Proposition 16 is the single largest attack on Colorado livestock industry

To: Colorado Citizens, Colorado Livestock Producers, Agriculture Trade Association, Livestock Feeders, Meat Processors and Purveyors Across Colorado. The Colorado House Democrats continue to put Colorado agriculture in the crosshairs during the 2021 legislative session.

If Governor Polis’ “MeatOut Day” proclamation, SB21-087 Concerning Agricultural Workers Rights, or SB21-135 Prohibit Certain Animals in Traveling Animal Acts were not bad enough for you then hold on to your hat because Proposition 16 is on an entirely different level. Proposition 16, the PAUSE ballot initiative, is the single largest attack on the livestock industry that the state of Colorado has ever seen.

Fringe animal rights activists from across the country are using Colorado as their battleground and our agricultural industry is going to pay the price. The initiative threatens our over $40 billion industry and the 170,000 jobs that it has created across the state. Democrats have proceeded to push their misguided ballot initiative through without any input from anyone in the livestock or agricultural sectors. The Colorado Agricultural Legislative Council and the largest agricultural political action organizations have been left out of discussions about the enormous policy shift facing Colorado farmers and ranchers.

This initiative writes off decades of best practices that have been established through veterinary medicine and our land grant universities who, mind you, took an oath to support agriculture. Furthermore, the unrealistic animal life spans that were outlined in the proposition became the sole criteria for making a new timeline for harvesting all classes of livestock species in Colorado.

This is yet another attempt by leftists to destroy our livestock industry and rural Colorado, which I represent in my House District 64. I will continue to fight to close the urban-rural divide and against Proposition 16. This is bad news for our economy, our consumers, our rural population, and most of all it is bad for Colorado.

Representative Holtorf

House District 64

Sincerely,
Richard Holtorf
State Representative
House District 64