Created by the U.S.-based animal rights organization Pax Fauna, Pro-Animal Future (PAF) is a “collective of voters, volunteers, and small donors building a political movement to end factory farming.” PAF is a 501(c)(4) political organization. This vegan lifestyle and animal rights extremist organization is focused on ending what it deems “animal cruelty” within large-scale agriculture. The group focuses its “animal cruelty” crusade on decades of proven animal husbandry practices that are actually beneficial to animals and people.
PAF is comprised of dozens of volunteer animal rights extremists in the Denver, Colorado, area. With only a handful of actual employees, the group relies on recruiting volunteers who gather petition signatures in its efforts to change laws in Denver. The group claims to operate on “small donations,” yet it relies on financial support, in the form of grants, from the Phauna Foundation, a Malibu, California, based vegan crusade organization that routinely spends more than it takes in annually according to its own filings. Protect The Harvest has previously reported on PAF’s efforts targeting sheep processing via an upcoming 2024, ballot initiative banning animal processing facilities in Denver city and county.
Pax Fauna’s Vegan Agenda
Pax Fauna is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is “known in the animal rights community for its studies on public attitudes regarding the use of animals for food,” according to the PAF website.
Setting Their Sights on a Slaughterhouse Ban
A current PAF initiative is to ban slaughterhouses in Denver. PAF makes it clear the Denver ban is only the opening salvo in the group’s crusade to eliminate all slaughterhouses in America. The group hopes momentum from its Denver effort will encourage other cities to ban slaughterhouses. They want to “send a strong message across the nation that slaughterhouses do not have a place in the peaceful future we [they] are creating.”
With no facts, data, or science to back its claims, PAF alleges slaughterhouses are bad for workers, animals, neighborhoods, and the environment. They never address the myriad of beneficial by-products that result from animal agriculture, including items used in health and medicine, pet care, food production, clothing, animal and human nutrition, leather goods, research, etc.
The PAF agenda is clear: eliminate primary protein sources preferred by the overwhelming majority of Americans. In 2022, the average American consumed 224.6 pounds of meat, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This is due to the efficiency and hard work of American farmers and ranchers. Shuttering slaughterhouses would make it impossible to feed America’s increasing population. In 2022, total red meat production in the U.S. was 55.6 billion pounds, which continues to increase over time.
Slaughterhouses use proven, approved, federally regulated, humane animal husbandry practices that have been thoroughly researched by experts in animal welfare and husbandry. Animal harvesting methods have been in place for decades and do exactly the opposite of PAF claims. These methods ensure livestock and poultry are humanely harvested to meet USDA requirements.
Targeting Sheep Processing
“There’s been a real growing concern among the public about the suffering of animals in our food system,” claims PAF Mission Leader Aidan Kankoku in a Denver 7 article about a proposed initiative to ban a long-time sheep processing facility. This facility is the only animal harvesting facility in Denver city limits and Denver County.
The initiative will appear on the November 2024 Denver Ballot, as sufficient signatures were gathered by PAF volunteers, according to a Protect The Harvest article on the processing plant. If passed, Denver slaughterhouses would be banned starting in 2026. On the ballot, Denver residents will see:
“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 mentioned in a previous Protect The Harvest piece, it is important to note that PAF claims the devastating job loss that would result from the end of slaughterhouses would be mitigated. They plan to accomplish this through training offered to current processing plant employees, allowing them to transition to “green industries.” However, PAF provides no additional specifics, which raises questions about how this retraining would be conducted, by whom, and how it would be funded.
With this in mind, opposition is growing toward this ballot initiative. Rep. Richard Holtorf, R-Akron, is one of them. Holtorf, a third-generation cattle rancher, has been outspoken about his opposition, stating in the Denver 7 article:
“It will hurt an entire industry economically. It will hurt families. It will hurt workers. It will hurt businesses.”
Ending Fur Sales in Denver
In addition to its attack on slaughterhouses, PAF is targeting fur sales. This is in the wake of a 2021 ban on fur sales in Boulder, Colorado. This ballot initiative will also appear on the November 2024 ballot, alongside the sheep processing initiative. If passed, all fur sales in Denver will be banned starting in June 2025.
On the ballot, Denver residents will see:
“Shall the voters of the City and County of Denver adopt an ordinance concerning a prohibition of fur products, and, in connection, beginning July 1, 2025, prohibiting the manufacture, distribution, display, sale, or trade of certain animal fur products in the City; and providing limited exceptions to the prohibitions.”
What you can do
PAF is just one of many extremist organizations created with the goal of ending animal agriculture and promoting a vegan agenda. Denver citizens should not be swayed by animal rights extremists who want to close a sheep slaughterhouse that has been safely, efficiently, humanely, and profitably operating in Denver since the 1960s, providing hundreds of direct and indirect jobs. To these ballot initiatives, we urge voters in Denver to just say “no.”
For those not in the Denver area, staying informed is important, especially as more groups are created to eliminate entire sectors of American agricultural production, reduce consumer freedom of choice, and adversely impact food security for millions of Americans. At Protect The Harvest, we believe citizen vigilance and engagement on the local, regional, and federal level is crucial to maintaining A Free and Fed America™.
Helpful Links
Pro-Animal Future HERE
Denver 7 News on the Slaughterhouse Bans HERE
Protect The Harvest on PAF Targeting Sheep Processing HERE
The Phauna Foundation HERE
Pax Fauna HERE
Sentient Media on U.S. Meat Consumption HERE
USDA on Meat Production HERE
