60 years of the Animal Welfare Act and dogs are still suffering

We recently marked 60 years since the enactment of the Animal Welfare Act — landmark federal legislation that requires the U.S. Department of Agriculture to license and oversee commercial dog breeders who produce puppies to be sold wholesale to the pet trade, pet stores or research labs. Congress passed the law in response to public outrage over the horrifying conditions under which dog dealers were housing animals.

Yet six decades later, the cruelty persists. Although the recent removal of dozens of dogs from an Iowa puppy mill has been hailed as a victory for animal welfare, it is just further proof of the agency’s chronic failure to protect the animals it’ has been charged with overseeing.

The federal government should prevent these horrific outcomes, not allow animals to continue in these conditions for months if not years.

The Department of Agriculture licensed Iowa breeder Wuanita Swedlund three years ago. In the time since, the agency documented dogs at her facility suffering from untreated illnesses, painful injuries, and a lack of basic care, leading to multiple deaths. But the department chose to do nothing. It did not fine her, remove any dogs, or take her license away.

Finally, after she spent more than a year evading required inspections, officials entered her property and found even more appalling conditions. Dogs were emaciated, covered in fleas, and kept in filthy cages without clean food or water. But it was local law enforcement who removed more than........

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