Abdul El-Sayed Took Over A Dog ‘Slaughterhouse.’ He Admits He’s Not An ‘Animal Guy.’

Years after overseeing the euthanasia of over four thousand dogs and cats, Democratic candidate Abdul El-Sayed said that he was “not much of an animal guy” while taking credit for rebuilding animal control in Detroit. 

The comments came seven years after the Michigan Democrat ran Detroit animal control as it faced scrutiny over its sky-high euthanasia rates. El-Sayed’s handling of animal control while leading public health in Detroit emerged in recent days after The Daily Mail revealed that 4,680 dogs and cats were euthanized during his two-year tenure. 

“It’s going to be no surprise to our listeners here that I’m not much of an animal guy. Like, you know, I love people, and I think that, like, that makes up for it,” El-Sayed said on an April  30, 2024 episode of his podcast. “And I love animals, and I feel like given our work together in the city, I’ve done justice to animal kind. Many, many nights working to save many animals.”

Locked in a Senate race against Republican Mike Rogers, El-Sayed has faced numerous controversies over past comments he made on his podcast and other media appearances. He argued that “fireworks suck,” likened bacon to plutonium, and said he hated beloved Michigan tourist hotspot Mackinac Island. 

His views toward animals resurfaced after The Daily Mail published a report detailing El-Sayed’s time overseeing animal control. El-Sayed, who ran the Detroit Department of Public Health, took the helm of Detroit Animal Care and Control at the end of 2015 when the city transferred control under his jurisdiction. That came as animal control faced whistleblower complaints describing the entity as a “slaughterhouse.” 

Just after taking over, El-Sayed reportedly banned one local Detroit outlet from interviewing the head of animal control because of negative stories the outlet wrote on unnecessary animal killings. 

El-Sayed discussed his experience running animal control during the April 2024 podcast with one of his former colleagues.

“I’ll be the first to tell you, I’m more of a people person than an animal person, but I learned to love the furry creatures, and I have to believe that I’ve done my duty by them,” he said. While noting that he had two cats, El-Sayed said he liked to keep his distance from animals. 

“I appreciate them, and I want to see them thrive,” El-Sayed said of animals. “They do them, and I do me.”

During the podcast, El-Sayed claimed credit for reducing animal euthanasia rates. He said that nearly eight in ten animals entering animal control were killed when he took over, but said that had reversed by the time he left to mount a failed bid for governor. 

Shortly after The Daily Mail published its story, El-Sayed released a campaign video featuring one of his former colleagues defending their time running animal control.