Wildlife officials in Ohio have revealed that a viral picture of a man walking down the street while holding two geese was actually taken after the birds were hit by a car.
The image of the man has been used to fuel claims that migrants in the state have been eating wild animals and pets.
Despite the wild claims, the Ohio Division of Wildlife confirmed to TMZ that the man in the image was picking the geese up after being hit by a car in Columbus.
The outlet was informed by authorities that there is no evidence to suggest the man is either an immigrant, Haitian or had plans to eat the birds.
Donald Trump and fellow conservatives have been claiming that migrants in the city of Springfield, Ohio, have been gobbling up local wildlife and pets.
The image of the man has been used to fuel claims that migrants in the state have been eating wild animals and pets
Donald Trump and fellow conservatives have been claiming that migrants in the city of Springfield, Ohio, have been gobbling up local wildlife and pets
The snap was originally posted to a Columbus reddit page in July and weeks later a Springfield resident called 911 after spotting Haitian migrants snatching geese in a park.
The former president went on to reference the incident during a rally in Arizona earlier this week to back up his claims.
He told the crowd: ‘A recording of 911 calls show that residents are reporting that the migrants are walking off with the town’s geese.
‘They’re taking the geese. You know where the geese are? In the park, in the lake. And even walking off with their pets.’
The original photographer of the man holding the animals told NBC4: ‘I was just driving down the street, saw a guy walking down the street with a goose.
‘Thought it was kind of crazy, you know, not something you see every day. I was gonna talk to him.
‘He did not speak English as much as I can tell. He was not Haitian, I’ve heard Haitian people before.’
The anonymous photographer said he took the picture to document something weird he saw and was shocked when it was repurposed for misinformation.
The town of Springfield, Ohio (pictured) has become a flashpoint in the presidential race, with the baseless rumor even making it into the hands of JD Vance and Donald Trump
He added: ‘I don’t remember anybody commenting anything about race, or immigration status or anything else at the time that I posted the picture.
‘I hate that picture that I took is being used as a weapon. I kind of hate that I even took the picture.’
Lee, seen here, admitted that she heard the rumor of Haitian migrants eating cats in her town through her neighbor who heard it from the alleged cat owner
The rumors concerning pets being eaten in Springfield were originally sparked by local woman Erika Lee, 35.
Lee warned locals on Facebook that her neighbor informed her that her daughter’s friend lost her cat before finding it strung up outside the home of a Haitian family.
She has now came forward and admitted that she had no firsthand knowledge of the claims and that her neighbor did either.
She told NBC News: ‘It just exploded into something I didn’t mean to happen’, with Trump referencing it during his debate with Kamala Harris.
Her post sparked panic after she warned Haitian migrants were hanging cats ‘from a branch like you’d do a deer for butchering, and they were carving it up to eat.’
‘I’ve been told they are doing this to dogs, they have been doing it at Snyder Park with the ducks and geese,’ she added, claiming authorities told her so.
The post caught the eye of conservatives, with many also seizing upon footage of an American woman who allegedly stomped on a cat’s head before eating the anima.
Despite the claims being unconfirmed, Ohio senator and VP candidate JD Vance has repeated rumors that Haitian migrants have been eating people’s pets
The wild video that has been shared online was falsely attributed to the Haitian migrant community.
Despite Ohio authorities stressing that there are no reports for them to even investigate, the rumor circulated widely enough that both men at the top of the Republican ticket echoed it.
JD Vance mentioned the rumor on his X account, writing: ‘Months ago, I raised the issue of Haitian illegal immigrants draining social services and generally causing chaos all over Springfield, Ohio.
‘Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country. Where is our border czar?’
A day later, Trump would reiterated similar statements during the debate, which was broadcasted to 67 million Americans.
He said: ‘They’re eating the dogs. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there.’
Lee now says she never expected her post to ‘get past Springfield’, and has since deleted the post as she did not anticipate it sparking a national rumor.
