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The president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, Wayne Pacelle, has resigned effective immediately, the nonprofit group 

Friday.
Pacelle had been at the center of a controversy over allegations that he had 

 three female subordinates at the Humane Society, one of the country's largest animal charities.


The move came a day after the group's board of directors had voted to keep Pacelle despite the allegations dating to 2005.

In a statement, Humane Society Board Chair Rick Bernthal said:

Bernthal said that the president of the Humane Society's international affiliate, Kitty Block, has been named as acting chief executive.


The development came just hours after Bernthal had defended the group's decision yesterday to allow Pacelle to remain as CEO. In a 

, Bernthal said that after an investigation:


Bernthal also denied that his group had offered settlements to three other workers who said they were dismissed or demoted after raising concerns about Pacelle's alleged sexual misconduct. "The Board concluded that there was no motivation behind severance agreements to silence women who had spoken up or raised concerns," he said.

After the board voted to retain Pacelle, the CEO acknowledged that the controversy was taking a toll.

 earlier on Friday that he was assessing his future professional life:


Yet pressure was building for Pacelle's dismissal from both inside and out the organization, with major donors announcing that they were withdrawing their support from the group.

In a statement earlier Friday, the president of the National Organization for Women, Toni Van Pelt, had called for Pacelle's firing:


The initial decision to retain Pacelle also had led to the 

Social Issues

The resignation of Wayne Pacelle comes just hours after the nonprofit had issued a statement endorsing his leadership and dismissing allegations made by three women.

CEO of Humane Society resigns amid allegations of sexual harassment

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