Marty Irby is a Washington, DC lobbyist who’s trying to wear two hats. On the one hand, he’s worked as a lobbyist for animal rights extremists who want to ban hunting, livestock farming, and ranching. On the other hand, he tries to make inroads with conservative politicians who support hunting, livestock farming, and ranching. 

It’s a balancing act, and Irby has the grace of William Taft on a tightrope. 

Irby’s Work for Animal Rights Extremists

Irby joined the Humane Society Legislative Fund in 2017, where he was a staff lobbyist. The organization is the lobbying arm of the Humane Society of the United States, one of the largest animal rights organizations in the country. 

Not long after Irby joined, HSUS would be the center of a national scandal as its CEO, Wayne Pacelle, was accused by multiple women of sexual harassment. The New York Times recounted an accusation by one woman who worked at HSUS: “On more than one occasion after 2010, she said, Mr. Pacelle summoned her to his office and pressured her for sex. She said she refused and once tried to placate him with a hug. After hugging her goodbye, he turned her around, pushed her over his desk and rubbed his genitals against her, she said.”

Pacelle resigned. And Irby? At a time when women were making their voices heard in the MeToo movement, Irby followed Pacelle to a new venture. 

In July 2018, Irby joined Pacelle’s newly formed Animal Wellness Action as executive director. Irby also became senior vice president of Pacelle’s newly formed Center for a Humane Economy. 

Short Stint at FreedomWorks

Irby would leave Animal Wellness Action in March 2023 to join FreedomWorks, a conservative/liberation grassroots organization, as Chief Operating Officer. But it didn’t last long. Irby left the organization in May after his past affiliations with animal rights extremists were made known. The agendas of animal rights groups that Irby worked for included passing laws banning the sale of meat or egg products–an agenda that is incompatible with a free market group like FreedomWorks. 

Lobbying Firm

Irby then started Capitol South, a lobbying firm. According to his social media, Irby’s lobbying revolves around cozying up to conservative politicians. But it seems anyone’s money is still green: One of his clients is the radical Environmental Working Group. 

Wilberforce Institute

In September 2024, Irby was announced to be board chairman of the newly formed Wilberforce Institute, an animal rights organization based in Richmond, Va. aimed at winning over political conservatives. The group is named after William Wilberforce, an anti-slavery politician in 19th Century England. 

The name raises obvious questions. Do Wilberforce and Irby think–as PETA does–that zoo animals are slaves? 

While Wilberforce claims its motto is “Advancing dignity, free markets, and diverse policies for all life,” Irby has advocated anti-free market policies in the name of animal rights, such as California’s state ban on the sale of pork and eggs produced in other states unless the farms used California-compliant animal husbandry methods.

At its launch in September 2024, the Wilberforce Institute was “fiscally sponsored” by a small libertarian think tank in New Mexico called the Southwest Public Policy Institute.