Springfield, Ohio, officials said in September 2024 that they lacked credible support for claims Haitian immigrants were taking pets, as the allegation moved from social media into a presidential debate.
On Sept. 9, Springfield Strategic Engagement Manager Karen Graves said officials had no substantiated information or specific allegations linking members of the immigrant community to harm against pets. The Springfield Police Division told the Springfield News-Sun it had received no report alleging pets had been taken and eaten.
Springfield’s FAQ records a county dispatch call alleging Haitians had taken geese from a park. A responding deputy could not verify the account, and a local game warden said there was no evidence for it.
Then-U.S. Sen. JD Vance claimed on X on Sept. 9 that reports showed people’s pets had been abducted and eaten. Former President Donald Trump repeated the allegation at the Sept. 10 presidential debate. ABC News later reported that City Manager Bryan Heck had told a Vance staffer by phone on Sept. 9 that the claims were baseless; a city spokesperson confirmed the conversation to ABC.
ABC also reported that a Springfield resident whose missing-cat account became part of the public discussion later told the network the cat came home several days after she filed a report. She said she had apologized to her Haitian neighbors. ABC said it had not obtained the police report. Asked on ABC’s This Week on Sept. 15 whether Haitian immigrants were eating pets, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said, “There’s no evidence of this at all.”
The rumor’s precise starting point has not been established. ABC News, citing NewsGuard, traced an early viral screenshot to a post in a private Springfield Facebook group but said the post’s date was unknown. CBS News said it could not verify the post. CBS also reported that a widely shared photo of a man carrying a goose was taken in Columbus, Ohio, and that a video of a woman accused of killing and eating a cat concerned a case in Canton. The network said it found no evidence the woman was Haitian.
The city estimated 12,000 to 15,000 immigrants across Clark County, not Springfield, and listed housing, health care, school resources, public safety and language barriers among local challenges. On Sept. 10, DeWine announced $2.5 million for expanded primary care access in Springfield, citing pressure on health care and public safety systems. In a Sept. 15 CNN interview, Vance said he wanted media attention on immigration issues and later clarified that his comment about creating stories referred to drawing that attention.
