Where did Donald Trump's pet-eating claims come from? (2024)

Donald Trump has repeated claims that immigrants in an Ohio town are eating the pets of other residents.

The claims were immediately fact-checked by the moderators during last night's presidential debate between Mr Trump and Kamala Harris.

But what exactly did Mr Trump say and where have the claims come from?

What Trump said during debate

The presidential hopeful said in the first head-to-head with his opponent: "In Springfield, they're eating the dogs, the people that came in, they're eating the cats… They're eating... they're eating the pets of the people that live there.

"And this is what's happening in our country, and it's a shame."

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When ABC's debate moderator David Muir responded saying they had reached out to the city manager who disputed the claims, Mr Trump said: "I've seen people on television… the people on television say 'my dog was taken and used for food', so maybe he said that and maybe that's a good thing to say for a city manager."

Ms Harris, who could be seen laughing and saying "this is unbelievable", responded when it was her turn: "Talk about extreme."

JD Vance backs Trump's comments

Mr Trump's running mate JD Vance, who had already tweeted about the claims on Monday, defended the Republican presidential candidate's comments after the debate, saying: "No one has spread false claims."

Mr Vance, who is a senator for Ohio, added the Haitian community had "caused a lot of problems" in the area.

"It's led to animals disappearing," he said. "Many of my constituents have said that has been happening.

"The city manager said there's no verifiable evidence. A lot of residents on the ground have said there is. That just means the city manager, I think, isn't in touch with what's going on on the ground there."

He went on to reiterate he'd spoken to residents who had seen geese being taken out of local ponds and slaughtered.

Where do the claims come from?

They seemingly originated from a local resident who complained about Haitian immigrants at a Springfield city commission meeting on 27 August.

The man, who said he was a social media influencer, urged the government to "do something", making unsubstantiated claims about supposed crimes they were committing.

He said they were capturing ducks in a local park, slaughtering them and eating them.

Facebook posts on local crime-watch groups started making similar claims, with one supposed resident whose post went viral saying their "daughter's friend" had seen Haitians eating her cat and that local authorities had said they were doing the same with ducks and geese.

Additionally, an alleged case of someone attacking a cat in Canton, Ohio in August has been falsely attributed by people online to a Haitian immigrant in Springfield.

This is despite the fact Canton and Springfield are some 160 miles apart and authorities have said the defendant in the case has no known connection to Haiti, Sky News' US partner NBC News reported.

What are the facts?

The Springfield Police Division said in a statement that they were aware of the "rumours" and had no information to support them.

"In response to recent rumours alleging criminal activity by the immigrant population in our city, we wish to clarify that there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community," the police said.

Sky News US correspondent Mark Stone said: "This is, as far as we're aware, an utterly baseless claim," adding Mr Trump had "latched onto a conspiracy theory" and is "running with it".

Springfield Mayor Rob Rue also said on Tuesday there were no documented cases of immigrants eating pets.

Speaking at a meeting of the city commission, Mr Rue said: "Rumours like these are taking away from the real issues such as housing concerns, resources needed for our schools and our overwhelmed health care system."

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Thousands of temporary Haitian migrants have landed in the city in recent years, as longstanding unrest in their home country has given way to violent gangs ruling the streets, and their arrival has been contentious in local communities.

Their arrival is part of the government's Temporary Protected Status programme, which provides a work permit and protection from deportation to foreign nationals to those from Haiti and other countries where residents are under threat.

While Republican Ohio Governor Mike DeWine acknowledged on Tuesday that the "dramatic surges" have impacted Ohio citizens, he added Haitians who have moved there are generally hard-working people who love their families and are simply seeking good jobs away from danger.

Had Trump made the claims before?

Not directly, but Republicans including Mr Vance had stoked the rumours ahead of the debate.

The official X account for the Republicans on the House judiciary committee posted an AI-generated image of Mr Trump with his arms around a duck and cat with the caption: "Protect our ducks and kittens in Ohio!"

Ted Cruz, the Republican senator from Texas, shared a photo of two cats hugging with the caption: "Please vote for Trump so Haitian immigrants don't eat us."

On Monday Mr Vance tweeted saying: "In the last several weeks, my office has received many inquiries from actual residents of Springfield who've said their neighbours' pets or local wildlife were abducted by Haitian migrants.

"It's possible, of course, that all of these rumours will turn out to be false."