25 dogs rescued in Israel

In Moshav Shibulim near Netivot, inspectors from the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture conducted an operation to rescue 25 dogs kept in unsanitary and life-threatening conditions. This is the second major case in September in which Israeli authorities have seized animals from so-called "puppy factories.".

It all started with an appeal to the Negev Veterinary Surveillance Service, after which the inspectors of the central law enforcement and investigation unit (PICUAH), together with veterinarians and the police, arrived in one of the private yards of Moshava Shibulim. Already at the entrance to the first of the three closed buildings, they were met by a sharp smell of urine and excrement, and inside there were 10 dogs of small breeds, deprived of ventilation and access to clean water. The floors were covered with a layer of waste, bowls of water were musty, and many animals showed inflammation, wounds and signs of infections.

In neighboring rooms, the situation was no better: accumulations of excrement, scattered raw chicken minced meat, and one of the dogs received a deep fresh wound to the neck. All 25 animals were immediately seized and transported to a protected center for treatment and rehabilitation, and the owner of the site was detained and summoned for questioning on suspicion of animal cruelty.

This case was a continuation of a large-scale operation conducted just a few days earlier in the Raanana area, where on September 10, 2026, inspectors of the Ministry of Agriculture, together with police and veterinary services, rescued about 300 purebred dogs from a commercial nursery. There, animals were also kept in enclosed areas without ventilation, in unsanitary conditions and with clear signs of disease. According to media reports, the owner of the nursery was charged with illegal breeding and exploitation of animals, and all dogs were transferred to specialized institutions for treatment and subsequent placement in families.

International experience shows that such animal rescue operations are not uncommon outside Israel. In May 2026, about 1,500 beagles were released from the Ridglan Farms commercial nursery in Wisconsin, which had been bred for decades for laboratory testing. The owners of the farm agreed to voluntarily cease operations to avoid prosecution, and the operation was the result of widespread protests and investigations that revealed numerous violations and complaints of ill-treatment. In November 2024, more than 250 animals were seized from a Minnesota shelter, some of them in critical condition, and the owners are accused of several counts of cruelty. In the UK, in January 2026, the SSPCA carried out a series of raids across Scotland, during which hundreds of dogs were rescued, and investigations into uncontrolled breeding and unsanitary conditions are ongoing.

Despite some high-profile operations, the statistics on Israel remain alarming. At the same time, in recent weeks alone, PICUAH inspectors conducted two of the largest animal seizure operations in recent years. Moshe Ahrak, head of the unit, said: Only the joint work of all professional and law enforcement agencies allows us to respond quickly to cases of abuse and save animals. Animal protection organizations, in turn, insist on the need to tighten control, increase the number of inspections and transparency of investigations.

In conclusion, Israeli animal protection legislation is considered one of the most stringent in the region, with up to four years in prison for ill-treatment and heavy fines. However, as practice shows, the effectiveness of law enforcement is far from ideal, and large-scale rescue operations remain the exception rather than the rule. International experience shows that only a systematic approach, public control for the better.