Animal welfare
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Kristi Noem, one of Donald Trump’s vice presidential candidates, defended Friday that she had shot and killed a dog on her farm.
Kristi Noem, the governor of South Dakota, described in her memoir how she killed Cricket, an “unruly dog” she “hated.” The British newspaper The Guardian published excerpts from Noem’s memoirs for the first time. In addition to a dog, the governor also shot a goat, the fragments read.
Noem said the dog ruined a hunt and attacked a local family’s chickens. Cricket acted like a “trained killer” and was “dangerous to everyone she came into contact with.” “I realized I had to put her down,” Noem said.
The Democratic National Committee calls the fragments “horrifying” and “disturbing” and is trying to make the question of whether or not to kill animals an election issue. “Do you want leaders who don’t practice brutally killing their pets? Then listen to our bosses – vote Democratic,” the committee said in a statement.
Difficult decisions
Commenting on X, Noem said: “We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm. Unfortunately, a few weeks ago we had to put down three horses that had been in our family for 25 years.”
Colleen O’Brien, director of animal rights organization Peta, criticizes the statements. “She released a rambunctious puppy on chickens, then decided to shoot it rather than try to train it or find a more responsible owner,” O’Brien said.
Noem is on a list of candidates Trump is considering to be his running mate. Trump sympathizers and allies reported this to the news agency Reuters.
