(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a Michigan Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the City of Detroit for records documenting the number of dogs and cats euthanized by Detroit Animal Care and Control when then-Detroit Health Director Abdul El-Sayed oversaw the city agency (Judicial Watch, Inc. v. City of Detroit (No. 26-018170)). The request also seeks records about euthanized animals after El-Sayed’s tenure for comparison purposes.
El-Sayed, who served as Detroit’s health director before entering politics, is the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan.
The lawsuit was filed after the City of Detroit failed to respond to an August 14, 2026, Judicial Watch FOIA request to the City of Detroit Law Department for:
- Records reflecting the number of dogs and cats euthanized by Detroit Animal Care and Control from 2010 through 2025 on an annual basis.
- All directives, memoranda, and protocols received by Detroit Animal Care and Control from the Office of Detroit Health Director Abdul El-Sayed from January 2015 through December 2017 relating to euthanasia of dogs and/or cats.
Judicial Watch sent a follow-up letter inquiring about the status of the request on October 7, 2026. The city provided no substantive response to the FOIA request or the follow-up letter.
El-Sayed served as executive director and health officer of the Detroit Health Department from 2015 until 2017. According to a Daily Mail report, nearly 4,680 dogs and cats were euthanized by Detroit Animal Care and Control during his tenure.
According to that same report, former animal control officer Brittany Roberts described the agency as a “dog slaughterhouse” and alleged unsanitary conditions, inadequate animal care, and failures to scan animals for microchips before they were euthanized. The city settled her whistleblower lawsuit for $63,000 in 2016.
“The public deserves answers about Detroit’s animal euthanasia practices during El-Sayed’s tenure,” said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. “With an election approaching, Detroit should stop stonewalling and disclose these records so voters can examine the facts for themselves.”
Judicial Watch is being represented in this case by Robert Muise of The Muise Law Group in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
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