The World Economic Forum "wants to slaughter millions of pet cats and dogs to fight climate change."
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World Economic Forum called for euthanizing millions of pets for climate change? Pants on Fire!
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We found no mention of killing pets on the World Economic Forum’s Twitter account or website.
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The organization said the claim was unfounded when it first surfaced in December.
A previously debunked claim stated without evidence that the World Economic Forum called for euthanizing millions of pets to fight climate change.
"WEF wants to slaughter millions of pet cats and dogs to fight climate change," said the text on a TikTok video shared June 28 on Facebook.
The video’s narrator said the World Economic Forum launched the euthanization "initiative" to reduce carbon that pets produce from eating meat.
A carbon footprint refers to the amount of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, that are produced through human actions. Meanwhile, a carbon "pawprint" is created by such processes as producing and transporting meat for pet food.
Most of the world’s scientists agree that greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere from human activity are driving climate change.
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The video was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)
Like a similar claim in December that we rated Pants on Fire!, the video cited a September CNN article that offered tips to minimize carbon pawprints, such as meat-free food alternatives for dogs. The article did not suggest killing pets.
The Facebook video included no evidence to back its claim.
We found no mention of killing pets in an advanced search of the World Economic Forum’s Twitter account, a search of the group’s website or a Google search. When the claim initially surfaced in December, a forum spokesperson said "the WEF has never made such a statement."
Other fact-checkers debunked this claim in December.
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The World Economic Forum is an international organization that holds an annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, to discuss global commerce and political concerns and attracts the world’s top government and business officials. The forum is often a target of conspiracy theorists.
The claim that the World Economic Forum called for euthanizing millions of pets to fight climate change is false and ridiculous — we rate it Pants on Fire!
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Our Sources
Facebook, post (archived), June 28, 2023
Twitter, advanced search of @wef and pets, July 3, 2023
Weforum.org, search, July 3, 2023
Rumble, The People’s Voice ‘WEF Wants To Slaughter Millions of Pet Cats and Dogs To Fight Climate Change" post, January 2023
PolitiFact, "No, climate activists have not vowed to slaughter millions of dogs," Dec. 6, 2022
Snopes, "Did World Economic Forum Call for Slaughter of Millions of Pets To Save Climate?", Dec. 12, 20222
Agence France-Presse fact-check, "World Economic Forum has not called for killing of cats and dogs to fight climate change," Dec. 23, 2022
Reuters, "Fact Check-WEF did not issue guidance to slaughter millions of pets to curb climate change," Dec. 16, 2022
USA Today, "Fact check: False claim World Economic Forum suggests killing pets to help climate," Dec. 23, 2022
Lead Stories, "Fact Check: WEF Is NOT Calling For Slaughter Of Millions Of Pet Cats, Dogs To Fight Climate Change," Dec 13, 2022
CNN, "Our pets are part of the climate problem. These tips can help you minimize their carbon pawprints," Sept. 27, 2022
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More by Tom Kertscher
World Economic Forum called for euthanizing millions of pets for climate change? Pants on Fire!
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