Inside Pam Bondi's aggressive push to crack down on animal cruelty crimes

In aboriginal 2026, then-Attorney General Pam Bondi's Justice Department took an unusually accelerated attack to carnal payment enforcement, arsenic portion of her propulsion to usage the transgression justness strategy to ace down connected carnal cruelty.

Around New Year's Eve, Bondi received a voicemail and a substance from her person Lauree Simmons, the laminitis of the Florida-based Big Dog Ranch Rescue, who told her that a German Shepherd breeder successful East Texas was shooting her dogs, sources with nonstop cognition told CBS News. 

Simmons besides texted different friend, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, to alert her.

In little than 2 weeks, Bondi's bureau assembled a multi-agency team, and USDA agents executed a search warrant astatine the spot of breeder Kristine Hicks, who was already facing authorities cruelty charges.

Hicks' dogs were seized and yet shipped to Big Dog Ranch Rescue for adoption. She was indicted successful March connected a misdemeanor of operating without a USDA licence and a felony ligament fraud number stemming from her misrepresentation of the dogs' lineage to buyers. USDA investigators uncovered her mendacious statements astir the dogs erstwhile they conducted DNA tests — a highly antithetic investigative measurement — according to aggregate sources who spoke with CBS News, the indictment shows.

A lawyer for Hicks declined to comment.

Several of the rescue dogs appeared successful a video with Bondi, Simmons and Lara Trump, 1 of the group's committee members. "We person implicit 100 that request to beryllium adopted," Bondi said. "Come on, we've got to get each of these beauteous babies adopted."

The aforesaid week that Hicks appeared successful court, Bondi stood connected signifier astatine the Justice Department and presented Simmons with an grant for providing "exceptionally adjuvant assistance to the Department successful high-visibility litigation," according to sources with nonstop cognition and photos posted by Big Dog Ranch Rescue. 

Bondi's counsel Henry Whitaker stood adjacent to them, holding a German Shepherd helium adopted from the lawsuit that is present a predominant impermanent astatine the Justice Department. 

The Texas lawsuit appears to beryllium among the archetypal of its kind, successful what represents a faster and overmuch much assertive attack to carnal payment enforcement than the national authorities has historically taken, carnal payment experts say. 

Sources acquainted with the inspection process by the USDA besides told CBS News determination has besides been an uptick successful involvement successful taking enforcement enactment against violations involving dogs. In immoderate cases, USDA has been much proactive astir suspending oregon revoking licenses aft uncovering egregious payment violations, whereas successful the past specified a determination could person taken years to achieve, 1 of the sources added.

At the aforesaid time, Big Dog Ranch Rescue's engagement could rise questions astir its seemingly outsized relation successful Bondi's carnal payment initiative, which has included everything from helping signifier the government's docket to making transgression and civilian referrals to some DOJ and USDA, sources say.

In the lead-up to Bondi's carnal payment argumentation announcement successful February, Big Dog Ranch Rescue was progressive successful discussions astir the plans to make a instrumentality enforcement "tiger team" to assistance with the execution of hunt warrants and seizures, authorities records show.

The rescue besides participates successful a recently created "Animal Welfare Executive Strategy Team," according to Simmons, which is mostly made up of Justice Department officials who are expected to devise enforcement strategies and coordination efforts.

On Wednesday, Simmons spoke on with Bondi and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche astatine a grooming and carnal payment acme for national prosecutors astatine the DOJ's National Advocacy Center successful South Carolina, respective sources said, successful what is apt to people Bondi's past lawsuit earlier she formally steps down, aft President Trump ousted her arsenic lawyer general past week.

"An lawyer wide should effort to debar immoderate quality wherever your idiosyncratic preferences, your idiosyncratic predilections and your contacts with your friends are a large motivating origin successful which crimes to prosecute and prosecute," said Gene Rossi, a erstwhile national prosecutor.

"This is not astir whether we similar dogs. This is not astir whether we similar rescue dogs. Everyone, with fewer exceptions, loves dogs," helium added. "But this is astir the priorities and the policies of the United States Department of Justice and the actions of the lawyer wide successful executing her duties, and this appears to maine that she is letting her idiosyncratic relationships thrust the priorities of the Department of Justice."

Although galore carnal payment advocates are optimistic astir the national government's accrued involvement successful the subject, Bondi's inaugural was launched without immoderate input from galore of the different much accepted carnal payment advocacy groups and appears to deficiency important regulatory elements, galore ineligible experts connected the taxable told CBS News.

One of Big Dog Ranch Rescue's committee members, meanwhile, is besides the people of an ongoing carnal cruelty probe successful Florida, aft she was accused of injecting a medicine cause into an aged canine without a veterinary licence oregon the owner's support past year, nationalist records obtained by CBS News show.  She denies the allegations.

In an interrogation with CBS News, Simmons said she met Bondi and Rollins years agone done their communal involvement successful carnal payment advocacy efforts. She confirmed texting each of them astir the pistillate shooting her dogs successful Texas, adding that nary ceremonial extremity enactment existed past to marque specified referrals.

"I wasn't going to slumber that night," she said. "They got it to the close people, and everyone jumped into action."

"I consciousness powerfully that this medication is taking carnal payment seriously," she added. "For so, truthful galore years, carnal payment issues got pushed nether the rug… We'd study a atrocious puppy mill with maltreatment that ne'er got investigated."

She brushed speech questions astir whether her idiosyncratic friendships with elder authorities leaders could make ethical concerns astir however cases are enforced and which ones get prosecuted.

"Stop that," she said. "This is each astir radical that attraction astir animals. I don't attraction what enactment you're with. We are a humane state and this needs to stop."

A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed that Simmons contacted Bondi astir the Texas case, aft a video of Hicks shooting a canine went viral. 

The spokesperson added that Simmons has besides been progressive successful helping to make carnal payment policy, saying "Ms. Simmons was progressive on with others. DOJ welcomes immoderate nationalist reporting astir violations of the law."

"Miracle drug"

Simmons launched Big Dog Ranch Rescue successful 2008. Her enactment claims connected its website to person rescued much than 80,000 dogs since its creation.

Simmons, a Trump protagonist and Republican donor, said she archetypal met Bondi erstwhile she was Florida's lawyer wide and the 2 of them bonded implicit their enactment for a measurement to prohibition greyhound racing. 

Her nonprofit, which reported $18.6 cardinal successful gross successful 2024, throws elaborate multi-million dollar fundraisers astatine Mar-a-Lago that person been attended by President Trump himself, arsenic good arsenic Elon Musk and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro. Mr. Trump's daughter-in-law Lara Trump besides sits connected the group's board.

The Big Dog Ranch Rescue committee subordinate astatine the bosom of the state-led investigation, Melissa Bilodeau, is pictured astatine Mar-a-Lago successful her photograph connected the group's website.

The state's probe centers connected allegations that Bilodeau, who is not licensed to signifier veterinary medicine, past outpouring injected an aged German Shepherd named Birk with a medicine medicine called Librela that is utilized to dainty osteoarthritis symptom without consent oregon support from Birk's owner, constabulary records show.

Birk died a fewer weeks later, and veterinarians told Birk's proprietor Howard Leibowitz that Librela should not beryllium administered to dogs with neurological conditions similar those Birk had, according to Leibowitz and constabulary records. 

Leibowitz told investigators his canine declined successful the weeks aft the changeable was administered, though it was not instantly wide whether Birk's decease was straight caused by the medication.

Bilodeau aboriginal expressed regret successful messages she exchanged with Leibowitz's lawyer Bonnie Navin, saying "I did it. I had thing but loving intentions, but it was wrong."

But successful an interview, Bilodeau denied the allegations, saying Leibowitz had antecedently pleaded with her to assistance his ailing dog, and that the veterinarians cited successful the constabulary reports shown to her by CBS News were not the dog's superior doctors who were versed successful his care.

She added that she lone provided non-medical proposal astir 2 antithetic drugs that could assistance Birk and showed the proprietor an bare pill vessel and an bare vial, but ne'er offered oregon administered immoderate medicine and told him to consult a aesculapian professional. 

"I americium readying to region myself from the committee until this substance is resolved," she said.

A spokesperson for the cause shaper that makes Librela declined to comment.

Leibowitz said helium encountered Bilodeau astatine an equestrian facility, wherever she tried to connection him an opened vessel of pills prescribed for a antithetic canine from a Big Dog Ranch vet to assistance Birk with his pain.

She returned a fewer weeks later, wherever she recovered Birk with Leibowitz's colleague, Travis Houp, according to constabulary reports. She asked Houp to clasp the canine portion she administered the shot, and helium complied, mistakenly reasoning she was a vet, according to constabulary reports and an interrogation with Houp. He lone realized thing was incorrect erstwhile she said: "Don't archer Mr. Leibowitz. Let's astonishment him. It's a occurrence drug," according to the constabulary report.

It is simply a transgression successful Florida to signifier veterinary medicine without a license. The severity of the discourtesy depends connected the facts and whether determination is capable grounds to nexus the acts to wounded oregon death.

Records obtained by CBS News from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's bureau amusement that some the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the state's Department of Business and Professional Regulation are investigating the incident. 

Spokespeople for some offices did not respond to requests for comment, though Leibowitz told CBS helium was advised the lawsuit remains pending aft helium filed his ailment successful April 2025. 

"What I judge is that I americium going to get Birk justice," helium told CBS News, saying helium was frustrated by the deficiency of immoderate meaningful updates connected the case. "I'll instrumentality this each the way, and thing volition halt it."

Bilodeau said she corresponded concisely with a authorities researcher past twelvemonth and told him she ne'er acted arsenic a veterinarian. She added she was not alert constabulary reports existed until CBS shared them with her.

Simmons said she was not alert of the allegations against Bilodeau until CBS News brought them to her attention, though Leibowitz's lawyer Bonnie Navin told CBS News she near 2 elaborate voicemails with Big Dog Ranch past twelvemonth alerting the radical astir what happened.

Simmons said she did not judge Bilodeau did thing with malicious intent.

"She is simply a immense carnal lover. She fosters a batch of dogs for us," Simmons said. "I don't consciousness similar Melissa has a malicious bony successful her body. But determination are rules that request to beryllium followed."

Holes successful the carnal payment strategy?

The Animal Welfare Act has not been historically astatine the halfway of galore national transgression prosecutions, mostly owed to the information that astir transgression violations of the instrumentality are misdemeanors, not felonies. It is chiefly enforced civilly.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, oregon APHIS, is liable for sending inspectors retired to licensed businesses, from canine breeders to zoos and aquariums, to guarantee compliance with basal standards of care. 

The USDA did not person an contiguous comment.

Most violations are handled administratively, though if conditions contiguous an imminent information to the animals, the Justice Department tin usage civilian provisions of the instrumentality to question an exigency tribunal bid to person them removed.

Apart from carnal warring prosecutions, it has been comparatively uncommon for carnal payment violations to emergence to the level of a national transgression case, galore experts told CBS News.

The USDA regulations are wide viewed arsenic being retired of date, anemic and ineffective. 

Staffing levels astatine the USDA arsenic good arsenic the DOJ are besides facing humanities lows, without ample inspectors, agents, prosecutors oregon civilian proceedings attorneys dedicated to moving connected carnal payment matters. A cardinal presumption astatine the DOJ — the relation of the counsellor for carnal payment — has been vacant since the outpouring of 2021.

The highest-profile prosecution successful an carnal payment lawsuit successful the caller past centered connected carnal probe breeder Envigo implicit its mistreatment of beagles.

In that case, Justice Department lawyers who handled civilian carnal payment matters filed a suit successful May 2022 alleging the institution was failing to conscionable basal standards of attraction for the dogs, and the institution surrendered much than 4,000 beagles soon thereafter.

The parallel transgression case, by contrast, did not get resolved until astir 2 years later, with the institution pleading blameworthy to carnal payment and biology violations.

Bondi's carnal payment inaugural appears to absorption its efforts heavy connected transgression enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, adjacent though astir of the instrumentality is enforced civilly, experts said.

The Animal Welfare Act "is astir exclusively civilian enforcement, due to the fact that different it is simply a misdemeanor," said Mary Hollingsworth, who antecedently worked connected the civilian portion of the Envigo probe during her clip astatine the DOJ's Environment and Natural Resources Division. 

"Given that puppy mills are a priority, the information that the civilian constituent hasn't been emphasized — it's a missing piece."

Bondi's inaugural besides makes nary notation to different carnal extortion laws, similar the Lacey Act oregon the Endangered Species Act — 2 statutes utilized by the Justice Department successful the condemnation it won against of "Tiger King" world TV prima Joseph Allen Maldonado, known arsenic "Joe Exotic," for sidesplitting tigers.

The reasons for these omissions were not instantly clear, though a fig of radical successful the carnal payment advocacy satellite told CBS News that they had not been consulted by Bondi's bureau successful advance, adjacent aft offering to meet.

"Our conjugation has been trying for much than a twelvemonth to conscionable her," said Delcianna Winders, an subordinate prof of instrumentality and Director of the Animal Law and Policy Institute astatine the Vermont Law and Graduate School. 

Other members of the conjugation see the Animal Welfare Institute, the Animal Legal Defense Fund and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

"There's a wide disconnect if they're purporting to beryllium committed to carnal welfare, and yet ignoring these groups with decades of corporate expertise connected these precise statutes who are offering, proactively, their assistance," Winders added.

A Justice Department spokesperson disputed that notion, citing a gathering that took spot betwixt the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the caput of the Environment and Natural Resources Division past year.