The job of the Chair of the Board of Directors is to ensure the mission is followed, to protect the reputation and integrity of the organization, and to hold the CEO accountable. In this task, ASPCA Board Chair Mary Jo White has failed. Under her leadership, she has allowed Ed Sayres to turn the ASPCA’s mission on its head, promulgating policies and legislation that are the antithesis of what an animal protection organization is supposed to be doing, and the antithesis of what the ASPCA tells their donors they represent.
Sayres has promulgated legislation to kill animals with no holding period of any kind based on an animal’s perceived state of mind, a declaration of war on shy and scared animals, as well as feral cats. Sayres has turned a blind eye to rampant neglect, abuse, and killing at the NYC pound, and even sends animals there to be killed. Sayres has fought No Kill reform efforts in places like San Francisco, Austin, and Tallahassee, going so far as to protect a shelter director who committed animal cruelty. In other words, under her leadership, she has allowed Ed Sayres and the ASPCA to become a hoarder of money, a defender of shelter abuse, and a fighter against lifesaving.
In your own words, in your own way, please let her know how disappointed you are. Ask her to step in and protect the animals she is pledged to protect. And tell her she must start by ensuring that the ASPCA’s “Quick Kill Bill,” A05449, be immediately withdrawn. Let her know that the fate of thousands of animals are in her hands and she must finally start living up to her responsibilities as ASPCA Board Chair.
Please be thoughtful. Please be civil. But please be firm and offer no apologies.
Mary Jo White
919 Third Avenue
New York, NY 10022
T: (212) 909-6260
F: (212) 909-6836
email: mjwhite@debevoise.com
For more information: The ASPCA’s War on Animal Lovers