Dogs Seized from USDA-Licensed Breeder in Iowa
- Dogs found in horrific conditions were recently seized by Iowa law enforcement from a puppy mill operated by Wuanita Swedlund.
- Swedlund has a long history of harming dogs, but the USDA, which licenses her, has taken no action.
- In 2024, the ASPCA filed a lawsuit challenging the USDA practices that granted Swedlund a license.
Law enforcement recently seized 32 dogs from an Iowa puppy mill. The commercial breeder, Wuanita Swedlund, is licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). For more than a year, inspectors were unable to access her property to ensure she was meeting the minimum standards of care required by law. The seizure occurred after a federal court issued a restraining order against Swedlund, which finally allowed inspectors to gain entry. The reports and photographs taken by the USDA are horrific. They showed dogs kept in filthy cages without clean food or water, warehoused in the bathroom, garage and shed in high temperatures, covered in fleas, emaciated and lethargic. Iowa’s state veterinarian determined that the dogs’ condition was evidence of neglect, and they were seized by local law enforcement.
The USDA could not have been surprised. Swedlund has a long history of severe animal welfare violations. She is also connected to one of the largest dog breeding schemes in the country.
See Swedlund’s Connection to Steve Kruse
Steve Kruse, owner of one of the most prolific puppy mill operations in the country, exploited the law intended to protect breeding dogs. Kruse would designate space on his property, stock it with dogs and find someone to apply for a separate USDA license on that portion of his property. If they received too many violations, he would replace them with someone else and start over with a new, clean license. The USDA was aware of this scheme and allowed it to happen. Thousands of puppies were shipped to pet stores across the country.
In 2019, Kruse hosted a breeder named Daniel Gingerich on one of his properties. There, Gingerich racked up over 200 animal welfare violations before being shut down and sentenced to jail for animal cruelty. Although 500 dogs were rescued as part of this case, the USDA permitted hundreds more to stay with Kruse.
Kruse did this repeatedly. Swedlund was another of Kruse’s cohorts, beginning in 2023. There were already over 200 dogs on the property when Swedlund moved in.
When the USDA licensed Swedlund in 2023, they documented animal welfare issues immediately — puppies were on flooring that allowed their legs to fall through, dogs were eating out of dirty feeders, and the facility was removing dogs’ dew claws and docking tails without veterinary approval. They gave her a license anyway.
The violations continued, and the USDA took no action
USDA continued to document violations and puppies that died as a result. Puppies died from the cold in a drafty outdoor barn. Swedlund told the USDA inspector she found another puppy’s bones in a cage and presumed the mother dog “ate her puppy.” An adult dog was able to break through a kennel divider and tore all the skin off a puppy’s leg. Dogs were found suffering from various injuries and illnesses, limping, with hernias or with diarrhea. Swedlund did not have records of veterinary care or basic information about where the dogs came from or where they had been sold. Inspectors noted Swedlund had over 150 dogs but not a single worker. Then, Swedlund started avoiding USDA inspectors. The USDA attempted to inspect the property five times, issuing a violation each time for failure to allow inspectors access.
The USDA inspector responsible for Swedlund’s operation said, “Based on my observations and knowledge, [this] facility was one of the worst facilities I have inspected, particularly with respect to its AWA [Animal Welfare Act] noncompliance and high volume of animal deaths.”
Though any of the violations documented over time by the USDA could have been grounds to revoke her license, they did not take any action.
The ASPCA sent 10 complaints to the USDA about what was happening in Iowa, imploring them to revoke Swedlund’s license and remove her dogs. We also filed a federal lawsuit [PDF] against the USDA, challenging the very policies that licensed Swedlund and other Iowa puppy mills. That case remains pending.
This situation is not an anomaly. The USDA makes it too easy to obtain a license and stay licensed, allowing violators stay in business year [PDF] after year [PDF].
What You Can Do
Goldie’s Act is federal legislation that would help protect dogs in puppy mills, strengthening USDA’s enforcement and requiring them to take action against violators.
Please contact your members of Congress and urge them to cosponsor and help pass Goldie’s Act to save dogs who are suffering in puppy mills.
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