Fort Colin: Wayne Pacelle, president and chief executive officer of The Humane Society of the United States, will speak to Colorado State University students on January 30 about current issues in animal welfare around the nation, with a focus on farm animal welfare.

The university’s Department of Philosophy, College of Liberal Arts, will sponsor the free event, which will begin at 7 p.m. in the Lory Student Center Theatre. Doors open at 6 p.m. Parking is free in the adjoining parking lots.

Pacelle will also be available to sign copies of his latest book, “The Bond: Our Kinship with Animals, Our Call to Defend Them.”

Pacelle has been president and CEO since 2004 after serving for nearly 10 years as the organization's chief lobbyist and spokesperson. Under his leadership, the organization’s many honors have included rankings as one of the 10 most fiscally responsible charities and one of the top 10 non-profit brands.

“As the head of the largest humane organization in the United States, Mr. Pacelle is the leading voice for animal welfare and has launched more than two dozen initiatives and referenda, including measures to phase out extreme confinement of farm animals on large operations,” said Dr. Bernie Rollin, one of only 15 University Distinguished Professors at Colorado State and one of the world’s leading animal ethicists.

The HSUS is the nation's largest animal protection organization and has been ranked the most effective by Philanthropedia experts. The organization has worked for the passage of more than 500 new state laws since 2005, and more than 25 federal statutes to protect animals in the last decade – including laws to:

• Protect the great apes in their native habitats (2000);

• Halt any interstate transport of fighting animals (2002);

• Make interstate transport of fighting animals a felony (2007);

• Halt commerce in big cats for the pet trade (2003);

• Establish federal standards to include pets in disaster planning and response (2006);

• Ban the import of puppy mill dogs from foreign countries (2008);

• Require accurate labeling of fur garments (2010);

• Combat cruel “animal crush” videos (2010); and

• Strengthen protection for sharks from the inhumane practice of finning (2011)