Signatures turned in for measure banning meat processing businesses in Denver
Proponents of a citizen-initiated ballot measure that would ban any facility where livestock animals are killed to produce food have turned in petitions for certification to the Denver Clerk & Recorder.
Advocates need 8,940 valid signatures from registered Denver voters to get the measure on the April 2024 municipal ballot. The ordinance targets any facility that processes meat defined as “livestock” under Colorado law, including beef, lamb, poultry, pig, etc.
Opponents say the ban would cost hundreds of workers their jobs, as well as create a larger ripple effect into the state’s economy if passed.
Denver election officials did not return phone calls from Complete Colorado seeking the number of signatures turned in.
Complete Colorado first broke the story on the initiative earlier this year.
According to the Denver election website, issue committees have been formed both for and against the measure. The treasurer for Pro Animal Denver, which supports the ban, is reported to be Aiden Cook, a long-time animal rights activist from the Denver/Boulder area who previously supported having the mutton bustin’ competition pulled from the National Western Stock Show.
That committee has already raised nearly $100,000 from just two contributors. Pro-Animal Future ($86,400), a Colorado-based organization with the mission to “end animal farming in Colorado” and Owen Gunden ($11,490), a New York-based philanthropist who “aims to make the world a kinder place for non-humans,” according to his bio on the Woodstock Fruit Festival website.