‘We all have a stake in this’

It’s been touted as one of the most radical and reactionary ballot initiative proposals Colorado has ever seen, and individuals across the state are banning together to oppose this attack on agriculture.

Initiative 16, informally known as Protect Animals from Unnecessary Suffering and Exploitation, is a potential 2022 ballot initiative.

According to the PAUSE website, “the initiative would simply extend the most basic animal welfare rights that are granted to pets to all farmed animals. While the animal is alive, it must not be abandoned, abused, neglected, mistreated or sexually assaulted.”

The title speaks to curbing cruelty to animals, which is always a good thing, said Dr. Jeff Tharp, a Holyoke veterinarian who has been practicing in Colorado since earning his doctor of veterinary medicine in 1986.

“The devil lies in the details,” he said.

And that’s why groups across the state are voicing their opposition to PAUSE. One such group is called Coloradans for Animal Care, a coalition that includes major ag organizations like Colorado Farm Bureau, Colorado Cattlemen’s Association, Colorado Livestock Association, Colorado Wool Growers Association, Colorado Dairy Farmers, Colorado Pork Producers Council, Colorado Horse Council, Colorado Egg Producers and Rocky Mountain Farmers Union.

In March, commissioners in Phillips County — one of the top 10 agriculture counties in Colorado — signed a resolution opposing Initiative 16 “in order to protect our livestock industry and prevent needless animal suffering.”

What would PAUSE do to Colorado? According to the coalition’s website, it would put an end to livestock production and processing in the state, killing a 150-year-old industry that generates more than $7 billion in economic output. It would criminalize farmers, ranchers, veterinarians and pet owners who use accepted animal care practices. And it would erase Colorado’s western heritage, including rodeos, county fairs, livestock shows, trail rides and more.

“They’re purposeful. They know what this will do,” said Tharp, noting the ultimate goal of the agenda is to end agriculture as we know it.

He said one way PAUSE would cripple agriculture is by implementing harvest guidelines that are unrealistic.

PAUSE says there’s an exemption to ensure slaughter is still legal once the animal has lived one quarter of its natural lifespan. It defines the natural lifespan for cattle at 20 years; pigs, 15 years; chickens, eight years; and so on.

This would create a standard far longer than consumer and foreign markets demand. It’s undermining the quality of the product, said Tharp. No one will be satisfied with such a flawed product, not to mention what will happen to producers when they have to feed animals all those extra years and have five years’ worth of calves sitting around somewhere, he said.

This will in turn affect the export markets and Colorado’s competitiveness with other states.

Another way PAUSE would cripple the industry, Tharp said, is to criminalize animal husbandry procedures that have been utilized to better serve the health of livestock and companion animals. PAUSE redefines what constitutes a “sexual act with an animal.”

Animal agriculture done properly provides nutrition, mitigation of disease and extends upon our charges the good life, Tharp said. The people behind Initiative 16 are saying, “Let’s let Mother Nature have her course.” He doesn’t see how that benefits the animals.

When Tharp began his career 35 years ago, difficult labors in livestock births were extremely frequent. Common practices in the industry have helped to “drastically reduce the necessity for intervention in bovine births,” he said.

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