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Hello everyone, this is Ryan and you are listening to The Vegan Report.

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Today is a solo episode.

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I wanted to take the time to share with you my thoughts in reaction to last week's Republican

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victory in the US elections.

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I wrote a text available in the episode's notes where I call for making animal rights

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a cross-party issue, for creating a broad coalition of individuals and organizations

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from across the political spectrum, united in their commitment to animal protection.

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Ideally, creating a world where both the left and the right compete for the animal vote,

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each striving to outdo the other in appealing to our values, or where no party can ignore

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the animal vote without paying a political price.

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So let me read what I wrote.

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In the morning of Wednesday, November 6th, I learned that 75 million American voters

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elected Donald Trump as President of the United States.

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Since then, voices from the animal rights world have expressed a concern for what that

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political victory means to animals.

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They justify their worry by pointing to Trump's animal welfare record during his first presidency,

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which includes building a southern border wall across the habitats of countless endangered

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species, weakening the enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, supporting the interests

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of hunters, and worse.

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However, his record was not all bleak.

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Under his rule, the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act became federal law, as well

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as the Horse Racing Integrity and Safety Act.

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He also outlawed animal fighting in the US territories, banned the slaughter and trade

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of dogs and cats, and allocated funds to create a grant program offering transitional sheltering

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solutions for domestic violence survivors who are escaping with their companion animals.

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Additionally, during his 2024 electoral campaign, he loudly protested the murder of Peanut the

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Squirrel and Fred the Raccoon by government officials.

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This support for Peanut generated millions of views across social media platforms, and

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some even claim it was a decisive factor in leading the race.

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In stark contrast, Kamala Harris kept silent on the issue.

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In a viral video, a squirrel appears on stage just before her concession speech, spurring

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chats about its symbolic significance.

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Although the Republican Party has historically been much less consistent than the Democratic

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Party in advancing animal protection, there remains clear potential for animal advocates

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to rally conservatives to their cause.

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On that note, the day before the election, Vivek Ramaswamy, an ethical vegetarian and

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close advisor to Trump, wrote, quote, animal cruelty will eventually become a genuine concern

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for conservatives.

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It's already happening.

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Count me in.

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We should respond positively and eagerly to this open invitation.

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By doing so, we can make animal rights a bipartisan issue and ensure that the welfare of animals

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is not left to the whims of political change.

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Concretely, there is only one way of reaching that goal, persuading right-leaning people

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to adopt veganism.

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According to a Gallup poll, only 2% of conservatives identify as vegans or vegetarians, if not

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less.

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With such few vegan constituents, it's only natural for conservative politicians to side

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with animal exploiters.

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Efforts to win over the hearts and minds of conservatives are currently few and far between.

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Yet, the conservative argument for veganism is incredibly strong.

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Matthew Scully, a speechwriter for prominent Republican figures such as President George

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W. Bush, Dan Quill, Dick Cheney, Mike Pence, Robert P. Casey, and Bob Dole presented his

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argument in his book Dominion and more recently, Fear Factories.

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Back in September, the non-profit Thonolitics published a study designed to explain how

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to leverage conservative values to help animals.

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Even Pope Francis echoes that argument when he writes, we must forcefully reject the notion

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that our being created in God's image and given dominion over the earth justifies absolute

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domination over other creatures in his 2015 encyclical.

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Equipped with this compelling case, we must now find the determination to put our political

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differences aside and welcome all who share our commitment to ending animal exploitation.

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For we ought to remember the billions of tormented beings we hope to save and prioritize them

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over any form of tribalism.

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As always, thank you so much for listening.

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I invite you to share this episode with your fellow vegans.

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Use it as a conversation or debate sparker.

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Thank you again for listening.

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Take care and see you next Tuesday.