Opinion

What Kristi Noem’s puppy, Wyoming’s wolves and rodeo bulls teach us

Regarding Kathleen Parker’s April 21 op-ed, “Cry for the wolf,” and the April 27 online news article “Democrats, political figures dogpile onto Trump VP hopeful after story of animal killings”:

Two recent events ought to spur a national conversation over our treatment of animals. In Wyoming, weak laws permitted the torture and killing of a young wolf, an event that spurred understandable public outrage. Next, the public learned that South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem, a contender for the Republican vice-presidential nomination, killed both her 14-month-old puppy, because she deemed it “untrainable,” and a “nasty and mean” goat. Ms. Noem’s acts of cruelty managed to do the impossible: unite people across the political spectrum in condemnation. The public’s response to instances of cruelty toward animals demonstrates a profound public concern for animal welfare. Yet laws in the United States fail to prioritize animal protection in line with public sentiment.