It is not over yet, but the Colorado Supreme Court on Monday rejected a ballot initiative that would have extended the state’s animal cruelty laws to cover livestock and poultry. The current law has an exception for animals raised on farms and ranches, as long as their owners follow accepted animal husbandry practices.
The proposal would have added cows, pigs, chicken and other farmed animals to the law, which was written to cover dogs and cats. It also would have banned the slaughter of livestock unless the animals had lived for one quarter of their natural lifespan.
Source: Colorado Public Radio, June 22, 2021. Link. The court found that the initiative was too far-reaching. The initiative would have also expanded the law against sexual acts with animals, but the court found that change “strays into a second subject by addressing the bodily integrity of all animals, not just livestock,” potentially confusing voters.