\u201cThey will have urbanites who in many cases don\u2019t know where a hamburger comes from, don\u2019t know where a lamb chop or pork roast or even the toppings on their pizza come from, and they will be asked the simple question,\u201d he said. \u201cWho would want sex with animals?\u201d<\/p>\n
The proposal removes the livestock exemption in state statute for animal cruelty and expands the definition of a sex act with an animal. The new language says that sex acts with an animal include \u201cany intrusion or penetration, however slight, with an object or part of a person\u2019s body into an animal\u2019s anus or genitals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ranchers say that would prevent them from performing artificial inseminations, embryo transfers, pregnancy checks, and a host of other common practices.<\/p>\n
The ballot measure also defines animals\u2019 natural lifespans: 20 years for a cow, 15 for a pig, eight for a chicken, six for a rabbit. Each must get to live at least a quarter of its natural life before going to harvest, it says.<\/p>\n
Holtorf, who accused the initiative\u2019s backers of failing to consult with the livestock industry or experts in veterinary medicine, said the group got the natural lifespans wrong. \u201cThe oldest cow I\u2019ve ever seen is 15 or 16 years and then they die of old age,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t know where they get their numbers, but they are not grounded in reality.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople in my district aren\u2019t out there abusing animals. That is their livelihood. These continuous attacks on rural Colorado from urban activists are what make the urban-rural divide wider and wider and wider. They have no desire to understand or talk with rural Colorado and people in our industry.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cPeople in my district aren\u2019t out there abusing animals. That is their livelihood. These continuous attacks on rural Colorado from urban activists are what make the urban-rural divide wider and wider and wider. They have no desire to understand or talk with rural Colorado and people in our industry.\u201d <\/em>Alexander Sage, one of two people listed with the Secretary of State\u2019s Office as backers of the initiative, said he consulted veterinarians but not the livestock industry. Backlash from the ranching community has been fierce, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAbout once a day, I get a phone call, a Facebook message or an email with someone at least talking in a condescending tone telling me about what I know and that I shouldn\u2019t be doing what I\u2019m doing or simply venting with curse words,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not extraordinarily surprising.\u201d<\/p>\n Sage said the goal of the initiative is to \u201cextend the scope of compassion and reduce cruelty to animals.\u201d Its backers want to protect farm animals the same way dogs, cats and other pets are protected, said Sage, who said he is a Broomfield data scientist who has not previously been involved in animal rights politics. \u201cGenerally, you are allowed to abuse, neglect, overdrive and overwork any animal\u201d that isn\u2019t a pet, he said. The language in the proposal would not prevent spaying, neutering or helping an animal safely give birth, and it would not prohibit reproductive care that benefits an animal\u2019s health, Sage said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe didn\u2019t feel that slaughtering baby animals was humane,\u201d he said. \u201cThe average Coloradan, based on a lot of market research, wants the livestock that finally goes on their plate to not be unnecessarily abused.\u201d<\/p>\n The group is planning for the November 2022 ballot and asking for volunteers to help with signature-gathering events.<\/p>\n Polis says measure would \u2018destroy jobs\u2019Ranchers, already annoyed at the governor over MeatOut Day, called on Polis to speak against the proposed ballot measure before it gains traction. In response to a question from The Colorado Sun, governor\u2019s spokeswoman Shelby Wieman said Polis \u201cagrees with farmers and ranchers that the PAUSE ballot initiative would hurt Colorado and destroy jobs, and he opposes it.\u201d<\/p>\n