Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is usually a friend of animals. Under his leadership, many animal welfare laws in Illinois have been enacted, including a Humane Pet Store law that prohibits pet stores from selling dogs and cats — effectively cutting off one of the pipelines for puppy or kitty mill animals, while encouraging adoption from animal shelters and rescues — and a more recent law that bans the sale and import of cosmetics tested on animals. I commend the Pritzker administration for supporting these and other important laws that benefit animals.

However, my essay, “To Illinois Gov. Pritzker, Pope Leo XIV: Stop tolerating cruelty to animals” (FLT, March 21, 2026) criticized Pritzker for allowing bovine tailing events in Illinois, whereby riders on horseback forcibly pull a bull, cow or calf to the ground by the animal’s tail, often ripping the animal’s tail off (“degloving”), breaking their legs, causing head trauma, or otherwise seriously injuring the animal. The horses used in bovine tailing are often beaten and whipped and frequently also sustain serious injuries during the performance. Pritzker is protecting these awful happenings even though Illinois’ Humane Care for Animals Act stipulates that “no person or owner may beat, cruelly treat, torment, overwork or otherwise abuse any animal.”

Why such inconsistencies in Pritzker’s approach to animal issues? The people victimizing the animals at bovine tailing events are usually immigrants from countries that allow such cruelty. In Illinois and in other sanctuary states, many politicians adhere to a “soft on crime” approach to law enforcement policies. In practice, this includes ignoring or minimizing the impact of........

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