Republicans Seem To Be A Far Greater Threat To Pets Than Immigrants

JD Vance, Donald Trump and other Republicans are clinging to a racist and thoroughly debunked lie that a group of legal immigrants in Ohio are abducting, killing and eating peoples pets.

Theres zero truth to the claim . And yet, theres a mountain of evidence in the last week, month, year and half-century that its Republicans who pose the gravest threat to Americas animals.

Most recently, several former colleagues of Kevin Roberts, the president of the Heritage Foundation and the man behind Project 2025, told The Guardian that Roberts once said hed killed a neighbors dog with a shovel.

Kenneth Hammond, who worked with Roberts in the history department at New Mexico State University in 2004, was one of three colleagues who shared the story with the outlet, which published its report on Tuesday.

My recollection of his account was that he was discussing in the hallway with various members of the faculty, including me, that a neighbors dog had been barking pretty relentlessly and was, you know, keeping the baby and probably the parents awake and that he kind of lost it and took a shovel and killed the dog, Hammond said.

Another colleague recalled Roberts sharing the story at a dinner party he hosted, adding that Roberts said hed considered killing the dogs puppies as well.

Roberts told The Guardian the story is patently untrue.

If he indeed killed the dog, Roberts would actually be in good company. Numerous other Republicans (and their supporters) have harmed or threatened whether directly or indirectly Americas animals in recent history, some fatally. Including:

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem

Noem bragged in her autobiography about shooting a 14-month-old puppy  because she found it less than worthless as a hunting dog. (The puppy wasnt very good at helping her find other animals to kill, so she killed it? Ironic!)

Noem also described how she killed a goat because it was nasty and mean by shooting it with a shotgun after she dragged him to a gravel pit. Her first shot merely wounded the animal, but shed only brought one shell, so she had to go get another one from the truck.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Thanks to RFK Jr.s failed independent presidential bid, weve learned hes cut a whales head off with a chainsaw, allegedly barbecued and eaten a dog (he maintains it was a goat), and planned to skin and eat a bear cub  but got distracted and dumped the carcass in New York Citys Central Park instead.

Sources told CBS New York the cub was found with stab and slash wounds on its body.

Former Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran

During a campaign stop in 2014, the late senator from Mississippi wistfully recalled doing all kinds of indecent things to animals when he was younger.

It was fun, he said. It was an adventure to be out there in the country and to see what goes on. Picking up pecans ... doing all kinds of indecent things to animals.

Cochran didnt elaborate, so we can only speculate about the nature of his, um, indecency. 

Former South Carolina Republican Party Leader Todd Kincannon

Kincannon killed his mothers dog in 2018 because God told him to.

According to police records obtained by The Associated Press , Kincannon emerged from his parents home wearing only his underwear and, while covered in blood and dog hair, told officers that every 1,000 years there needs to be a sacrifice and blood must be spilt.

Illinois Rep. Mike Bost

In 1986, Bost shot a neighbors beagle to death while it was in a penned enclosure because, according to court records, he was angry it bit his daughter after she provoked it by chasing it. Police records show Bost nevertheless had no problem letting his own dog roam around the neighborhood. 

Former Iowa Rep. Steve King

In addition to defending white supremacists , the nine-time Iowa Republican also defended dogfighting .

In 2007, King voted against a law that strengthened penalties for illegal dogfighting and cockfighting, as well as made it a felony to transport animals across state lines for that purpose.

He also tried to defeat an amendment that criminalized bringing a child to a dogfight or a cockfight.

Former New York Rep. George Santos

Former New York Rep. George Santos once stole $3,000 from a GoFundMe intended to cover the cost of lifesaving surgery for a U.S. Navy veterans dying service dog.

Former Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe

Inhofe, who died in 2024, held annual old world pigeon shoots , in which hundreds of doves raised in captivity were tossed in the air and shot by supporters as part of a fundraiser.

An undercover video at one event showed that Inhofe and his allies left behind dozens of wounded birds to slowly die in a field.

Inhofe ended the shooting events in 2017 after years of protest from animal rights groups.

Utah Sen. Mitt Romney

Romney famously tied his dog, Seamus, to the roof of the family car during a 12-hour cross-country road trip in 1983. The tale dogged Romney during his 2008 and 2012 presidential runs.

But dont compare Romney to Noem or RFK Jr.

I didnt eat my dog, he told HuffPost  earlier this year, saying he resents the comparison. I didnt shoot my dog. I loved my dog and my dog loved me.

BONUS: Donald Trump Jr.

Donald Trumps namesake loves big-game hunting , having regularly traveled abroad to kill animals in foreign countries.

In 2019, Trump Jr. used U.S. government resources to kill an endangered sheep in Mongolia, for which the Mongolian government had to issue a permit retroactively.

And in 2017, he spent Earth Day shooting prairie dogs in Montana with the states current governor, Republican Greg Gianforte.