Abdul El-Sayed Faces Scrutiny Over 4,680 Animal Euthanizations as Detroit Save Rate Later Tripled
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 14
Abdul El-Sayed Faces Scrutiny Over 4,680 Animal Euthanizations as Detroit Save Rate Later Tripled
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 14
Summary
4,680 dogs and cats were euthanized in records spanning Abdul El-Sayed’s Detroit health-department tenure, reviving scrutiny of his management as Michigan’s Democratic Senate nominee.
1,056 dogs and 29 cats were euthanized in 2016, though his campaign says he inherited a broken system and lifted Detroit Animal Care and Control’s live-release rate from roughly 20%-26% to 61%-62% within a year.
The renewed focus traces to a 2015 whistleblower lawsuit alleging animals died from neglect, filthy conditions and inadequate care at a shelter a former officer called a “slaughterhouse.”
Detroit later scrapped its no-adoption policy, hired a new animal-control director, expanded rescue partnerships and moved to a larger facility, while the city also paid $63,000 in 2016 to settle the whistleblower case.
The episode now gives Republicans a line of attack in a key Michigan Senate race, even as El-Sayed argues the record shows a turnaround from a crisis he did not create.