Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed didn’t run ‘dog slaughterhouse’ in Detroit, despite claims

Claim:

While leading the Detroit health department, Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed operated a dog slaughterhouse and was responsible for a 74% euthanasia rate among shelter dogs.

Rating:

Context

Although these claims stem loosely from real grievances regarding conditions at Detroit Animal Control, El-Sayed had not yet assumed leadership of the facility when those issues initially came to light.

Following Abdul El-Sayed’s victory in the August 2026 Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate primary, social media users circulated claims attacking his tenure leading the Detroit Health Department—an agency that took over Detroit Animal Control shortly after he assumed office. Viral posts alleged that he ran a “dog slaughterhouse” and oversaw the euthanasia of nearly three-quarters of the city’s sheltered dogs.

A widely shared meme stated:

Abdulrahman El-Sayed got EXPOSED for the dog slaughterhouse he ran as Detroit’s Director Health where they killed 74% of all dogs in their ‘care’. MAGA Mike Rogers odds of winning are SURGING!

(Reader Inquiry)

Numerous readers reached out to verify the accuracy of these statements.

Evidence shows that while the criticism touches on genuine past complaints about the shelter, El-Sayed was not running Detroit Animal Control when the controversy began. Instead, he inherited a deeply troubled system when animal control oversight was transferred from the police department to the health department in late 2015.

Consequently, the claim has been rated as false.

Examining the timeline clarifies the situation. El-Sayed served as an epidemiology assistant professor at Columbia University from 2014 until August 2015, when he became the executive director of the Detroit Health Department. Supervision of animal services shifted from police to his department later that fall.

Public grievances regarding the mistreatment of animals at the facility surfaced well before El-Sayed took the helm. For instance, a petition launched on June 18, 2015, gathered thousands of signatures demanding the closure of Detroit Animal Control over allegations that it euthanized 95% of incoming animals.

In October 2015, a former employee named Brittany Roberts filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the city, the police department, and animal control leadership, describing the facility as a “dog slaughterhouse” due to its poor conditions. Court records confirm that neither the health department nor El-Sayed were named in her suit. The city ultimately settled with Roberts in July 2016.

Roberts worked at the department from March until September 2015, losing her job shortly after El-Sayed stepped into his role, just as the transition of animal control was beginning. Then-Mayor Mike Duggan announced the health department’s takeover merely two days after Roberts filed her legal complaint.

Historical reports confirm that the Detroit Police Department managed animal control from 2012 until late 2015. Upon taking over, El-Sayed stated that the transition aimed to address public health risks—such as stray-animal traffic hazards, rabies, and dog bites—while simultaneously improving live-outcome rates for shelter animals.

By December 2015, El-Sayed replaced the outgoing animal control director with Melissa Miller. In a 2024 podcast interview, El-Sayed reflected on taking over the troubled agency, noting it was a responsibility he never expected:

When I was the new director of the Detroit Health Department, I inherited a part of the job that I never trained for and never thought I would do, which is Detroit Animal Control. And it was a mess at the time, and I needed somebody who I could trust, who could come in and do right by the animals and right by the people of the city of Detroit. And Mel Miller was that person.

Data indicates that the shelter’s euthanasia rate did indeed sit at 74% in 2015, right around the time El-Sayed took charge. Following the health department’s intervention, the agency’s budget roughly doubled from $1.2 million to $2.3 million. Investments were poured into hiring more staff, expanding volunteer programs, and enhancing bite prevention initiatives.

According to reports submitted to the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the shelter’s euthanasia rate dropped significantly, falling from 74% in 2015 to approximately 35% by 2017. Furthermore, the Michigan Humane Society transferred its former building to Detroit Animal Control in 2016.

El-Sayed ultimately stepped down from his position at the health department in 2017 to launch a gubernatorial campaign.

Sources