Denver (Colo.), Sonoma County (Calif.) Voters Reject Bans on Slaughterhouses, ‘Factory Farms’
Voters in Denver, Colo., and Sonoma County, Calif., appear to have rejected separate referendums in those municipalities that would have banned the operation of slaughterhouses in the Denver city limits and factory farms/operations in the Sonoma County limits, according to news reports in those locations.
In Denver, voters had to decide “yes” or “no” on Initiated Ordinance 309, which stated: “Shall the voters of the City and County of Denver adopt an ordinance prohibiting slaughterhouses, and, in connection, beginning January 1, 2026, prohibiting the construction, maintenance, or use of slaughterhouses within the City; and requiring the City to prioritize residents whose employment is affected by the ordinance in workforce training or employment assistance programs?”
As of 11:30 p.m. (Mountain time), Nov. 5, 2024, more than 64% of voters had rejected that ban, according to the city’s election results page. The slaughterhouse ban was on the ballot along with a proposal that would have banned businesses from making or selling animal fur-based products in the city (which also was opposed by 58% of voters, according to the city’s reporting).
Opponents of the ordinance cited the fact that only one slaughterhouse still existed in the city limits, the Superior Farms lamb plant on the north side of town, which houses about 15-20% of all lamb processing capacity in the U.S. and employs some 160 workers. Both Denver ballot measures were backed by animal-rights activist group Pro-Animal Future.
Meanwhile, voters in Sonoma County, Calif., sent an even louder rejection of Measure J, with more than 85% voting against a proposal to ban concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs, in the county — as of 1:30 a.m. Nov. 6, 2024 (Pacific time).
The ballot measure asked voters: “Should the county of Sonoma enact a ban on farms designated as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations?”, threatening numerous family farms in the egg, dairy and poultry industries in the county. Had the measure passed, it would have phased out any existing farms within the next three years and banned future farms of a certain size. For farms that still existed after the three-year deadline, daily fines up to $10,000 would have been incurred.
Measure J was brought to the ballot by a coalition of animal-rights activists in the region that have been active in recent years and been caught trespassing on farms attempting to photograph animals or release them.
