By John Di Leonardo
Last week, the presidential debate took an unexpected turn when former President Donald Trump referenced an unsubstantiated claim about Haitian immigrants eating pets: “In Springfield they’re eating dogs. They’re eating the cats. 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." As I had just finished writing an article about animal sacrifices along Jamaica Bay finding a peak this summer with chickens, pigs, rats, goats, and even dogs and cats suspected of being tortured and killed in “twisted” religious rituals on federal parkland surrounding Jamaica Bay and Gateway National Park, my heart sank.
Despite the horrific nature of these ongoing sacrifices, I was conflicted about broaching this topic as the population carrying out these sadistic sacrifices is fringe, and not representative of the kindhearted Hindu Guyanese and Indo-Caribbean populations at large. In today’s climate, one must be careful not to fan the flames of xenophobia whether intentionally or unintentionally.
Regardless of how one feels about immigration, there is no mass movement of immigrants killing and eating companion animals, and making unsubstantiated claims to that effect does nothing but distract from serious and honest dialogue, both about animal cruelty and immigration. Why then, have these comments gotten so much traction? And why is my inbox now flooded with concerned citizens asking me to help these dogs and cats? I believe this is because regardless of where someone stands on immigration, animal cruelty is a bi-partisan issue. Whether someone is liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat, nearly every American agrees that no one should be eating dogs or cats. But why does this idea stop with dogs and cats?
Just like racism is the misguided belief that one race is superior over the others, speciesism is the misguided belief that one species is more important than another. As my friend Ingrid Newkirk once said, when it comes to the ability to feel pain and pleasure, “a rat is a pig is a dog is a boy.” Just like animal sacrifice is a cultural phenomenon, so too is what animals we deem worthy of love and protection and what animals we see as nothing more than a meal.
Sir Paul McCartney once said, “If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegan.” In the United States, this statement could not be truer, with a country in uproar about an unsubstantiated claim of people eating dogs and cats while not blinking an eye about trillions of other animals being tortured and killed on factory farms hidden from public view.
We get glimpses of the disease and suffering of “food animals” inside New York City’s wet markets—which were highlighted in a New York Times expose’ featuring my organization Humane Long Island last week. However, wet markets typically exist in migrant neighborhoods, distracting from the fact these animals suffered and died at the same factory farms and slaughterhouses where migrant workers are readying the corpses of animals to be pristinely packaged with misleading labels inside posh stores like Whole Foods so our citizens don't have to think about the cruelty on their plates.
For this week’s Anuvrat, I invite you to examine your own biases and reflect on how we can all live kinder, whether that be to animals, our immigrant neighbors, or both.
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John Di Leonardo is the founding director of Humane Long Island. He was previously the Senior Manager of Grassroots Campaigns and Animals in Entertainment Campaigns for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). He has a Master's degree in Anthrozoology from Canisius College. He also earned a graduate certificate in Jain Studies from the International School of Jain Studies (ISJS) in India. John can be reached at [email protected]. (Image provided by author)
