Abdul El-Sayed only recently clutched the Democratic nomination for Michigan’s Senate race, but his campaign is already going to the dogs. Last week, news broke that the candidate oversaw the euthanasia of more than 4,000 dogs and cats during his three-year tenure as executive director of the Detroit Health Department, which manages the city’s animal control.
El-Sayed is getting plenty of flak for the dark chapter — and deservedly so.
A one-time press secretary for former First Lady Jill Biden questioned, “I actually really really don't want to believe this. Can someone verify?” Others have referred to it as a “pet massacre.” Political rivals are also foaming at the mouth. The National Republican Senatorial Committee seized the opportunity to start selling “Dogs Against Abdul” merchandise.
But one so-called animal rights organization is actually defending El-Sayed: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Given the animal rights group’s concern over something as silly as the term “bring home the bacon,” one would assume that putting to death thousands of pets would draw the organization’s ire.
But no. Instead, PETA was quick to excuse El-Sayed’s kill rate, claiming, “Every public official who oversees an animal shelter inherits the same heartbreaking challenge: there are far more homeless dogs and cats than there are good homes for them.”
This isn’t true on its face: About 2.8 million dogs enter shelters annually, while an estimated 8 million homes get a dog every year.
Political allegiance could be fueling PETA’s stance. Despite recently trying to distance itself from its radical reputation, PETA is a far-left organization.
The group opposes hunting and fishing, and if you thought DEI culture was toxic, try PETA’s efforts to fight “speciesism” on for size. It’s also a staunch supporter of veganism and advocates for ending the American tradition of turkey at Thanksgiving. Maybe PETA can team up with Francesca Hong, the former Democratic Socialist candidate for Wisconsin governor who advocated for canceling the holiday altogether.
PETA even supports gun control and joined the "Black Lives Matter" movement in 2020 because, according to its blog post, “the deck is stacked against anyone working to end oppression.” The wackiness makes more sense when you realize that PETA compares eating meat to slavery and likens farm animals to victims of the Holocaust.
Suffice it to say, undermining the newly-minted Democratic standard-bearer in Michigan’s Senate contest could be a step too far for PETA’s left-wing ethos, especially when both El-Sayed and PETA don’t like pork. The candidate has compared bacon to plutonium, a radioactive chemical used in nuclear weapons.
Another hypothesis for PETA’s passivity is fear of being called out as hypocrites. El-Sayed is being linked to the death of 4,000 dogs and cats, but PETA has killed more than 13 times that over the past three decades. In 2025, the group euthanized roughly 1,600 dogs and cats at its animal shelter in Virginia — bringing the total kill count at the facility to more than 53,000 since 1998.
The average euthanasia rate at PETA’s shelter is 80 percent, meaning just two out of every ten animals brought in have the opportunity to make it out alive. One analysis found that the animals PETA killed “represent 11% of all animals euthanized in the entire Commonwealth of Virginia in 2022.”
In 2015, a $9.7 million lawsuit was filed against PETA for allegedly killing a family pet. The family claims two PETA employees abducted their dog from their porch — euthanizing the pup shortly thereafter. PETA eventually settled the lawsuit for nearly $50,000. Big woof.
Editor's Note: The Democrat Party has been infected by socialism, and it's spreading FAST. Democrats are claiming there's nothing to worry about, but we know the truth.
Help us continue to shine a light on the socialist takeover by joining Townhall VIP. Use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your VIP membership.
Join the Conversation
VIP members get the ability to comment on articles.