The world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales have come under investigation from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) following discovery of a disfiguration for cosmetic reasons.
As part of its 90th anniversary celebrations, and inline with tradition, Budweiser plan to parade the horses during the SuperBowl weekend, but PETA have uncovered concerns over the equine’s welfare due to mutilation of parts of the spine and tail bone.
The new PETA investigation has revealed mutilation involving severing part of the horse’s spine by amputating some or all tailbones or cutting off the blood supply with a tight band that prevents blood flow, eventually causing the tail to die and fall off. The news comes as four new members of clydesdales were born at Warm Springs Branch, Boonville, United States.
Tailbone amputation for cosmetic reasons is condemned by the American Veterinary Medical Association and is illegal in 10 states and a number of countries. It causes chronic pain, affects the horse’s balance, and removes their first line of defense against biting and disease-spreading insects.
PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo, commented:
Budweiser is the King of Tears for harming the Clydesdales for 90 years just for a brand image. PETA is calling on Budweiser to stop mutilating horses immediately and recognize that they need their tails.”
Budweiser are yet to comment.
Representatives at their breeding and training facilities of Budweiser and Anheuser-Busch state that the amputations are just a hair “trim”. However, in a conflicting statement two individuals admit to PETA’s investigators that the tailbones are severed.
PETA is rolling out a “tailgate” campaign against Budweiser that includes protesters who will march alongside a mobile billboard on the horses’ parade routes in Arizona; another mobile billboard that will circle Anheuser-Busch’s flagship brewery in St. Louis, where an iconic mural of the Clydesdales is being upgraded in celebration of the anniversary; a TV commercial; and an aerial banner that will fly over State Farm Stadium and nearby tailgating parties hosted by TV chefs Guy Fieri and Bobby Flay on Super Bowl Sunday.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview.
