Tim Trow, the former president of the Toronto Humane Society, has failed in his bid to return to the board of directors.

About 100 members attended an annual general meeting at the Humane Society's River Street office on Tuesday night and elected five new members to its 15-member board. Trow, who resigned from the board last year, wasn't among those voted in.

A handful of voting members gathered outside the office ahead of the vote carrying signs that showed opposition to Trow's bid to return.

One of the protesters who turned up ahead of Tuesday night's meeting said she doesn't want to see Trow return.

"The animals now are getting their needs met," TCH staffer Sarah Russell told CBC News. "Before I wasn't sure who I was going to find dead when I showed up for work."

Trow and four other senior officials were arrested and charged with animal cruelty in November 2009 after police conducted a raid at the society's shelter at the behest of the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA).

The OSPCA took over operation of the River Street facility shortly after the raid, alleging dozens of animals were neglected at the Toronto shelter, including many left to die in their cages without proper care and nutrition.

Trow disputed those charges, and claimed the OSPCA's allegations were politically motivated.

Trow, 65, resigned from the Humane Society's board in January of last year. The charges against Trow were dropped last summer.

Since then, Trow has been critical of how the shelter is run. He claims the shelter is operating under capacity and focusing only on animals that are easily adoptable.