Denver voters gave a strong thumbs-down Tuesday night to ballot measures that would ban businesses from making or selling fur-based products and outlaw slaughterhouses within city limits.
In results updated at 11:30 p.m., nearly 58% of voters opposed the animal fur ban and 64.6% opposed the slaughterhouse ban, with very little change in the split for and against throughout the evening.
Opponents of the slaughterhouse ban declared victory Tuesday night and Pro-Animal Future, which put the two questions on the ballot and then found itself heavily outspent by opposition groups, issued a statement appearing to concede on both measures at about 9:35 p.m.
ELECTION RESULTS: Live Colorado election results for the 2024 election
Both measures had attracted national attention. Initiated Ordinance 308 asks voters to pass a fur ban that would block businesses from making or selling a range of animal-based products in the city.
Its sister measure, Initiated Ordinance 309, sought to prevent slaughterhouses from starting or operating in Denver city limits. Opponents argued it unfairly targeted the one slaughterhouse facility left in Denver, owned by Superior Farms. It is based in Globeville and employs 160 mostly Latino workers.
“Activists from New Orleans and California used dark money from out of state to try and shut down this local company, but they lost to Colorado workers, farmers, ranchers, and restaurateurs,” said Ian Silverii, the campaign spokesperson for “Stop the Ban. Protect Jobs,” a No on 309 group, in a statement. “We have one message for those who tried to come to our city and our state to run their experiment to upend the lives of so many hardworking people: it was a baaaaaaaad idea.”
Pro-Animal Future highlighted the numerous votes their measures received despite opponents outspending them by a six-to-one margin.
“This was a bold campaign, and no one said changing the status quo was going to be easy,” said Pro-Animal Future spokesperson Olivia Hammond in a statement. “Over a hundred thousand meat eaters voted for a world without slaughterhouses, and that’s a foundation we’ll continue building on. Voters aren’t used to seeing animal rights on the ballot, and we are paving the way with this campaign.”
Although other cities have passed fur bans, Ordinance 308 would go further, defining fur as “any animal skin or part thereof of hair, fleece or fur fibers attached thereto, either in its raw or processed state; or such hair fleece or fur fibers detached from any animal skin and re-attached to another material.”
It would prohibit the manufacture, distribution, display, sale or trade of certain animal products within Denver city limits, with limited exceptions, such as for Native American cultural uses or for cow leather. That could block the sales of cowboy and other hats made of beaver, rabbit or hare hides, as well as fly-fishing lures that include animal fibers.
Supporters argued the ban was merited, given the track record of mistreatment and abuse of animals. They argued most products could be made with synthetic alternatives. They also alleged that fur farms were inhumane and bad for the environment.
Opponents like the National Western Stock Show argued the measure would hurt business owners who engaged in a long-established part of Colorado culture and history. A group called “Hands Off My Hat Denver” also raised money to defeat the measure.
Stay up-to-date with Colorado Politics by signing up for our weekly newsletter, The Spot.
