PSPCA honcho resigns

The board of directors of the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has accepted the resignation of controversial chief executive Howard Nelson.

Nelson, a high-profile figure who came to the PSPCA in March 2007 from a similar job in Washington, D.C., submitted the resignation on Feb. 11, citing health reasons and "an environment no longer conducive to my success or the success of the organization." Nelson was treated for cancer of the abdomen in 2003.

When Nelson submitted his resignation, the board instead placed him on a leave of absence.

The board said in a statement yesterday that interim CEO and board member Beth Ann White will continue to head the animal-welfare agency until a permanent CEO is found.

Neither Nelson nor board members were immediately available for further comment.

The board learned only recently that Nelson had "resigned" several times from the Washington, D.C., humane society, only to be coaxed back.

Some animal-rights advocates believe that the tipping point between Nelson and the board came after Nelson tangled in late January with officials of the University of Pennsylvania veterinary school, which was in the process of switching its shelter-animal teaching program to the PSPCA from the Philadelphia Animal Care and Control Association.

The PSPCA in January took over the city's animal-control contract from PACCA, and with it,PACCA's former building on Hunting Park Avenue.

In an e-mail to Penn Vet director of communications Gail Luciani, which was obtained by the Daily News, Nelson claimed that he witnessed "several terrible issues" at the kennel during the transition.

The issues included "mice running over the surgical instruments, then Penn students using them on animals . . . dogs bleeding from their rectums due to drug overdoses" and "people walking in an (sic) out of the surgical suite," the e-mail read.

Nelson also wrote: "It is shocking to me, that Penn Vet would teach students in this environment."

"We're certainly not aware of anything like that but we're very proud of the work our students and Dr. Moyer have done both at PACCA and PSPCA," Luciani said yesterday, referring to Michael Moyer, the head of the shelter-animal veterinary program at Penn Vet.

"I don't know what he's talking about," Luciani said.

Luciani said that the veterinary school ended its relationship with the PSPCA because it was "not a good fit, despite the best intentions of both parties." Penn Vet now works with Montgomery County SPCA, in Conshohocken.

Nelson has been praised for setting up a 24/7 statewide animal-abuse hot line, and for tackling puppy mills and other forms of animal cruelty. But critics have called him a tyrant, and ex-PSPCA employees said he had ordered humane agents to operate outside their jurisdictions. *

Columnist Stu Bykofsky contributed to this report.