The Consequences of Trump's Return for Animals
INTRODUCTION
Trump's second term (Trump-2) threatens animals in unprecedented ways. This article, a snapshot in an evolving story, examines these threats in specific areas as well as in the context of broader realities and Trump-2 strategies that amplify them. It also notes the limited positive news for animals during Trump’s first term (Trump-1), which provides modest hope for Trump-2.
SPECIFIC AREAS
Animal Protection
With the unprecedented number of early Trump-2 actions, it's noteworthy that none focuses on protecting animals. A few pay fleeting lip service to them.
Deregulation
Regulations play a vital role in animal protection. Trump views regulations as dispensable barriers impeding growth and innovation. Thus, in Trump-2, he issued the "Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation" order, an indiscriminate mandate cutting 10 regulations for every new one.
Wildlife
For at least the following reasons, any wildlife still sporting a MAGA hat before Trump-2 is likely to retire it:
National Energy Emergency Order: On Trump-2 inauguration day, with the U.S. gushing more oil and gas than any other country in history, Trump signed the "Declaring a National Energy Emergency" order. The unprecedented order echoes Trump’s "drill, baby, drill" pledge, defining "energy" as including fossil fuels but not wind and solar power. Even though the U.S. is a net fossil fuel exporter, the order declares our energy capability "far too inadequate to meet our Nation’s needs" and a national economic and security threat. It also blames Biden, centrally cast as the Villain-in-Chief of many of Trump's orders, for the emergency.
Laden with sweeping "any" and "all" language, the order directs agencies to "exercise any lawful emergency authorities available to them, as well as all other lawful authorities they may possess, to facilitate the identification, leasing, siting, production, transportation, refining, and generation of domestic energy resources, including, but not limited to, on Federal lands." These actions will likely result in wildlife deaths, habitat destruction, and fragmentation.
Alaska Resource Development Order: Also on Trump-2’s first day, Trump signed the "Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary Resource Potential" order. It aims to maximize Alaska's natural resources development by expediting permitting and leasing, including in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The order negatively affects wildlife by increasing oil and gas exploration in ecologically sensitive areas, potentially disrupting habitats and migration patterns. Treating bears as just another Alaska "resource," it also specifically permits bear baiting — using food to entice bears into shooting range.
Climate Change Policies: As Trump-2 began, Trump, long a climate-change denier, again withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, an international treaty combating climate change. He also repealed all Biden climate-focused orders. Trump is considering repealing the 2009 foundational "endangerment finding," an EPA determination that greenhouse gases pose a public health and welfare threat and the legal basis for regulating them under the Clean Air Act. Climate change negatively impacts wildlife by causing habitat loss, altering migration patterns, disrupting food chains, increasing disease prevalence, and elevating extinction risks.
Water and Air Pollution: In addition to more greenhouse gases, Trump-2's actions like the following will elevate other air and water pollutants harmful to animals: bolstering fossil fuel drilling and hindering clean-energy production, repealing numerous environment-friendly Biden orders, withdrawing proposed PFAS discharge limits, expanding timber production on federal lands, and downsizing the EPA to "tidbits," as Trump has vowed
Land and Water Conservation: This year, Trump rescinded Biden’s pledge to protect 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030 and lifted Biden’s bans on offshore oil and gas drilling across federally controlled waters in Alaska, the Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific. Meanwhile, the Trump-2 Interior Secretary ordered a drilling and mining assessment of all public lands set aside under the Antiquities Act.
Endangered Species Protections: During his first term, Trump substantially weakened Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections. Trump-2's national energy emergency declaration discussed above and his logging expansion order discussed below further imperil endangered species by expediting permits and potential exemptions to the ESA. Pouring salt on the wound, Trump-2's Interior Secretary issued Secretarial Orders gutting other ESA protections.
Biodiversity Threats: While Trump-2 dismantles human diversity initiatives, its policies also threaten to reduce diversity among non-ESA-protected wildlife.
Logging Expansion Order: Trump signed the Trump-2 "Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production" order, covering over 280 million acres of national forests and other public lands. It expands and expedites logging, a direct wildlife threat, and in a revealing, perhaps Freudian, lament, bemoans "[o]ur inability to fully exploit our domestic timber supply." (Italics added.)
Wildlife Trafficking: Trump's executive orders freezing funds and withdrawing the U.S. from the WHO diminishes the U.S.'s leading role in fighting international wildlife markets.
Migratory Species Protections: Trump plans to complete the remaining 1,600 miles of his proposed 2,000-mile Mexican border wall. This could devastate migratory wildlife. Moreover, Trump-2 suspended a rule protecting migratory birds from unintentional harm caused by industrial activities, a decades-long safeguard. Many of these items also pose risks for animals other than wildlife.
Farmed Animals
Don't expect to see many farmed animals high-fiving each other during Trump-2. Humane World, formerly known as HSUS, characterized Trump-1's record on farmed animal welfare as "bleak." Sentient Media summarized it as "pro-business, anti-regulation," indicating "a lack of concern for animal welfare." In Trump-1, he reversed rules imposing specific animal welfare standards on organic farmers and slaughter speed limits on pork processors. Our farmed kin should be particularly alarmed that the 2025 Farm Bill may include the EATS Act, which would bar state animal protection laws, such as California’s Proposition 12, recently upheld by SCOTUS. Ominously, Trump opposed Proposition 12 during Trump-1.
Research Animals
Inspections and documented Animal Welfare Act (AWA) violations involving covered research animals fell dramatically during Trump-1, and in a move undermining transparency and accountability, Trump-1's USDA initially erased years of inspection and enforcement website records. On a positive note, Trump-1's EPA announced plans to reduce mammal testing by 30% by 2025 and eliminate it by 2035. Biden backed away from these deadlines. Animal rights groups hope Trump-2 restores them.
Captive Animals
The AWA covers other captive animals, including in puppy mills and zoos. During Trump-1, they experienced the same dramatic inspection and enforcement declines and record erasures as researched animals. On a brighter note, Trump-1's USDA finalized a rule strengthening some AWA licensing standards.
Silver Linings
The following, along with the two mentioned above, represent most of the animal-friendly actions during Trump-1:
Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act: Trump signed PACT, making certain extreme acts of animal cruelty federal felonies.
Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act: HISA, included in a 2020 omnibus package signed by Trump, created a raced-horse oversight authority and national standards on anti-doping, medication control, and racetrack safety.
2018 Farm Bill: Trump signed the 2018 Farm Bill, which included:
● an AWA amendment effectively banning dog and cat slaughter for meat,
● a grant program supporting safe housing options for domestic violence survivors and their pets,
● An extension of federal prohibitions against animal fighting to U.S. territories.
DOT Rule: Trump's DOT adopted a rule prohibiting airlines from banning certain service dog breeds.
Trump merits credit for signing the three bills. That said, bipartisan congressional support and animal welfare advocates, not Trump, drove the bills. Also, the raced-horse industry generally supported HISA, and many of Trump’s animal-friendly actions related only to pets.
SYSTEMIC FACTORS
To better grasp the possible, if not probable, Trump-2 threats to animals, we need to zoom out to broader Trump-2 systemic realities and strategies likely to worsen it.
Controlling Congress: With Republicans controlling Congress and in synchronized, uncritical obeisance to Trump, initial congressional support for most of his agenda is a virtual certainty. This could change in swing districts if Trump's poll numbers dip sufficiently.
Mandating Loyalty: Dissent within Trump-2's administration that might lessen its adverse consequences to animals now seems much less likely. Trump, emulating Big Brother, has imposed a dystopian appointee loyalty test and has reclassified some protected civil servants as dismissable Schedule F political appointees, further tightening his grip on his administration.
Leveraging Industry Influence: Many Trump-2 appointees, including Energy Secretary Wright, Interior Secretary Burgam, and Agriculture Secretary Rollins, come from regulated industries that habitually ignore or marginalize animals.
Undermining Oversight: Traditionally, Inspectors General (IGs) conduct nonpartisan and independent audits, investigations, and inspections of their respective agencies to prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse. In a January 2025 purge, Trump fired 17 IGs, including at least four from agencies impacting animals. He also fired the Director of the Office of Government Ethics, charged with overseeing executive branch employee ethics standards, and the head of the Office of Special Counsel, an independent, nonpartisan agency protecting civil servants from coerced political activities, legal violations, and whistleblower retaliation.
Creating DOGE: While dismantling IGs, Trump paradoxically signed a January 2025 order creating the "Department of Government Efficiency," ostensibly addressing IGs' bread and butter: fraud, waste, and abuse. DOGE is effectively headed by Elon Musk, the world's richest person, contributor of $277 million to Trump's reelection and owner of companies expected to receive billions resulting from actions of the Trump-2 administration. DOGE, possibly without legal authority, is slashing employees, budgets, and facilities in already-strapped agencies that impact animals. I’ve found no evidence that any DOGE agents have professional experience with the ESA, AWA or other animal-related matters.
Fostering Fear and Villainization: Along with derisive laughter, Musk at times wields a chainsaw in callous performances, exalting deep civil servant cuts. Trump-2 OMB head Russell Voight, who, in a (perhaps intentionally) soul-crushing tone, said, "We want the bureaucrats to be traumatically affected" and "viewed as the villains." By fostering fear and villainizing civil servants, Trump-2 is depressing morale and a sense of mission, including among those traditionally dedicated to protecting animals. One might reasonably ask: if Trump-2 can rationalize mistreating lifelong civil servants like this, not to mention, for example, cutting USAID funds for malaria and HIV/AIDS, can we expect that it will treat animals properly?
Attacking Expertise and Science: The Trump-2 administration is eroding agency expertise by politicizing the civil service, removing and altering government documents, defunding research that may help animals, and undermining established science.
Violating the Law: Trump-2 has violated the law numerous times, suggested disregarding court orders and possibly done so, and threatened to impeach judges who rule against Trump-2 measures. Chief Justice Roberts publicly rebuked Trump for the impeachment threat. Thus far, courts, including SCOTUS, have given Trump-2 actions mixed results. It's too early to say how much courts will curbTrump-2. But, with two-thirds of the SCOTUS Justices being conservative appointees of Republican Presidents—three by Trump, SCOTUS’s creation last year of broad presidential immunity, and some SCOTUS Justices favoring the expansion of presidential powers, Trump has good reason to believe he can push conventional bounds.
Politicizing Justice: Trump's politicization of the Justice Department and FBI threatens to shield his allies from prosecution, including for animal-related offenses.
Distorting Truth: Animal advocates depend on accurate information to protect animals and inform the public. Trump habitually wages war on reality and often calls the press "the enemy of the people." His recent decision, which some would call Orwellian, to handpick the presidential press pool further impedes the discovery of the truth about animals.
We could go on.
CONCLUSION
As the introduction notes, Trump-2's effect on animals is a developing story with an uncertain ending. What is certain is that animals — who didn’t vote for Trump-2 — need our help now.
Frank Brown, UU of Arlington, Va.
The information contained in articles contributed to the blog represents the views and opinions of their authors and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of UUAM.