Lawsuit over USDA's puppy-mill licensing in Iowa at a standstill in federal court
A lawsuit alleging the U.S. Department of Agriculture has failed to enforce animal-welfare laws in the state of Iowa remains at a standstill while the litigants wait for a judge's ruling.
In September 2024, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals sued the USDA and then-Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, claiming the federal agency and former governor of Iowa violated the federal Animal Welfare Act by repeatedly renewing the license of Steve Kruse, an Iowa-based dog breeder. Kruse operates a large-scale breeding facility, Stonehenge Kennels in West Point, which has a long history of animal welfare violations.
The ASPCA claims the USDA routinely licenses dog breeders and dealers such as Kruse despite the agency's direct knowledge of practices that violate federal regulations or fall far below the standards required by the Animal Welfare Act.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, seeks a court order that would force the USDA to void all current licenses issued to Kruse and his associates and prevent the agency from renewing them.
In response, the USDA has argued that any decisions as to whether to enforce the Animal Welfare Act through a license suspension or revocation fall within the discretion of the secretary of agriculture — Vilsack at the time of the Kruse case, and now Brooke Rollins of Texas.
By challenging past decisions to issue and renew licenses for Kruse and his associates, the USDA argues, the ASPCA is now seeking to 'override the secretary's discretion in licensing matters and impose its policy preferences on the secretary.'
According to the ASPCA, the USDA's own inspection reports detail 'horrific treatment of breeding dogs kept caged in Kruse's massive West Point, Iowa operation, which typically holds more than 700 dogs.'
The inspectors' reports document observations related to dogs limping and suffering from open, bleeding wounds; dogs with untreated eye infections or severe dental issues; painful fur matting; and a lack of veterinary care.
The USDA reports also allege Kruse poured hot sauce on one dog's open wounds to keep the dog from licking them, and housed other dogs in cages so small they restricted the animal's freedom of movement. The dogs also had fecal matter on their coats and in their food bowls, the USDA inspectors alleged.
During one inspection, Kruse was alleged to have thrown a bag of dead puppies at a USDA official – but he has continued to operate his dog-breeding business under USDA licensure.
The USDA has not filed an answer to the ASPCA's allegations, but in November 2024 sought a dismissal of the case. However, there's been no movement in the case over the past five months while the parties await a judge's ruling on that motion to dismiss.
In seeking a dismissal, the USDA claims the ASPCA lacks standing to sue the federal agency, arguing that the courts have only rarely held that individuals or organizations can sue for the unlawful regulation of third parties.
Citing past U.S. Supreme Court rulings, the federal agency claims an organization may not establish standing based 'on the intensity of the litigant's interest, or because of strong opposition to the government's conduct.'
The ASPCA has responded to that argument by claiming the USDA has 'previously relied on the ASPCA to assist with the rescue of hundreds of dogs when a previous associate of Kruse amassed so many violations of the Animal Welfare Act that the Department of Justice took the unprecedented step of seeking injunctive relief in federal court to halt that licensee's operation.'
That assertion is an apparent reference to Daniel Gingerich, an Iowa breeder who operated a puppy mill in connection with Kruse and who was cited for more than 200 violations of the Animal Welfare Act before the U.S. Department of Justice intervened and negotiated the surrender of more than 500 dogs.
Such cases have a direct impact on the ASPCA's ability to pursue its mission, the organization says, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars to assist with rescue and relocation efforts.
Court records indicate that in 2022, the USDA approved Kruse for a three-year license despite what the ASPCA now calls 'an extensive history of AWA violations' that included violations cited 'on the very day Kruse applied for a license.'
Throughout 2023, the ASPCA argues, the USDA observed numerous dogs with severe veterinary care issues, including injuries, diseases, or conditions that had not been treated. In addition, the USDA is alleged to have 'improperly approved' the licenses of two of Kruse's associates in Iowa, Brian Lichirie and Wuanita Swedlund, despite 'full knowledge of the relationship between the parties.'
That lawsuit claims that despite the Animal Welfare Act's clear prohibition against issuing more than one license to a dog dealer, Lichirie and Swedlund each hold their own license while operating kennels that are populated by dogs owned by Kruse.
Technically, such arrangements are prohibited by the USDA since they can result in 'puppy laundering' –- the process of routing dogs from a serial violator to a different licensee with a relatively clean record, in order to facilitate sales to retailers in the rapidly growing number of jurisdictions that prohibit the sale of dogs sourced from questionable operators.
The ASPCA claims the USDA wrote to Kruse nine years ago, in 2016, to inform him that federal law required him, Lichirie and Swedlund to operate under a single license.
When Kruse failed to take corrective action, the ASPCA claims, the USDA continued to renew his license and never took any steps to revoke the licenses of Lichirie or Swedlund.
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Midwest man sentenced for $140K fraud scheme involving Pokémon cards, gaming items
DES MOINES, Iowa (WFRV) – A 34-year-old Iowa man was sentenced Tuesday to federal prison for defrauding his employer out of more than $140,000. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa, Mitch W. Gross defrauded Ruan Transportation Corporation between September 2021 and October 2022 by using company credit cards for personal purchases, including prepaid gift cards, Pokémon cards, and gaming items. Body found near Nicolet Bay Campground in Peninsula State Park in Door County Gross submitted falsified receipts and mischaracterized fraudulent charges on expense reports so they appeared to be legitimate business expenses. His fraudulent purchases totaled more than $140,000. He was sentenced to four months in federal prison, followed by a three-year term of supervised release. Gross was also ordered to pay $146,590.15 in restitution. There is no parole in the federal system. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Los Angeles Times
33 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Graffiti-tarnished towers in downtown L.A. remain in limbo
Early last year, vandals breached fencing, climbed dozens of flights of stairs and painted bold, colorful graffiti on the exterior of three unfinished high-rises that make up the abandoned Oceanwide Plaza development. The so-called Graffiti Towers — visible from great distances on the 110 Freeway and looming over thousands of visitors attending events across the street at Arena — were expected to be sold in a bankruptcy auction a year ago. But the long-running bankruptcy sale of downtown Los Angeles' most spectacular eyesore drags on with no clear end in sight. Experts blame a confluence of factors, including high interest rates, rising construction costs and delays in attracting viable bidders. Construction on what would have been one of the city's most notable landmarks, with high-rise housing, a hotel and a shopping center, halted in 2019 when Beijing-based conglomerate Oceanwide Holdings ran out of money to pay contractors after spending $1.2 billion on the complex that fills a large city block on Figueroa Street. Business leaders have expressed alarm that the graffiti some find artistic will prove embarrassing when global attention is focused on the World Cup next year and the Summer Olympics in 2028. Resolution of the Oceanwide Plaza saga also can't come soon enough for many downtown stakeholders who see the graffitied towers — rising as high as 49 stories — as a dark presence besmirching the city and sending a negative message about the neighborhood. 'The Graffiti Towers have worldwide infamy at this point,' said Cassy Horton, co-founder of the DTLA Residents Assn. 'It's like this beacon that shines and says, 'Come create mischief down here and you won't get in trouble. This is the spot to do it.'' The graffiti is likely to remain until a new owner takes on the painstaking task of removing it. More than a year ago, a federal judge set a Sept. 17 auction of the property, saying there were several potential bidders. The winner of the auction ultimately wasn't able to come up with the promised purchase price and negotiations commenced with other bidders. The real estate broker managing the sale, Mark Tarczynski of Colliers, declined to comment on the status of the sale but told real estate publication the Real Deal recently that two real estate development companies, one from the U.S. and one from abroad, are now competing as bidders. He said he anticipates closing the deal by the end of the year. The purchase price, which would be used to pay creditors including general contractor Lendlease and EB-5 visa investors, would just be the beginning of expenses for the new owner. Estimates to complete the project reach $1 billion, even though it is about 60% completed. Challenges to get it done include market conditions that are hamstringing other planned real estate developments. Builders complain of high interest rates for borrowing money to finance construction. New tariffs are driving up the cost of imported construction materials while raising uncertainty about how long the tariffs may last or what new ones may arise. Labor costs have also been increasing in recent years, and the recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids have added a destabilizing effect on the construction labor pool, industry observers have said. Los Angeles architect Douglas Hanson, who designed the 35-story Circa apartment complex next to Oceanwide Plaza, has an idea to shield people's gaze from the graffitied towers and bring in some money. He suggests rolling down vinyl advertising signs that could be seen on the from the freeway on the west side of the complex and lowering other vinyl coverings on the east side that would display a beach scene or some other art. 'You can get good money for advertising in that neighborhood,' which allows large commercial displays, Hanson said. Ad revenue would more than pay for the signs, he said. The buildings wouldn't be fully wrapped like a Christo art project, he said. 'Just drape them down and leave a little bit of the history of the building behind them.' The Oceanwide Plaza site was a sprawling asphalt lot used for event parking when Oceanwide Holdings bought it in 2014 with a vision to build a fancy, mixed-use development that was far bigger in scale than what is typically built in the U.S. Oceanwide set to work on the complex, which was intended to house luxury condominiums, apartments, a five-star Park Hyatt hotel and an indoor mall that would include deluxe shops and restaurants. A massive electronic sign on its facade was to bring a flavor of Times Square to Figueroa Street. Many of the residents and visitors were expected to be Chinese citizens, but the country's government implemented tighter controls on money leaving the country in 2019 and the pool of potential condo buyers shrunk.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
New Brunswick attorney lost in diving expedition remembered: 'a force of nature'
Funeral services have been set for a popular New Brunswick-based attorney who died last month pursuing his other passion as the captain of shipwreck hunting expeditions. A religious family funeral for Joseph M. Mazraani is at 10:30 a.m. Aug. 23 at Saint Sharbel Maronite Church, 526 Easton Ave., in the Somerset section of Franklin. Visitation is from 4 to 8 p.m. Aug. 22 at the DeMoro Funeral Home, 517 Route 33, Millstone. Mazraani, 47, died July 29 in a diving-related incident believed to be related to a medical emergency about 200 miles offshore from Massachusetts, on the eastern edge of Georges Bank, during a dive to a shipwreck the team called The Big Engine Steamer, according to a Facebook post by D/V Tenacious, Mazraani's New Jersey-based dive vessel that locates, dives, and salvages shipwrecks. "Joe Mazraani was larger than life. He was kind, compassionate, and generous. A mentor and a student, a friend, brother, son, and partner. Whether motoring aboard D/V Tenacious, diving into deep and dangerous water, or defending his clients in court, Joe demanded the best of everyone around him. Sometimes he demanded it grumpily – but he always demanded by example," the Facebook post said. According to his obituary, Mazraani was born in Beirut, Lebanon and grew up during the height of the Lebanese Civil War. He came to the U.S. at 15 and later graduated from the City University of New York with a degree in film studies and earned his law degree from Seton Hall University School of Law. He was a founding partner at the Mazraani, Liguori & Farmer law firm, 57 Paterson St., New Brunswick, located across the street from the entrance to the Middlesex County Courthouse, where he practiced both criminal and civil law. "In the courtroom, Joe was a force of nature – brilliant on his feet and on paper, with a mastery of the rules of evidence that allowed him to dismantle cases before they began. It was the conflicts Joe witnessed growing up in Lebanon that led him to be peculiarly sensitive to victims of government oppression. He dedicated his life to criminal defense because he wanted to be the bulwark between the State and the individual," his obituary states. "If you sought to take away his client's freedom, you had to go through him first. He left nothing on the field. He could turn a routine pretrial motion into hours of argument that, for better or worse, held the attention of everyone in the room. When cases went to trial, his authenticity, clarity, and dramatic approach won over juries time and again." Mazraani's career included victories in two separate cases that led to exonerations recognized by the National Registry of Exonerations. One of those involved Timothy Puskas who, after spending a decade behind bars, was found not guilty last year of all charges in the 2014 murder of former Rutgers student William "Billy McCaw. It was the second trial for Puskas after his 2017 conviction was overturned in state appellate court. Mazraani and Puskas posed for a photo together when Puskas was released from custody. A Facebook page remembering Billy McCaw also included a news story post about Mazraani's death. According to his obituary, Mazraani was known as one of the world's leading shipwreck hunters and technical divers and will be remembered as one of the great East Coast dive boat captains. His love of the ocean began during childhood summers by the Mediterranean and he became a certified scuba diver in the mid-1990s and started exploring wrecks along the Northeast coast. In 2010, he founded Atlantic Wreck Salvage and acquired his own vessel, D/V Tenacious, which he outfitted for ambitious deep-water expeditions, his obituary states. "He lived every moment fully, without compromise," his obituary states. Mazraani is survived by his partner Jennifer Sellitti, who is also an attorney, his parents, brother, law partners, friends, colleagues and fellow divers. Atlantic Wreck Salvage has organized a memorial fund in Mazraani's name to promote shipwreck exploration and preservation of maritime history. Contact Jennifer Sellitti at jsellitti@ for the address for donations to be made to the Captain Joe Mazraani Memorial Fund. Email: srussell@ Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. This article originally appeared on Funeral set for New Brunswick attorney Joe Mazraani Solve the daily Crossword
