Jeremy Beausoleil Smith

Questionnaire Responses

Background

Question: Can you briefly tell us a story that impacted the way you feel about animals?

Response: I grew up in Virginia Beach in close proximity to the marshes and estuaries of the Chesapeake Bay. Interactions with wildlife at a young age formed an admiration and respect for animals that has continued into my adult life. Since relocating to the West Coast I have had the privilege to see gray whales courting each other off the waters of San Diego, birds of prey perched on cliffs in the Columbia River Gorge, and a Salmon Run in the Washougal River. I am ardently committed to environmental conservation and the ethical treatment of animals.

Climate-Friendly Food & Fair Competition

Question: Currently, the federal government heavily subsidizes animal-based foods despite their cruelty, environmental impact, and damage to public health. Would you support policies to even the playing field and promote climate-friendly food, locally, to, in the words of Portland’s Climate Emergency Workplan, “Reduce carbon from the consumption of food”?

Response: I would absolutely support policies that even the playing field and promote climate friendly food. We have to change the way we eat if we have any hope of avoiding climate catastrophe.

Exceptionally Cruel Animal-Derived Products

Question: Certain products made from animals are made using especially cruel practices. Bans of specific products have ample precedent, notably with Statewide bans of fur and foie gras in California. Would you support a policy to ban a specific luxury animal product, such as fur, foie gras, lobster, veal, or shrimp?

Response: I would support policies to ban especially cruel practices against animals.

The Use of Dangerous Poisons

Question: The City of Portland currently uses rat poison in city parks that is illegal in California because of the harm it causes to rodents, birds, other wildlife, pets, and children. Death by poisoning is widely considered to be a form of extreme suffering, often taking multiple days to kill. Would you support policies to minimize death by poison, such as a transition of city government to using fertility control instead of glue traps and rodenticide?

Response: I would support policies to create more humane ways of controlling rodent populations. I would be curious to learn more about how we could use fertility control to do this.

Non-human Family Members

Question: Companion animals are important members of Portlanders’ families. Would you support policies to protect them, such as inclusion of companion animals in disaster shelters or a ban on cat declawing?

Response: I would absolutely support protections for support animals. Part of the Renter’s Bill of Rights I am running on includes a provision to cap pet fees to $25. I think we could go further and put in place more protections for animals and ban arbitrary animal related clauses in leases.

Other

Question: What else would you like to share? Please add anything else that might be helpful regarding your past or current support for pro-animal policies.

Response: I am a lifelong environmentalist. I believe that the Climate Crisis is the quintessential issue of our time and that treating animals ethically will lead to collective benefits for humans as well.