HSUS Forgoes its Tail Docking Ballot Proposal

May 15, 2014

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

As it turns out, Colorado voters won’t be voting on a ballot initiative about banning tail docking on dairy cattle.

The animal rights group, Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), and its Colorado chapter, said it will no longer be putting forward its measure to call for a ban on tail docking. At least not this election cycle.

According to a May 13 release, the main reason for the hold off is related to wording changes made to the ballot initiative in April by the Colorado Legislative Council and Title Board.

The release stated that the board, “misconstrued our simple and straightforward language. Their action effectively runs out the clock for a refile of new language.”

Colorado’s dairy industry has already pledged to phase out tail docking over the next decade. Some dairy farmers dock tails to improve cow cleanliness and is thought (by some) to improve utter health. But the practice is not as common today, as it once was.

Ballot measures are a form of direct democracy in the United States, and are like political campaigns, but only focused on certain issues. Running a campaign for and against a ballot measure can cost millions of dollars.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.