Public records from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) reveal that although multiple callers cited rumors of Haitian immigrants taking geese and ducks in Springfield, Ohio, only two callers confirmed they directly witnessed a specific event of animals being taken.
But the virality of the coverage prompted a flood of callers from out of state, bombarding the agency with unfounded complaints littered with racist messaging.
The Daily Dot obtained six months of reports from ODNR that show calls referencing various animals and pets being stolen, as well as calls complaining about migrants and Haitians.
Springfield entered the national spotlight following rumors of people eating cats, dogs, and other animals earlier this month.
The city in southwestern Ohio saw an influx of Haitian immigrants in recent years. Now, the Haitian community there is being tied to reports of animal abuse that happened in other parts of the state.
“In Springfield, they are eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats,” former President Donald Trump said during the presidential election debate with Vice President Kamala Harris on Sept. 10. His statement, coupled with his running mate Sen. JD Vance’s (R-Ohio) hype, intensified public concern about Springfield and triggered a panic.
The first of two reports about people taking wild birds came on March 27, when the Ohio Department of Natural Resources filed a report from a caller claiming to have seen three males they thought were Haitian grab a live duck and a live goose and place them in a black trash bag in Springfield.
If confirmed, that would have been a misdemeanor.
“Three Haitian males grabbed a live duck and a live goose and placed them in black trash bag,” the report reads. “The reporting party advised the goose appeared to be a Canada goose and the duck appeared to be a mallard.”
The officer who submitted the report said they couldn’t find any evidence of the crimes and closed the case.
“The reporting party did not provide any information which could identify a suspect. I monitored the area but never found any evidence of the alleged crimes,” the officer wrote in their report. “The case is closed.”
And on Aug. 26, someone called Clark County to report that four Haitians were each holding a goose, taking them from the area. The county, which Springfield is in, communicated the message to ODNR. When the officials tried to call the people who called the county, they didn’t pick up.
ODNR wrote in a statement to the Daily Dot that the officer was initially unable to reach the witness but later made contact. No supporting evidence to verify the claim was found.
Other reports relate to two incidents where no animals were involved, but callers who were perturbed by the presence of supposed Haitian immigrants on Springfield’s Buck Creek Beach.
In early July, ODNR got two complaints about trash on the beach. When officials arrived, they found five large piles of trash and alcohol bottles. According to reports, people had been kicked off the beach the night before for loitering after hours.
The next day, someone else called ODNR to say the beach was “extremely nasty with litter” and said that the police should “change signs to Creole” to accommodate the Haitian population. Haiti’s official languages are Haitian Creole and French.
The same day, someone else also called to say that “illegals are ruining their community and the state park and leaving it a mess.”
And on July 13, a caller said six Haitian men were asking people at Buck Creek how much it would cost for them to drive their boat.
But the remainder of the reports are all based on speculation, and many include prejudiced statements about Springfield’s Haitian residents.
On April 24, someone called ODNR about “some rumors she heard” that “people are slaughtering ducks at the park.” The caller said the people “were Haitian immigrants” who killed and ate the ducks, and that she overheard the rumor when she was at a repair shop.
That case is also closed.
Two months later, in June, a caller told ODNR about a post they saw in a Facebook group called “Springfield City Crime and Information” that said that children were “chasing and catching ducks and geese and eating them.” The caller said that ducks and geese were hanging in the backyard—though it’s unclear whose backyard is being mentioned. The caller said whoever had the ducks was going to “clean” them.
They cited a comment on the Facebook post that said, “Haitian children not being supervised at Snyder Park Lagoon. Use caution, they’re running out in the road to chase geese/ducks. Parents on their phones not paying a lick of attention.”
ODNR closed the case as there was “no violation” of any law.
Then, ODNR got two reports in late July from people who said they saw a photo on Facebook of a person holding a dead goose, also in Snyder Park. One of the callers said they wanted to “make sure that the immigrants … pay the penalty for killing geese out of season.”
It’s unclear what photo the callers were referring to, but a viral social media post from Columbus at that time showed a man holding a bird.
That was the extent of it until the story went viral online in September after an American woman allegedly ate a cat in Canton. ODNR then reported multiple calls from people, most of them from out of state, worried about “the situation” in Springfield.
On Sept. 8, the department received its first flurry of calls.
First, someone called to say they were an “animal rescuer” concerned about “the ducks and the Haitians and how people’s pets are being stolen.” The caller was upset that the officer didn’t have more information and wasn’t aware that the situation made national news.
Then, someone else called to say that Haitians stealing pets had made the news in Florida. Another person also called to say “geese, ducks, and pets are being killed by Haitians” because they had “seen it on the news.”
“The caller began to raise his voice accusing ODNR of letting illegal immigrants get away with breaking the law. The caller went on about the same thing and interrupted dispatch multiple times,” the ODNR report reads. “Dispatch advised the caller that the conversation was not useful to the incident and the caller was going to be disconnected. The caller stated ODNR was pathetic and hung up the phone.”
The next day, on Sept. 9, someone called with a complaint about a video they had seen on social media. They said, “illegals in Springfield are taking the heads off of ducks in the Springfield, Ohio park and they don’t have a license to do so.” The caller said he saw someone on social media talking about that, but didn’t see that actually happening.
Then, that same day, someone from northwest Ohio called to report a video of a man talking about Springfield “and how the Haitians are taking over the city and how the Venezuelans took over an apartment in Colorado.” The caller said they want Springfield investigated “for allowing it to happen,” and were upset their tax dollars weren’t being used for such an investigation. They also wanted ODNR to investigate “the City for allowing illegals into their city.”
Also that day, someone called to talk to an officer “about the social media posts about the illegals killing the geese.”
Documents show ODNR got at least seven other calls that day demanding it take action on Haitians and animals, including one who cited Infowars.
On Sept. 10, another out-of-state caller blamed ODNR’s diversity.
“The caller started talking about DEI on the website and got upset when advised that I would not argue with him about the information,” the report states. “He disconnected.”
ODNR also received a tip from its turn-in-a-poacher line that appears to be a bit, saying “I’ve witnessed you folks citing American teenagers for bobber fishing without a license, so I’m sure you’ll want to be all over this criminal. The tipper called the subject “a deceased undocumented Canadian asylum seeker” referencing a goose.
Then on Sept. 11, a man called to ask why “there were no more ducks or geese in Springfield. That same day, another person blamed “dark-complected [sic] possible immigrant” and shared old photographs.
Additional calls were made to the department, but none were able to point to any actual events.
The complaints highlight the right-wing panic over Springfield, with misinformation quickly spreading and adopted as talking points.
Even Vance admitted that the pet eating may be false, saying that the statement had no basis in reality. But what is true is how swiftly people will buy into anti-immigrant sentiment.
ODNR did not respond to a Daily Dot request for comment beyond its initial statements.
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