U.S. Vice President JD Vance has entered the ongoing controversy surrounding Twitch streamer Hasan Piker , who was accused earlier this month of using a shock collar on his dog during a livestream. Vance described the alleged act as evidence that Piker is a “terrible person,” prompting the streamer to respond by invoking a separate animal cruelty incident involving fellow Republican Kristi Noem .
The comment that sparked a clash
The exchange took place on Pod Force One, hosted by New York Post columnist Miranda Devine . While discussing her own dog’s behaviour, Devine joked:
Vance replied, calling the viral incident “disgusting”.
He went on to draw a link between cruelty to animals and violent behaviour.
Hasan Piker’s response
Piker, a popular Twitch streamer and political commentator, responded swiftly on X (formerly Twitter), taking aim at the vice president and at Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, a fellow Republican.
The post referred to Noem’s own widely criticised account of shooting her 14-month-old dog, Cricket, as detailed in her memoir No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward.
The Kristi Noem incident
In the book,Noem recounts the controversial decision to kill her 14-month-old wirehair pointer, Cricket. She describes the dog as having an “aggressive personality” and being “less than worthless … as a hunting dog.”
According to Noem, Cricket ruined a pheasant hunt, going “out of her mind with excitement, chasing all those birds and having the time of her life.” She wrote that she tried to call the dog back and used an electronic collar to regain control, but “nothing worked.”
On the way home from the hunt, Noem said she stopped to speak with a local family when Cricket escaped from her truck and attacked the family’s chickens, “grabb[ing] one chicken at a time, crunching it to death with one bite, then dropping it to attack another.”
Cricket, she wrote, behaved like “a trained assassin.” When Noem finally managed to grab the dog, she said Cricket “whipped around to bite me.” As the chickens’ owner wept, Noem apologised repeatedly, wrote the family a cheque “for the price they asked, and helped them dispose of the carcasses littering the scene of the crime.” Through it all, she recalled, Cricket was “the picture of pure joy.”
“I hated that dog,” Noem wrote, adding that Cricket had proved herself “untrainable,” “dangerous to anyone she came in contact with,” and “less than worthless … as a hunting dog.”
“At that moment,” she wrote, “I realised I had to put her down.”
Noem said she took Cricket to a nearby gravel pit and shot her, describing it as “not a pleasant job, but it had to be done.”
The same section of the memoir also details how Noem later killed a male goat owned by her family. She described the goat as “nasty and mean,” uncastrated, and “disgusting, musky, rancid.” The animal, she wrote, “loved to chase” her children, knocking them down and ruining their clothes.
Noem said she dragged the goat to the same gravel pit and shot it, but the animal jumped as she fired, surviving the first round. She then reloaded her gun and “hurried back to the gravel pit and put him down.”
The revelations, which resurfaced earlier this year, provoked national outrage and were widely viewed as politically damaging for Noem.
PETA and the original allegation
Piker’s own controversy began several weeks earlier when a clip circulated online showing his dog, Kaya, yelping during a livestream. Viewers speculated that he had used a shock collar off-camera to control the animal.
Piker denied the allegation, explaining that the collar only vibrates and that Kaya yelped after accidentally clipping herself while getting off a bed.
“Yes, I am incredibly abusive… to the not only best trained, but also the best behaving and most spoiled dog on the planet,” he remarked sarcastically, before clarifying that the incident was an accident.
The backlash attracted attention from animal rights organisation PETA, which told The Hollywood Reporter:
The organisation also warned that such devices can cause burn wounds, aggression, and chronic anxiety in animals, urging owners to use positive reinforcement instead.
The comment that sparked a clash
The exchange took place on Pod Force One, hosted by New York Post columnist Miranda Devine . While discussing her own dog’s behaviour, Devine joked:
“You don’t have to zap him like Hasan Piker?”
Vance replied, calling the viral incident “disgusting”.
“No electrocution of dogs here, very disgusting,” he said. “If you can actually cause suffering to an innocent animal, you’re probably the kind of person who doesn’t worry about suffering in people as well. If you mistreat dogs, that’s almost a 100% sign you are going to be a terrible person.”
He went on to draw a link between cruelty to animals and violent behaviour.
“If somebody is really mean to animals, it’s like the Jeffrey Dahmer thing. Every serial killer ever has been really bad to animals. That’s sort of how they started.”
Hasan Piker’s response
Piker, a popular Twitch streamer and political commentator, responded swiftly on X (formerly Twitter), taking aim at the vice president and at Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, a fellow Republican.
“DHS secretary Kristi Noem point blank executed her puppy & dumped his body in a landfill?! None of these ppl care about animal welfare. The admin is shutting off 40m ppl’s SNAP benefits causing them to starve. They don’t care abt human welfare either.”
DHS secretary kristi noem point blank executed her puppy & dumped his body in a landfill?! none of these ppl care about animal welfare. the admin is shutting off 40m ppls snap benefits causing them to starve. they don’t care abt human welfare either. https://t.co/Dh14zWnoVI
— hasanabi (@hasanthehun) October 29, 2025
The post referred to Noem’s own widely criticised account of shooting her 14-month-old dog, Cricket, as detailed in her memoir No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward.
The Kristi Noem incident
In the book,Noem recounts the controversial decision to kill her 14-month-old wirehair pointer, Cricket. She describes the dog as having an “aggressive personality” and being “less than worthless … as a hunting dog.”
According to Noem, Cricket ruined a pheasant hunt, going “out of her mind with excitement, chasing all those birds and having the time of her life.” She wrote that she tried to call the dog back and used an electronic collar to regain control, but “nothing worked.”
On the way home from the hunt, Noem said she stopped to speak with a local family when Cricket escaped from her truck and attacked the family’s chickens, “grabb[ing] one chicken at a time, crunching it to death with one bite, then dropping it to attack another.”
Cricket, she wrote, behaved like “a trained assassin.” When Noem finally managed to grab the dog, she said Cricket “whipped around to bite me.” As the chickens’ owner wept, Noem apologised repeatedly, wrote the family a cheque “for the price they asked, and helped them dispose of the carcasses littering the scene of the crime.” Through it all, she recalled, Cricket was “the picture of pure joy.”
“I hated that dog,” Noem wrote, adding that Cricket had proved herself “untrainable,” “dangerous to anyone she came in contact with,” and “less than worthless … as a hunting dog.”
“At that moment,” she wrote, “I realised I had to put her down.”
Noem said she took Cricket to a nearby gravel pit and shot her, describing it as “not a pleasant job, but it had to be done.”
The same section of the memoir also details how Noem later killed a male goat owned by her family. She described the goat as “nasty and mean,” uncastrated, and “disgusting, musky, rancid.” The animal, she wrote, “loved to chase” her children, knocking them down and ruining their clothes.
Noem said she dragged the goat to the same gravel pit and shot it, but the animal jumped as she fired, surviving the first round. She then reloaded her gun and “hurried back to the gravel pit and put him down.”
The revelations, which resurfaced earlier this year, provoked national outrage and were widely viewed as politically damaging for Noem.
PETA and the original allegation
Piker’s own controversy began several weeks earlier when a clip circulated online showing his dog, Kaya, yelping during a livestream. Viewers speculated that he had used a shock collar off-camera to control the animal.
Piker denied the allegation, explaining that the collar only vibrates and that Kaya yelped after accidentally clipping herself while getting off a bed.
“Yes, I am incredibly abusive… to the not only best trained, but also the best behaving and most spoiled dog on the planet,” he remarked sarcastically, before clarifying that the incident was an accident.
The backlash attracted attention from animal rights organisation PETA, which told The Hollywood Reporter:
“Hasan Piker has denied using a shock collar on his dog, and we hope that’s true because shock collars are dangerous and downright cruel.”
The organisation also warned that such devices can cause burn wounds, aggression, and chronic anxiety in animals, urging owners to use positive reinforcement instead.
You may also like
Morrisons unveils new 2025 Christmas range with more than 640 'quality' items
BBC Celebrity Traitors winner 'unveiled' as star reveals cunning game plan
A third of people missing out on Pension Credits of over £50 per week
Influencer Oti Cabadas known as 'Coco Trucker Girl' dies at 41 after Spain truck show event
"A boost to Kevadia's infrastructure": PM Modi after inaugurating, laying foundation stones for development projects worth Rs 1219 crore
