Henry Morris - Smithfield Foods--Fall/Winter 2010 Edition

Caring for animals is at the core of what we do here at Smithfield, and it is personally important to our employees as well. One great example of an employee with a passion for animals in his professional and personal life is Henry Morris, Senior Corporate Vice President for Operations and Engineering. When not on the clock, and when not spending time with his wife or his furry best friend Bandit, he spends time serving on the executive board of the Peninsula SCPA in Southeast Virginia.

The Peninsula SPCA was established in 1963 and their mission is to advocate and provide for the humane care and welfare of animals in their community.  Henry joined the group in 2007 after the untimely death of his dog "Little Bear." Along with his wife, he wanted find a way to help animals find adoptive homes so other families could enjoy them as much as his wife and he had enjoyed Little Bear. They decided to give a donation to the Peninsula SPCA, and established what has come to be known as the "Little Bear Fund." This fund (now containing over $19,000) allows the SPCA to treat otherwise adoptable injured animals that would normally be euthanized because of their injuries. Since its creation, The Little Bear Fund has helped many animals obtain surgeries and then find adoptive homes, including one severely abused dog that needed to have both eyes removed.

Henry doesn't see any conflict between his position at Smithfield and his passion for the humane care of animals. "It's all about humane treatment," Henry noted. "Agricultural animals are raised for a purpose, and we just need to ensure they are treated as well as possible while in our care." He talked about his days many years ago working in a pork processing plant before working with Smithfield, and the abuse he witnessed there. "We have policies and procedures in place here at Smithfield to make sure we don't tolerate animals being treated that way.  There's no reason for any kind of abuse to happen, and it breaks my heart when it does."

He is excited about a recent restructuring of the leadership of the Peninsula SPCA; they have a new board and a new vision that includes a policy they call an "Adoption Guarantee." This policy means that the Peninsula SPCA will find homes for 100% of adoptable animals that come into their facility. "It's going to be a long road. We won't be there in half a year, a year, or maybe even in a few years, but it's where we're headed and it's the right thing to do."