Nicolai Haugsted
PETA has now reacted to the video.
Donald Trump’s golf properties are normally associated with immaculate greens, luxury clubhouses and the president’s well-documented enthusiasm for spending time on the course.
Swimming fish out of a plastic cup was probably not on many people’s bingo card.
Footage circulating online has sparked accusations of animal cruelty after small live fish appeared to be released into a shallow swimming pool at Trump National Golf Club Washington, D.C., in Sterling, Virginia. Children and adults can be seen wading through the water and attempting to catch the fish with plastic cups.
Questions over the treatment of the animals quickly followed, particularly because the water was reportedly chlorinated.
PETA has now weighed in, while separate footage appears to place Trump himself around the pool area at approximately the same event.
A very unusual day at the pool
Footage originally circulated by the political social-media account PatriotTakes shows children and adults moving through ankle-deep water as small fish swim around them.
Participants carry cups and appear to chase and scoop up the fish as part of what reports have described as a Labor Day weekend activity.
Criticism quickly focused less on the peculiar choice of entertainment and more on whether the animals were being harmed.
“Small fish suffocate and die a painful death when put into chlorinated water. These people are gruesome,” one social-media user wrote after the footage circulated, according to RadarOnline.
“Teach kids to disrespect life. Horrible parenting,” another wrote.
“This is absolutely unacceptable and disgusting,” a third added.
Another reaction was considerably less diplomatic.
“Chlorine kills fish. The f— is wrong with y’all?”
Click to display external content from t.co,
- You can always enable and disable third-party content.
You agree to display external third-party content. Personal data may be sent to the provider of the content and other third-party services.
Chlorine is no small problem for fish
Concern about the pool water has a scientific basis, although some specific claims circulating online about precisely how quickly the fish would die have not been established.
Veterinary guidance cited in coverage of the incident says chlorine is highly toxic to fish and can cause adverse effects at very low concentrations. Higher exposure can be fatal.
Chlorine can damage sensitive tissue including fish gills, making the question of whether the swimming pool was chemically treated particularly important.
Available reporting has not established the chlorine concentration in the pool, how long the fish remained there or how many, if any, died afterward.
PETA enters the argument
PETA responded after seeing the footage but included a significant caveat.
The animal-rights organization said it had not independently established the location shown in the videos.
“PETA has not verified where this footage was taken, but if it is authentic, no fish should be subjected to being harassed, chased, grabbed, fought over, or potentially stepped on by excited children who may not mean to hurt them,” the organization told The Daily Beast.
PETA also argued that even brief exposure to chlorine can be devastating for fish.
“Fish are sentient animals who feel pain, fear, and stress, and children should be taught empathy for animals, and not encouraged to treat living, feeling beings as toys or prizes,” its statement continued.
PETA offered to help ensure the safety and care of any surviving fish and said it works with organizers to develop activities that allow children to have fun without putting animals at risk.
Trump appears near the pool
Another clip has added a presidential ingredient to an already strange story.
Trump appears in separate footage walking around the pool area at his Virginia golf club, reportedly around the same event.
Footage showing Trump nearby does not establish that he organized the activity, approved it or knew how the fish were being handled.
Available reporting has similarly not identified who decided to put the fish in the pool or who was responsible for their care before and after the activity.
No evidence currently establishes that Trump personally participated in catching or releasing the fish.
Trump has some history with animal cruelty legislation
Animal welfare also happens to provide an unusual connection to Trump’s first presidency.
Trump signed the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act into law in November 2019, making certain extreme acts of intentional animal cruelty federal crimes.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Trump called it “very important legislation” and said animals were “engaged in and trusted in combat, and they do a fantastic job.”
Trump also said at the time that it was important for the United States to combat “heinous and sadistic acts of cruelty.”
Nothing currently reported about the swimming-pool incident establishes that the conduct violated the PACT Act or another federal animal-cruelty statute.
Still, the contrast has supplied another layer to the backlash.
Years after Trump put his signature on federal animal-cruelty legislation, footage reportedly filmed at one of his own clubs has PETA discussing distressed fish, critics asking why live animals were used for children’s entertainment and social media trying to figure out why plastic toy fish apparently were not considered the easier option.
