{"id":776120,"date":"2024-07-23T07:33:27","date_gmt":"2024-07-23T11:33:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/animalrightswatch.us\/?p=776120"},"modified":"2024-07-23T08:45:48","modified_gmt":"2024-07-23T12:45:48","slug":"trumps-threat-to-animals-the-lesser-of-two-evils","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/animalrightswatch.us\/?p=776120","title":{"rendered":"Trump\u2019s Threat to Animals?: Two sides, same coin."},"content":{"rendered":"\t
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On issues affecting animals, Trump and Biden have remarkably similar policies. Even largely performative gestures, such as the slowing of slaughterhouse line speeds, appear of no importance whatsoever to either of the current major party candidates. Moreover, the criminalization of protestors, journalists, and whistleblowers have been accelerating rapidly under administrations of both parties, to the detriment of the animal movement.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\n

JON HOCHSCHARTNER:<\/strong> I\u2019ve been unsure how animal activists should orient themselves in the coming American presidential election… But should we do more than simply cast a ballot for the candidate, whoever that ends up being?… We should prioritize nonhuman interests to the greatest extent possible, as there are so few people who do. For me, that means picketing legislators and writing letters to newspapers in the hope of using the political process to accelerate the development of cultivated meat.<\/em><\/p>\n

But, as the election approaches, I wonder if the threat Donald Trump poses to animals and our movement is so extreme we should pause our usual work and temporarily focus on helping to defeat him. I put this question and others to a group of animal advocates who were kind enough to share their time with me…<\/em><\/p>\n

Delci Winders is associate professor of law and the founding director of the Animal Law and Policy Institute at Vermont Law and Graduate School. Her opinions are her own and she does not speak on behalf of Vermont Law and Graduate School. Winders highlighted some of the same things Clifton did.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cDeregulatory measures implemented during [Trump\u2019s] presidency \u2014 including extreme speed slaughter, delegating oversight to slaughterhouse workers, failing to enforce the Animal Welfare Act, and keeping the public in the dark when the government documented animal welfare violations \u2014 harmed animals, people, and the planet alike,\u201d she said…<\/em><\/p>\n

Vasile St\u0103nescu earned his PhD from Stanford University and currently works as an associate professor of Communication at Mercer University. A committed vegan for over 20 years, his work on both animals and the environment can be found at winforanimals.org. St\u0103nescu emphasized the climate stakes as well.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cTrump wants to increase energy exploitation,\u201d St\u0103nescu said. \u201cHe is an open climate change denier and has stated he would try and roll back all the progress President Biden has made in confronting climate change. Climate change is not an issue that only affects human animals, other animals would, if anything, be more affected”…<\/em><\/p>\n

Aidan Kankyoku is a researcher focused on developing new strategies for the social movement wing of the farmed animal advocacy space. He co-founded Pax Fauna for that purpose in 2021, which led in 2023 to the launch of Pro-Animal Future. Kankyoku seemed less concerned about Trump\u2019s potential return than others I interviewed.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI anticipate the same structural limitations that prevented Trump from enacting more dramatic changes (both good and bad) to U.S. policy in his first term will likely dominate in his second term,\u201d he said. \u201cMost advocates should operate on the assumption that consequences specific to Trump will not be permanent, and may be minimal.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

On the other hand, Kankyoku believed harmful long-term trends such as criminalization of protestors, journalists, and whistleblowers have been accelerating rapidly under administrations of both parties, and we should expect these trends to continue \u2014 to the animal movement\u2019s detriment \u2014 regardless of the outcome in November…<\/em><\/p>\n

Spencer Roberts is a science writer, ecologist, musician, and engineer. In his journalistic work, he focuses on the climate crisis, marine life and animal agriculture. Readers can find his writing in Wired, The Intercept, Jacobin and elsewhere. Roberts was similar to Kankyoku in his ambivalence about the election stakes.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cOn issues affecting animals, Trump and Biden have remarkably similar policies,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cEven largely performative gestures made by past presidents, such as the slowing of slaughterhouse line speeds and designation of marine national monuments, appear of no importance whatsoever to either of the current major party candidates”. <\/em>SOURCE…<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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