Before he was abruptly fired last month, Derek Copeland worked as a trainer at the US Department of Agricultureβs National Dog Detection Training Center, preparing beagles and Labrador retrievers to sniff out plants and animals that are invasive or vectors for zoonotic diseases, like swine fever. Copeland estimates the NDDTC lost about a fifth of its trainers and a number of other support staff when 6,000 employees were let go at the USDA in February as part of a government-wide purge orchestrated by the Trump administration and Elon Muskβs so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Before he received his termination notice, he says, Copeland had just spent several months training the only dog stationed in Florida capable of detecting the Giant African land snail, an invasive mollusk that poses a significant threat to Florida agriculture. βWe have dogs for spotted and lantern flies, Asian longhorn beetles,β he says, referring to two other non-native species. βI donβt think the American people realize how much crap that people bring into the United States.β
Dog trainers are just one example of the kind of highly specialized USDA staff that have been removed from their stations in recent weeks. Teams devoted to inspecting plant and food imports have been hit especially hard by the recent cuts, including the Plant Protection and Quarantine program, which has lost hundreds of staffers alone.
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Sweeping layoffs of federal employees have struck the program responsible for controlling the invasive sea lamprey that threatens fish across the Great Lakes, the earthβs largest freshwater ecosystem.
Among hundreds of US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) employees terminated this month were 12 members of the Great Lakes sea lamprey control program, based at field stations in Marquette and Ludington, Michigan.
These staffing cuts could have grave consequences for the lakesβ native fish population and the $5 billion fishery they comprise.
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