Haitian immigrants stealing, eating pets, says Trump. Where did this come from? 

"They are eating the dogs -- the people that came in, they're eating the cats," said Donald Trump in the presidential debate about Haitians living in the US on September 10. This has been previously raised by Trump's running mate, JD Vance. Several reports have refuted this claim, but that hasn't stopped Trump and Vance from spreading the myth. But how did the claimstart in the first place?

"They're eating — they're eating the pets of the people that live there and this is what's happening in our country, and it's a shame," Trump said during his presidential debate with Kamala Harris.

Many pictures are now circulating on X, where Trump is shown as the saviour of cats.

US Security Council spokesman John Kirby called Vance's remarks "dangerous" and a "conspiracy theory... based on an element of racism", reports the BBC.

'THEY'RE EATING DOGS AND CATS', SAY DONALD TRUMP, JD VANCE

The ABC anchor David Muir, who moderated the presidential debate, said the city officials had refuted these claims. Trump said he had seen people making these claims on television.

These claims garnered the attention of many when Vance discussed Haitian migrants eating cats, ducks, geese on X. Vance's post has 10.7 million views.

Vance, who is the Republican senator from Ohio, said he had raised the issue of Haitian immigrants "causing chaos all over Springfield" earlier as well.

Both Senator Ted Cruz and Elon Musk, the owner of X, took to social media to discuss these claims on September 9.

Cruz, a Republican Senator from Texas, posted a meme on X with a picture where two cats are seen holding each other, with the text, "Please vote for Trump so Haitian immigrants don't eat us."

But the city spokesperson of Springfield, a city in Ohio, told CBS News that no credible reports confirm the claim.

"People have contacted us to inquire, but we do not have any knowledge of this taking place," said Leann Castillo, executive director for the Clark County Park District.

THE ORIGIN OF THE CAT- AND DOG-EATING HAITIAN MYTH

But how did it start?

This might have started with a Springfield Facebook group's post which had gone viral, reports CBS News.

The post discussed how a person said a neighbour's daughter's friend could not find her cat, and it was found later hanging from a branch close to a Haitian neighbour's home, reported Springfield News-Sun.

The screenshots of the same have been circulating on the internet.

Other social media users have shared footage from another incident in which an Ohio woman was accused of killing and eating a cat in Canton, a city 170 miles away from Springfield.

These claims became even more popular after an AI-generated image of Trump holding a cat in each hand, running through a crowd of Black people.

"The kittens of Springfield have only one hope," reads the caption.

These attacks have to be seen in the context of an increasing number of immigrants in Springfield in the last few years.

Around 12,000-15,000 migrants live in Ohio's Clark County of which at least 10,000 are from Haiti, according to a local media reports.

This is a result of political instability in Haiti. Multiple videos have emerged showing the same. In one, people are screaming and running for their lives amid gunfire from automatic rifles.

That Haitian immigrants have been stealing and eating cats and dogs is fake news. However, Trump and Vance have made it their pet issue despite being fully aware that it's a false claim. All this with the November 5 election in mind.