have many fans among the conventional meat, dairy, poultry and egg producers that read this publication. But there’s no denying his growing influence on how animal agriculture is practiced in the United States.

Promoted to president and chief executive officer of HSUS in 2004, one of Pacelle’s key goals has long been to build mainstream awareness and opposition to many practices that have become common in modern animal agriculture, such as the use of battery cages to house egg-laying hens and the use of gestation crates for sows.

In February, using footage taped by an undercover operative employed at the Hallmark/Westland meat packing plant in Chino, Calif., HSUS released a digital video revealing practices that one would hope are not all that common. The images of “downer” cattle — cows that are too sick to walk and are therefore illegal to slaughter and process — being shocked repeatedly with cattle prods, dragged with chains, moved with forklifts, and presumably entering the food supply quickly led to the recall of 143 million pounds of beef, a congressional hearing, changes in U.S. Department of Agriculture rules regarding downer cattle, the bankruptcy of Hallmark/ Westland and a great deal of consumer outrage.

Under Pacelle’s watch, HSUS has roughly doubled in size, primarily through mergers with other nonprofits.

“We’ve merged with a number of different organizations, attempting to achieve greater consolidation within the animal protection movement,” Pacelle told SN.

The mergers have helped boost the group’s funding — HSUS’ most recent annual report listed $233 million in existing assets, including $63 million in cash, $138 million in investments and $120 million in annual revenues.

So far, Pacelle’s method of leadership — using a variety of tactics ranging from marketing pressure and petition drives to boardroom meetings with retailers — has led dozens of universities, restaurants and supermarket chains to establish cage-free egg policies. Similarly, several major pork producers last year announced their intent to phase out the use of gestation crates for sows, after HSUS ballot initiatives in Florida and Arizona outlawed the crates in those states. HSUS has a similar ballot initiative that will appear on California’s presidentialelection ballot in November, which would effectively force the state’s entire egg industry to go cage-free by 2015.

Pacelle dismissed concerns, raised by many in the egg industry, that such a move will force consumer prices higher.

“It is imperative that we move toward more humane housing for animals raised for food,” Pacelle said. “These are issues that animal production should be taking the lead on. A ‘circle the wagons’ approach is not in the long-term interest of these industries.”

— MATTHEW ENIS