What kind of person thinks its acceptable to sneak into the dens of hibernating bears, and dogs nursing their young, and shoot or gas babies and their mothers as they sleep? Self-admitted serial molester, avid defender of the ‘sport’ killing of endangered species, and current President Donald J. Trump, that’s who. Every single Republican Senator voted in favor of legalizing this barbarity. Every single Democrat voted against the law.
The bill also allows hunters to shoot animals from helicopters, and use atrociously cruel steel leg-hold traps that can leave wild dogs in agony for days at a time. Mother dogs (yes, wolves and coyotes are wild dogs; see a dictionary or biology textbook for details) regularly bite off their own legs in desperation to try and escape from the traps and return to their babies, who will subsequently freeze or starve to death as a result.
For anyone wondering, the candidate who won the 2016 election by nearly 3 million votes, Hillary Clinton, had a 100%+ voting record on animal rights issues before leaving the Senate. It goes without saying that if the United States were a functioning democracy, and the will of an overwhelming majority of voters was respected, a President Clinton would have joined the unanimous will of Democratic Senators and vetoed the bill. Clinton was also the first Presidential candidate in American history to incorporate animal rights issues into her official platform, and was endorsed by prominent animal rights activists such as Russell Simmons, Moby and the Humane Society’s political watchdog, the HSLF.
The protections for hibernating bears and wolves, which were originally signed into law by President Obama, were part of an extensive environmental and animal protection legacy that will likely save the lives of billions of animals, and countless species from extinction over the next few decades (depending on how much of it can be undone by Trump and Republican leaders).
What is the purpose of this savage cruelty that Trump has just enacted (other than appeasing the NRA and the bullet and gun manufacturers they represent)? To reduce the populations of apex predators (cornerstone species in any healthy ecosystem) so that hunters will have more moose and caribou available for themselves to shoot, either for sport or cancerous “nourishment.”
While this new law will cause unspeakable suffering and death for wolves, coyotes and bears as soon as it is enacted, it is sadly just the tip of the iceberg as far as how Trump and Republicans will spell disaster and extinction for countless species.
From Trump’s border Wall, which threatens the habitat of 111 endangered species, to his gutting of the EPA and killing Obama-era regulations on industrial poisoning of water supplies that will increase cancer rates for humans and animals alike, to his efforts to expand factory farming (remember when he used a Presidential-campaign news conference to sell his personal brand of steaks?) Trump’s actions will have negative and deadly consequences for every living being on the planet. All while the media-savvy former Reality TV Star tries to play Americans for fools by writing a personal cheque to the National Park Service for $78,000, at the same time as he aims to slash their budget by $1,500,000,000.
If you’re reading this and all you can think is “How can Trump and the Republicans be stopped?” keep three things in mind:
1) While its too late to stop this travesty of a law from passing, and either Trump or the equally dangerous Mike Pence will be President until 2020, the Republicans only hold a very slim majority in the Senate, and Congressmen are heavily susceptible to public pressure. Please make sure to have your elected representatives on speed dial, and follow the chief political watchdog on animal issues, the Humane Society Legislative Fund, to stay informed and stop the next tragedy before it happens.
2) Congressional and Senate elections are coming up next year! Please get involved now, and if yesterday’s legislation doesn’t make it obvious enough, please volunteer with the Democratic Party to help advance animal protection laws. No the Democrats aren’t perfect, but the Green Party’s only major accomplishments thus far have been helping destroy the planet for 8 years by their crucial role in George W. Bush’s election, as well as playing a pivotal role in Trump’s Electoral College victory in the decisive states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.
3) Just as Bernie Sanders has helped popularize progressive ideas like Universal Health Care and public funding for University education (so millions more Americans won’t fit into the “poorly educated” category that Trump loves so much) an “Animal Defenders Wing” of the Democratic Party can do the same for animal protection issues. Its leader is already apparent, vegan Senator, and likely soon-to-be Presidential candidate Cory Booker, who authored legislation (signed into law by Obama) designed to lead to the end of animal experimentation in the United States. Booker spoke out passionately against the law legalizing the killing of hibernating bear and wolf families before it was signed, but sadly these efforts were overwhelmed by the Republican majority in the Senate.
If you don’t live in the United States, but you’d still like to make a difference for animals, consider the single biggest action anyone can do to protect animals: stop eating them, and switch to healthier, delicious vegan meats. If you’re concerned about your protein intake, have a quick look at some of the Olympic Gold Medal-winning and World Record Breaking athletes who are already vegan. In addition to saving an average of 198 animals’ lives a year by not eating them, going vegan is also the single biggest and most effective action you can take to address global climate change and the extinction crisis. And when it comes to the leading causes of death for the vast majority of Americans, switching to vegan meat instead of dead animals might very well extend, and improve your own life.
