Complaint Accuses Denver Slaughterhouse, Fur Ban Campaigns of Hiding Donors

Over $455,000 has been raised in support of two ballot initiatives seeking to ban slaughterhouses and new fur products from Denver. Of that, nearly $433,000 is reported as coming from one source: Pro-Animal Future.

Pro-Animal Future is the animal rights organization that petitioned Initiated Ordinances 308 and 309 onto the ballot. The group has been collecting donations for the initiatives on its website, then passing the funds on to its issue committee, Pro-Animal Denver, under its own name. As a result, campaign finance records show Pro-Animal Future as the donor, not whoever originally contributed.

Former Denver councilwoman Kendra Black filed a campaign finance complaint against Pro-Animal Future and Pro-Animal Denver on September 19, alleging that this practice violates city law.

“The transgressions of PAF and PAD undermine the letter and the spirit of the Denver campaign finance ordinances and cast doubt on the integrity of the campaigns they support," Black says. "It is important that there be a swift resolution of these complaints and that the principles of transparency and accountability in our local elections are upheld.”

Pro-Animal Future blasts the complaint as a "dirty tactic" from opponents who are trying to derail the ballot initiatives' campaigns.

"Filing baseless campaign finance complaints is a common dirty tactic in hotly contested elections, and should be no surprise in this case given the huge sums of money poured into opposing the measures," says Olivia Hammond, spokesperson for Pro-Animal Future. "Any member of the public may file complaints, which are not indicative of any wrongdoing unless the elections office declares so."

Denver law requires that issue committees report their contributions and expenditures each month. These reports include the name, address and donation amount of each person who makes a contribution, and the name, address,  amount and service of each person to whom an expenditure is made.

The complaint also accuses Pro-Animal Denver of contributing nearly all of the funds it received from Pro-Animal Future — $432,582 — to its sister organization, Pax Fauna, to be spent on the campaign without disclosing the individual vendors and services paid for. In addition, it alleges that Pro-Animal Future failed to register properly as an issue committee.

"Pro-Animal Future and Pro-Animal Denver have devised a scheme to conceal the identity of donors supporting Initiated Ordinances 308 and 309 and required information about expenditures," the complaint reads. "PAF and PAD’s violations of Denver ordinance have deprived the public of important information."

Ordinances 308 and 309 have each reported raising $227,886 in support of the campaigns, according to Denver's campaign finance website. Both ballot measures attribute the money to thirteen donations: twelve totaling $216,396 from Pro-Animal Future and one of $11,490 from animal-rights philanthropist Owen Gunden.

"We have diligently followed the campaign finance reporting instructions provided to us by the City of Denver Elections Office, and are happy to provide them with any additional information requested," Hammond says. "We’ve reached out to check with the elections office, and they have not indicated there are any issues with our filings. In addition to following the requirements, more information about Pro-Animal Future’s major donors can be found on our website."

Pro-Animal Future's website identifies the campaign's largest donors as the Craigslist Charitable Fund, Animal Charity Evaluators and the Phauna Foundation, though no specific dollar amounts are provided.

The "Hands Off My Hat" campaign opposing the fur ban has raised $219,550 from 41 donations. The largest contributors are the National Western Stock Show, with more than $30,000 in donations; DraftKings Chief Legal Officer Stanton Dodge, with $25,000; Transwest Truck Trailer RV, with $25,000; and Golden-based agriculture worker Jeff Keller, with $25,000.

The "Stop the Ban Protect Jobs" committee against the slaughterhouse ban has raised over $738,000 from 111 donations. The largest contributors are Superior Farms, the only slaughterhouse in Denver, with more than $160,000 in donations; the American Sheep Industry Association, with $80,000; the National Pork Producers Council, with $50,000; the Colorado Livestock Association, with $50,000; United Food & Commercial Workers, with $50,000; and the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, with $50,000.

“It is disappointing but not surprising that the people behind a fundamentally dishonest campaign think that the rules don’t apply to them," says Manny Gidfar, spokesperson for Stop the Ban Protect Jobs. "Voters deserve to know who is actually behind this misguided effort to single out just one employee-owned Denver business and force it to close."

The Denver Clerk and Recorder's Office is currently reviewing the complaint. "At this time, we do not have a fixed timeline to respond," says spokesperson Mikayla Ortega.