Van Buren County files 34 charges of animal neglect against puppy mill operator

Van Buren County officials criminally charged a puppy mill operator Wednesday, alleging she committed 34 acts of animal neglect.

Wuanita Swedlund, 35, of Farmington is charged with 27 counts of simple misdemeanor animal neglect without death or serious injury, plus seven serious misdemeanor counts of animal neglect with injury.

In an affidavit attached to the criminal complaints, Deputy Sheriff Spencer Rider alleges Swedlund failed to provide adequate food and water to the confined animals on her property, causing the animals unjustified distress and suffering.

During a June visit to Swedlund’s kennels, Rider alleges, officials observed water bowls containing no potable water for animals to drink; food bowls contaminated with feces; kennels with an excessive buildup of feces and organic matter, indicating the kennels had not been cleaned for a prolonged period of time; a flea infestation, and a Yorkshire terrier that was in need of dental care.

On June 30, 2026, deputies seized 32 dogs, plus one cat and one rabbit, from Swedlund’s property.

Swedlund could not be reached for comment Wednesday, although she told the Iowa Capital Dispatch on Tuesday that none of her animals were neglected. She has yet to enter a plea in the case, and an initial court appearance is now scheduled for Aug. 20, 2026.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service sued Swedlund for allegedly barring federal officials from conducting “unannounced” inspections of her dog-breeding operations. The USDA asked the court to issue an injunction granting the agency access to the property.

On July 10, 2026, U.S. District Judge Stephen Locher issued the injunction, stating that Swedlund’s noncompliance with the federal Animal Welfare Act “goes well beyond bureaucratic handwringing. The evidence shows that Swedlund has housed hundreds of dogs since acquiring her USDA license in 2023. She has consistently failed to provide her animals with adequate facilities, access to water, or access to medical care. It is evident that the animals in Swedlund’s care suffered needlessly — precisely the type of harm that the Animal Welfare Act sought to prevent.”

In separate state-court proceedings designed to determine to the fate of the 34 animals taken from Swedlund, District Court Judge Joel D. Yates transferred ownership of the animals to the PAW Animal Shelter in Fort Madison for eventual adoption.

In his ruling, Yates said the evidence showed the “animals were neglected by not having access to appropriate food, potable water, sanitary conditions, proper ventilated shelter and necessary veterinary care.”

Swedlund spoke to the Iowa Capital Dispatch Tuesday, about 20 hours before the charges were filed, and said she doesn’t believe any of the animals suffered from any type of neglect. She objected to the seizure of her family pets, which she said included a rottweiler, a Yorkshire terrier, a pug, a chihuahua, the cat and the rabbit. “All my animals were healthy,” she said Tuesday.

Court records indicate the USDA first issued Swedlund a license in July 2023. Since then, the records show, she has been cited for numerous violations of the Animal Welfare Act, some of which were tied to the death of eight puppies from three different litters.

In that case, the USDA alleged Swedlund told inspectors she had found three dead bulldog puppies after feeling a strong, cold draft at the front of their enclosure. Inspectors reported Swedlund had placed duct tape over the hole that caused the draft, but the tape was peeling away at the time of the inspection and the cold draft could still be felt.

Three more puppies from a litter of rottweilers were found dead, the USDA says, and one puppy was severely injured and later euthanized after a husky broke into an enclosure housing a sheepdog and her newborn litter. A week later, another of the puppies from that litter was apparently eaten by its mother.