During Abdul El-Sayed's tenure as executive director and health officer of the Detroit Health Department from 2015 to 2017, nearly 4,680 dogs and cats were euthanized by Detroit Animal Care and Control (DACC), according to records obtained by the Daily Mail. El-Sayed, a physician and former mayoral candidate, had pointed to his record in Detroit as evidence of his ability to reform systems.
In 2015, the year El-Sayed took over leadership of the health department, DACC euthanized 1,988 dogs and 272 cats, totaling 2,260 animals. This figure represented 26.4 percent of all dogs euthanized in the county that year, according to the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development's Animal Shelter Annual Report. In 2016, DACC euthanized 1,056 dogs and 29 cats. The department did not publicly release its euthanasia figures for 2016. In 2017, a further 1,404 dogs and 13 cats were euthanized.
During this period, the DACC's save/live-release rate was approximately 20 percent in 2015, meaning about 80 percent of animals did not survive. The save rate improved to 60 percent in 2016 and 63 percent in 2017, according to Best Friends animal rescue site. This marked a significant increase from the DACC's 2012 baseline save rate of 3 percent.
Shortly after El-Sayed began his role in August 2015, a former animal control officer, Brittany Roberts, filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the City of Detroit. Roberts alleged that animals at the shelter faced overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, improper record-keeping, and that dogs were not consistently scanned for microchips before euthanasia. The lawsuit also cited inadequate care for sick and injured animals and dogs left in cages without proper exercise. Roberts claimed she was harassed and fired after raising these concerns. The case was settled in 2016 for $63,000 without an admission of wrongdoing by the city.
In October 2015, El-Sayed acknowledged that Detroit Animal Control had significant issues, describing the situation as a "systematic failure." He stated at the time that blame should not be placed on a single individual, referring to the animal control director, Harry Ward. Ward, who was replaced in December 2015, acknowledged facility problems, including pest infestations, but defended his department's efforts under difficult circumstances.
El-Sayed's time overseeing the department also coincided with public criticism and protests regarding the shelter's conditions. A reporter for FOX 2 Detroit, Hannah Saunders, stated that El-Sayed had asked her not to cover protests at the shelter, reportedly saying, "It's already reeling and cameras are killing the team's morale." El-Sayed's campaign defended his record, asserting that under his leadership, Detroit achieved "the most significant humane-care turnarounds in Michigan" and reversed its save rate, placing nearly 80 percent of animals into homes. The campaign did not comment on the reasons for the lack of public reporting of 2016 euthanasia figures.