His tenure as Detroit health director is facing renewed scrutiny.
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed is under fire after “pet massacre” allegations surfaced against him. During his tenure, Detroit’s animal control department was marred by allegations of animal mistreatment and reportedly branded a “slaughterhouse” by a former employee, Fox News Digital reported.
The same month, the lawsuit landed. Shortly before that, the city moved Animal Control from the Detroit Police Department to the Health Department led by El-Sayed. “Every morning, we’d just walk around and see who was alive before we could even feed. The city later scrapped the shelter’s no-adoption policy and began working with rescue and foster organizations. The operation was eventually moved into a larger facility donated by the Michigan Humane Society and expanded partnerships with outside animal-welfare groups.
Melissa Miller became a new animal-control director in December 2015, according to local reporting.
“I was almost embarrassed with myself to be part of a team that played a role of the death of so many dogs in their cages,” Roberts said in 2015, accusing the agency of neglect and mistreatment, according to The Daily Mail.
His campaign also credited him with moving it into a more modern facility, overhauling care protocols and expanding partnerships aimed at getting animals out of the shelter alive. Detroit’s animal control operation, however, continued to face legal and operational problems during El-Sayed’s tenure. Some residents claimed that their dogs died at the city shelter or shortly after leaving it.
El-Sayed’s campaign dismissed the animal death allegations, telling Fox News Digital that he raised frontline animal-care officer pay by 15% and worked to fully staff the operation. A federal judge in February 2016 temporarily blocked Detroit Animal Control from seizing dogs from homes without a warrant, consent or emergency circumstances amid a lawsuit brought by residents.
