Multiple US agencies join forces to crack down on chronic dog welfare violators

US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins, US Attorney General Pam Bondi, US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, and US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. are working together to act against chronic animal welfare violators to hold them accountable and prosecute anyone who fights dogs to the greatest extent of the law. The joint efforts are to end these practices by boosting existing law compliance and protecting companion animals. 

“Let me be clear,” Rollins said in a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) release.¹ “If you are breeding dogs and not meeting the Animal Welfare Act’s [AWA’s] humane standards of care, your time is up. We will not allow a handful of bad actors to tarnish the reputation of responsible American breeders or compromise the humane treatment of animals.”

According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), the plan will consist of 5 parts.² The first part is a 1-week Animal Welfare Summit at the DOJ’s National Advocacy Center to train federal agents and prosecutors from all over the US on prosecuting animal welfare claims. A multiagency Animal Welfare Executive Strategy Committee, chaired by Adam Gustafson, will also be established to create and implement a National Strategy for Combating Animal Welfare Crimes. “Tiger Team” will be a creation of law enforcement to participate and assist with executing search warrants and seizures in cases of animal welfare that will be made up of experts trained in forensic evaluation and care of animals involved in fighting or other animal welfare statutes.^2,3

The plan will also continue the use of the Asset Forfeiture Fund that will help pay for the care, evaluation, and feeding of animals seized through animal welfare investigations, plus grants will be offered through the Office of Justice Programs to animal welfare groups, state, and local law enforcement agencies that are working to combat animal cruelty.² All of this news was announced in a memorandum to all DOJ employees on February 18, 2026.³

“Animals are part of our families. We will always fight to protect the pets we love,” Bondi said.¹ “I have fought against animal abuse my entire career and will never stop working to prosecute the sick individuals who prey upon innocent animals. Since taking office, this [DOJ] has already rescued nearly 300 dogs from horrific circumstances. Our work has only just begun, and this cabinet is committed to a whole-of-government approach to swiftly ending this horrific behavior.”

According to the USDA, over the past 15 years, it has significantly strengthened oversight of dog breeding facilities. Between 2015 and 2025, compliance with the AWA among facilities that breed canines rose from an average of 67% to 92%, demonstrating consistent improvements and industry-wide cooperation across the US. Despite these improvements, there is still work to be done, as breeding facilities continue to have recurring and chronic violations. To address this, the USDA will execute the following²:

• Root out “bad actors” who have a history of noncompliance through initiation of enforcement actions against the licenses of persistent violators of the AWA. Then, in the worst cases, remove offenders entirely from the industry.
• Deploy and expand Animal Care’s compliance and enforcement specialist team to “aggressively identify and investigate” unlicensed activities under the AWA and sharpen enforcement against any individuals who import canines for resale without the permits required to do so.
• Ameliorate consistency across the industry through AWA inspections by improving inspector training, compliance tracking, and processing.
• Expansion of information sharing between state and federal partners so USDA inspections can be factored into local officials’ decisions to conduct their own inspections.
• Support for state and local partners to pursue enforcement action against breeders who do not fall under the USDA’s authority but are impacting the welfare of canines.

Since this announcement, the USDA has cancelled, denied, suspended, and revoked licenses issued to 6 dog breeds who failed to provide humane care to the dogs in their care, filed administrative enforcement cases against 2 chronically noncompliant canine breeds, referred a case to the DOJ where a facility repeatedly stopped officials from the USDA from conducting animal welfare compliance inspections, and more. Currently, the USDA has opened a request for information (RFI) that will allow the public and stakeholders to provide input on the current standards governing humane care of dogs under the AWA, to ensure the federal standards reflect best practices and scientific evidence. The RFI opened on February 18, 2026, and will remain open for 30 days.

Reference

1. Attorney General Bondi announces Department of Justice prioritization of animal welfare enforcement. News release. US Department of Justice. February 18, 2026. Accessed February 23, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-bondi-announces-department-justice-prioritization-animal-welfare-0
2. USDA, DOJ, DHS, and HHS launch coordinated effort to crackdown on chronic dog welfare violators. News release. US Department of Agriculture. February 18, 2026. Accessed February 23, 2026. https://www.usda.gov/about-usda/news/press-releases/2026/02/18/usda-doj-dhs-and-hhs-launch-coordinated-effort-crackdown-chronic-dog-welfare-violators
3. Bondi P. Prioritization of animal welfare enforcement memo. US Department of Justice. February 18, 2026. Accessed February 23, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/ag/media/1427921/dl?inline=&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery