Where did the false claim that Haitian immigrants are eating pets come from?
07.06.2025 01:15
If your neighbor kidnapped your pet and you found it dead and butchered hanging from a tree how would you react? If this was actually happening people who have had their pets murdered would happily come forward and probably go further.
Springfield Ohio is about your average American boom town that is no longer booming. It has a population of over 50,000 in Springfield proper and 130,000+ in the larger metropolitan area. It is a rather ordinary white working-class “boom town” minus the “boom.”
The reality is that Springfield is relatively poor and in decline and that there is some tension between the almost entirely white conservative population and the newly arrived black Haitian migrants. That is a lot less sexy than “Haitians are kidnapping and eating pets.” Between those two “narratives” what is going to be more viral? What will garner more views and clicks?
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In 2014 Springfield began the “Welcome to Springfield” campaign to attract migrants. They had hoped that an influx of people would help raise property values and bolster the struggling economy. Over the last decade around 20,000 Haitian migrants have moved to Springfield turning the once white community into a more diverse place.
Now to be clear this is not the doing of Biden, Harris, or Democrats. Springfield has a Republican Mayor and mostly Republican administrators. The County (Clark County) is Republican led and the State of Ohio is deeply conservative.
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This radical change has led to problems. The residents of Springfield, who are very conservative, are not super happy about this influx of migrants. Additionally, since Haitians make up 10–20% of the population they also make up 10–20% of the crime. A Haitian driving a minivan hit a school bus and killed 1 child in the accident. Additionally, local rumors have sprung up that all the ducks and geese in local ponds have been killed and eaten by Haitians though no evidence of this exists. These isolated events and rumors have ballooned in the community, a community in economic decline mind you.
There is no evidence of this happening. At first, there was supposedly video proof of a Haitian woman being arrested for eating a cat. The problem is that this video is of a woman being arrested in Canton Ohio a while back and has nothing to do with Springfield.
Basically, both Donald Trump and JD Vance began saying that Haitian migrants in Springfield were eating pets. Supposedly people had their cats and dogs kidnapped, slaughtered, and eaten along with the local geese and ducks. This has become a major talking point for the anti-immigration platform of Donald Trump as he states “This is what every American town will be like with Harris as President.”
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The person who made the original post has come out and stated that she never intended for her post to blow up and that it was a mere rumor. Additionally, nobody has come forward to verify this story.
Put simply
The Springfield police, the County Sheriff, and the Mayor- all of whom are Republicans in a Trump-held county have stated that there are no reports of Haitians eating pets.
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Yes, this whole thing has been debunked but that is not how the American media works.
Haitians eat pork, chicken, and fish- they DO NOT eat dogs or cats. Similar to Americans they view dogs and cats as pets and NOT food. There are cultures that eat dog and cat, specifically Korea and China (China is a bad one). This subject itself is tricky because who decides what animals we should consume? Pigs are as intelligent if not more intelligent than dogs. Rabbits are great companions. Anyway, Haitians don’t eat dogs culturally.
Then a Springfield local who I will avoid naming wrote on Facebook that her friend’s daughter’s cat went missing. Then a few days later this friend’s daughter saw the cat butchered and hanging from the tree of her Haitian neighbors. This Facebook post got picked up by a major Conservative Twitter Page and then became national news. Next thing you know Trump is saying that “they are eating dogs” on a debate stage.
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This entire thing is nothing but a perfectly concocted Trumpism lie. Illegal immigration is a major issue in the United States this election cycle. The problem is that having a few examples of illegal migrants committing the same crimes citizens commit isn’t going to shock anyone. But if you convince people that their brown-skinned neighbors are going to eat the family dog it may shock people into action.
Suddenly this boom town is the center of election drama as the city government is flooded with death threats, all based on a lie. It’s a sign of how toxic, misleading, and plain dirty politics have become in the United States.
Regardless 20,000 migrants to a city of around 130,000 is a lot and this changed the landscape of Springfield. Haitians have a unique language, unique cuisine, and a totally distinct culture from the American Midwest white culture present in most of Ohio.