For over a quarter century, Wayne Pacelle has been fighting for

those who cannot defend themselves against an onslaught of societal

issues; neglect, abuse and starvation that even the most innocent
among us have helped to spur on.
Needless to say, Pacelle is a busy man.
But that isnt stopping Pacelle who has been serving as the
President and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States for the
past seven years from visiting the University of Georgia on Oct. 19th
to bring students and faculty a message that is often all too forgotten
about among the hustle and bustle of everyday human life.
People are causing so much cruelty to animals, and its not just
random acts of cruelty, but also institutionalized forms of cruelty, such
as industrialized agriculture, says Pacelle. If we can create the
problem, we can also turn it around.
The gist of Pacelles talk will revolve around his book, The Bond:
Our Kinship with Animals, Our Call to Defend Them. According to
Pacelle, the book focuses on the important roles that animals have
played in forging our past, and our modern quandry of professing a
great love for animals, yet putting them through tremendous grief by
exploiting them commercially.
While its an exciting opportunity for students to hear Pacelle
speak on the subject of helping to mitigate this exploitation, its just as
important to Pacelle to be able to spread his message to those who
may one day carry the animal rights banner. Speaking to college
students in a Southern town as diverse and open-minded as Athens is
an appealing chance for Pacelle to reach out to people who are no
older than he was when he first became involved in the animal
protection movement.
UGA is an important thought leader in Georgia, and I want to
reach the future thought leaders in the state and plant the seeds of
animal protection, Pacelle says.
Among those planning to hear Pacelle speak are UGA senior Errie
Hall and Eric Griffith, a reference librarian at UGA who helped
coordinate Pacelles visit. Both Hall and Griffith are heavily involved
members of Speak Out for Species (the latter serving as a faculty
advisor) the campus animal rights group that is sponsoring the talk.
Both see themselves as doing their part to help precipitate change
within the Athens community.
We try to raise awareness for vegetarian and veganism and
whats happening in the factory farms, says Hall. I basically come
and volunteer and try to help out wherever I can. We usually do a lot of
work at the Humane Society of Athens-Clarke County.
And according to Griffith, Halls words regarding the spreading of
awareness on a dietary level ring true: students involved in Speak Out
for Species have gone so far as to petition UGA to increase the number
of vegan food options in its dining halls, thus proving that there is a

dedicated group of people in Athens who have the chance to take

Pacelles words and run with them.
Wayne's visit to UGA offers a great opportunity to inspire people
in our community with a message of compassion and respect for other
species, and to encourage people to get engaged actively in animal
protection, Griffith says. For the students in SOS, it also helps to
connect the work that we do locally with the larger national movement
to create a more humane world for all animals.
Pacelle is also hoping to connect the issues that animals face
nationally with those that can readily identified within the AthensClarke County community, as he sees many of the same problems in
cities across the nation.
Its not just euthanasia of healthy and treatable dogs and cats in
our communities or an occasional random act of cruelty, Pacelle says.
Animal exploitation is all around us in the food chain, in the
cosmetics and household products we buy in the marketplace, at the
pet store down the street. There are moral problems all around us, but
that means there are moral opportunities around us. If we are serious
about stopping animal cruelty, we have to look inward and then focus
our attention on driving change in corporate and political institutions in
society.
Hall and Griffith are among who are willing to take extra steps to
drive change toward giving animals the respect and the rights they say
they deserve as living creatures. According to Pacelle, thats what the
movement is all about.
Its more about us than them, He says. We have all the power
in the relationship with animals, and how we handle that power is a
test of our humanity.