TUCSON, AZ — The board of directors for the Humane Society of Southern Arizona confirmed Thursday that three of its leaders are no longer part of the organization amid an investigation into hundreds of missing animals.
The board said it accepted COO Christian Gonzalez's resignation and CEO Steve Farley was terminated from his position, and a search is on to replace him as CEO. The board also announced Communications Manager A.J. Flick, who has long been tied to Farley through political campaign work, is no longer employed at the Humane Society.
On August 7, the San Diego Humane Society shipped more than 300 small pets, including rabbits, guinea pigs, hamsters, and rats, to Tucson to help San Diego alleviate overcrowding in its own shelters.
Soon after receiving the animals, the HSSA moved them to a private group in Maricopa County facilitated by HSSA, according to a news release.
The board of directors started monitoring the situation, gathering information, and conducting initial research, following concerns from local animal activists and members of the Tucson community, the news release said.
The investigation, the release said, included finding out why the HSSA became involved, why the animals were sent to this specific group in Maricopa County, and the status of the animals' safety.
The private group told the board that 254 of the animals were placed in adoptive homes, and the news release said the board has no evidence to prove otherwise, but it continues to work with the group to confirm the well-being of the animals.
"As people who care deeply about animals, we understand well the significant interest in ensuring the animals are OK," the news release said.
The release added, "While this private group does not maintain adoption records in the manner that a large organization like HSSA does, we are looking for all the information available, formal or not."
The news release reiterated that the board currently has no evidence that any animal was harmed. The 63 animals that had not yet been adopted out, according to the news release, were returned to the HSSA, arriving in good health and in clean habitats.
Twenty-four of those animals were transported back to California. All but three of the remaining animals have been adopted out by the HSSA, the news release said.
The board has retained an independent third-party investigator to look into the situation, the news release said. The board invites anyone with information about the animals to email board@hssaz.org.
"The board will do everything in its power to ensure HSSA’s mission and function always was and continues to be to save the lives of animals entrusted to our organization," the news release said.
Farley issued a statement in response Thursday, saying: "It is important to know that I had no involvement in the transportation or placement of these animals from HSSA to Maricopa County, and subsequent allegations have been very disturbing to me. I provided the Board of Directors a 90-page detailed report regarding all communications between SDHS and HSSA but they made the decision to end my employment anyway.”
In a letter to the community, Board Chair Robert Garcia issued an apology for the slow response time to the matter of the missing animals:
To our customers, donors, staff, community partners, media and all concerned citizens:
On behalf of the Humane Society of Southern Arizona Board of Directors, I apologize for how long it has taken the Humane Society to respond to recent events that have negatively impacted the organization’s reputation.
In this letter, I will explain everything that we know as of October 5, 2023, about the transfer of approximately 318 small animals from the San Diego Humane Society to the Humane Society of Southern Arizona on August 7th. The information presented here is based both on internal research as well as the preliminary findings of an independent, outside investigation. We anticipate additional information as the investigation continues and will post updates on the website as they occur.
In July, the San Diego Humane Society contacted the Humane Society of Southern Arizona (“Humane Society”), requesting assistance to transfer these small animals, which included mice, rats, guinea pigs, rabbits, etc. The transfer was agreed to by then Humane Society CEO Steve Farley and overseen by our former COO, Christian Gonzalez.
The Humane Society Board was first made aware of the transfer on August 31st by the CEO, who communicated to us that the small animals were successfully transferred to a private, family-run rescue group in Maricopa County operated by a Trevor Jones. We were further told that the Humane Society had successfully worked with Mr. Jones on small animal transfers on at least two previous occasions.
It is typical for shelters in a community or region to work with each other to transport animals to improve their opportunities for adoption. We later learned it is NOT typical to transfer animals in such a large quantity.
On September 1, the board was contacted by an employee expressing concerns about the transfer. At the same time, concerns were growing by members of the community contacting the Humane Society, myself and other board members regarding the health and well-being of the animals.
At this time, we began monitoring the situation and attempted to get more detail on the transfer and the parties involved. Our former COO contacted Trevor Jones to request information on the status of the animals and was told that 254 animals had been placed, but that there were no records of the adoptions.
By September 2, Mr. Jones returned the remaining 64 animals that had not yet been adopted. A rescue group from San Diego collected 28 of those animals; today all but 3 have been placed with other rescue agencies or adopted.
Around the same time, we also discovered that Trevor Jones was an individual who routinely facilitated animal adoptions, primarily through personal relationships at his church and in the community and was not a licensed rescue operation.
On September 26, the board directed the commencement of a formal, independent investigation by an outside experienced and credible consultant to get to the heart of what took place from August 7th forward.
On September 29, the Humane Society board first learned of Colten Jones from the media, believed to be the brother to Trevor Jones, and owner of The Fertile Turtle, a reptile farm. Later that same day, I immediately called an emergency board meeting, and the board placed the CEO and COO on suspension.
After reviewing the report, including the details and discrepancies in what the CEO and COO told the board about this situation, the board unanimously took corrective action and terminated the employment of the CEO and COO. We did so due to their egregiously negligent actions against the mission of the Humane Society, their failure to follow protocols and other reasons.
These actions not only undermine the integrity of this organization, but also threaten to undermine the integrity of animal rescues on a much larger scale. Transparency is at the heart of what we do; without it, we have lost the trust of our community.
Regarding the San Diego Humane Society, they asked us for help in finding animals a permanent home. As our sister organization, whose core mission and values align with our own, we wanted to help them. They are not responsible for what happened due to the poor judgment and inappropriate actions of the Humane Society’s former leadership.
To rectify the situation, we have begun a search for a new interim CEO and plan to announce our selection soon. Rest assured that we will hire new interim and permanent leaders that will establish better protocols and communication with our board to make sure that all animals rescued and placed by the Humane Society will be placed in safe environments.
We will also conduct an audit and invite stakeholder input to make additional improvements to regain the public’s trust, making our organization stronger than it has ever been in its 80-year history.
Internally, we are going to meet with our staff, volunteers, donors, and other key stakeholders to work with us to develop stricter criteria that meet the highest standards for any partner that we work with.
Externally, we will meet with animal rights citizens, our sister organizations, and our partners to ensure we are all working together to meet their expectations for engagement and providing the highest level of animal care and safety standards.
To the public, we wish to communicate that the Humane Society has dedicated, loyal and passionate staff that had nothing to do with the actions of the Humane Society’s former leadership team. We ask that the relentless public threats to the mental and physical well-being of our staff stop now. They are misdirected and not appropriate.
We acknowledge that mistakes were made and we are committed to rectifying those mistakes, regaining the community’s trust, and ensuring the Humane Society’s success for another 80 years.
Sincerely,
Robert Garcia,
Board Chair
Full statement by outgoing CEO Steve Farley:
"I wish to express my deep gratitude and sincere appreciation for the privilege of serving as the CEO of the Humane Society of Southern Arizona for the past three years. It has been an immense pleasure to work alongside the dedicated staff, volunteers, donors, board members, and community members who make the Humane Society a vital force for good in our region.
"It is important to know that I had no involvement in the transportation or placement of these animals from HSSA to Maricopa County, and subsequent allegations have been very disturbing to me. I provided the Board of Directors a 90-page detailed report regarding all communications between SDHS and HSSA but they made the decision to end my employment anyway.
“During my tenure, I have witnessed the breathtaking compassion and commitment of this organization in action. Together, we have made significant strides in our mission to promote the welfare of animals and foster responsible pet ownership across our region. As I transition to new endeavors, I have every confidence that the Humane Society of Southern Arizona will continue to flourish and expand its positive impact on the lives of pets and the people who love them. Thank you for the honor of serving as CEO of the Humane Society of Southern Arizona."
