As a biologist specializing in animal behavior, I’ve spent 15 years studying the natural world and how animals communicate, think and feel. Despite our growing understanding of their complexity, we continue to overlook the profound suffering inflicted upon animals in the name of profit. Industries that exploit animals often have a human toll as well, harming workers, damaging the environment and spreading disease. 

Denver voters are being asked to decide whether two such industries — fur and slaughter — have a place in their city, a decision with implications for the well-being of animals and humans alike. While opponents argue that Initiated Ordinances 308 (fur ban) and 309 (slaughterhouse ban) are based on emotion, they are actually strongly rooted in science.

Nearly 100 million animals are slaughtered for fur annually, including dogs and cats whose fur is sometimes illegally sold in the US under deceptive labels. Most animals killed for fur spend their lives in tiny cages, where they exhibit signs of extreme stress, including self-mutilation. To preserve their fur, they are gassed to death, anally electrocuted or even skinned alive. The remainder of furs come from wild animals, who often die slow and agonizing deaths in traps, sometimes gnawing their own foot down to the bone to free themselves and return to their dependent young.

Beyond causing immeasurable suffering to animals, fur farms are reservoirs for human diseases, including the virus causing COVID-19. The World Health Organization has warned that “spillover from fur farm animals to humans poses a serious public health and socio-economic threat,” and infectious disease experts have strongly urged that fur farming “be eliminated in the interest of pandemic preparedness.”

Initiated Ordinance 308 gives Denverites the opportunity to take a stand against the cruel and dangerous fur industry, just as Boulder voters did in 2021.  Measure 308 provides exceptions for Native American cultural uses and taxidermy, and still permits the sale of leather, wool, other sheared fibers and used furs.

Initiated Ordinance 309, which would ban slaughterhouses in Denver, is equally important.  Located in the primarily Latino neighborhood of Globeville, Denver’s lamb slaughterhouse has repeatedly violated the Clean Water Act, and was recently fined $119,200 for mishandling toxic chemicals.

Slaughterhouses have a severe psychological toll on workers, who face increased risks of depression, PTSD and substance abuse, with some studies linking slaughterhouse work to an increase in violent crime. According to Jose Huizar, a former worker at the Denver slaughterhouse, “You come home and you’re f*cked up, whether from drugs or just from killing animals all day, slitting their throats, spilling their guts, hearing them scream. It disrupts your family dynamic, how you’re supposed to relate to your wife and kids.”

The slaughterhouse measure prioritizes workforce retraining for impacted employees, helping them transition to healthier careers. 

While opponents of the ban claim that regulations sufficiently protect animals, a recent investigation of the Denver slaughterhouse revealed criminal animal cruelty, including lambs being kicked in the head, thrashing fully conscious after their throats were cut, and workers pantomiming sex acts on lambs as they were bleeding out. Even if properly followed, these regulations are woefully inadequate to prevent suffering. 

As an animal behavior scientist, I know that contrary to popular belief, sheep are highly intelligent and emotionally complex. Studies have demonstrated that sheep can recognize at least 50 other sheep from photographs and remember them for years, recognize fear in one another’s faces, and like humans, form stronger bonds when they have been through a traumatic experience together.

With a growing understanding of animals’ emotional complexity, it’s time to start moving away from industries that harm them.

Regardless of whether we personally eat meat, we can all recognize that we must produce significantly less of it to ensure that our children inherit a habitable planet. According to a University of Oxford study, a plant-based food system would reduce food-related greenhouse gas emissions by 75%, cause 66% less biodiversity loss, use 54% less water, and require 75% less farmland than our current system. Another Oxford and University of Minnesota study warned that without significant reduction of animal agriculture, there is virtually no chance of meeting the Paris Climate Agreement goals.

Opponents of the slaughterhouse ban cite Colorado State University’s flawed report on the potential economic impacts. Yet even the report’s “most pessimistic scenario,” which  University of Colorado-Denver economist Dr. Kyle Montanio calls “so far beyond reasonable that it is concerning it is even listed,” would impact just 0.086% of jobs in Colorado at a time when our state has a major labor shortage. Even if this projected figure were realistic, can retaining these jobs in the short term justify the devastating impact that slaughterhouses have on workers, animals, and the environment? 

Transitioning away from the fur and slaughter industries isn’t just a moral imperative, science shows us that it’s an investment in a safer, more equitable and more sustainable future.

Mickey Pardo, who lives in Fort Collins, is a professional biologist, has a Ph.D. from Cornell University in animal behavior and has 15 years of experience studying the ecology and behavior of mammals and birds.

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Short weeks can be hard on NFL teams with less time to prepare than usual, and that puts the New Orleans Saints in a tough spot as they open Week 7 with a visit from the Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football. Starting quarterback Derek Carr is expected to miss multiple weeks with an oblique injury he suffered in a Week 5 loss to the Chiefs, and the Saints will once again turn to rookie Spencer Rattler under center for another trial-by-fire start. Rattler made his first NFL start on Sunday against the Buccaneers and went 22-of-40 for 243 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions in a 51-27 blowout loss.

Rattler wasn’t the issue as much as the Saints defense was — the unit gave up nearly 600 yards of offense to Tampa Bay. The Broncos, led by fellow rookie QB Bo Nix, will be looking for a bounce-back performance after a 23-16 loss in Week 6 to the Los Angeles Chargers, in which they didn’t score until the fourth quarter. Nix has completed just over 61% of his throws this season and has five touchdown passes and five interceptions on the year heading into Week 7.

You can chat about all of it with other fans and Yahoo Sports NFL experts Nate Tice and Charles McDonald using our new Game Discussions feature in the Yahoo Sports app. You can download the app for Apple here and Google here, and make sure you already have the latest version. Then you can open the Saints-Broncos game page, tap “Join the Discussions,” agree to the guidelines, and then join the fun.

The New Orleans Saints host the Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football in Sean Payton’s return to New Orleans.

I’m just going to be straight up honest; the Saints defense was awful on Sunday. They got completely exposed by Baker Mayfield, and despite forcing three interceptions, they gave up 51 points. It was an absolutely pathetic effort by everyone involved.

This week, they get a Broncos offense who isn’t performing at a very high level. They’re scoring just 18 points per game, which ranks 25th in the league, and are still going through some growing pains with rookie quarterback, Bo Nix. However, I will say Nix has looked better the past couple weeks.

I still believe the Saints have the playmakers on defense to be really good, but they just need to be more physical. In Sunday’s loss to Tampa, the Saints missed 15 tackles and gave up 242 yards after the catch. Mayfield threw for 315 yards, meaning that nearly 77% of his yards came after the catch. That is just unacceptable.

Unfortunately for the Saints, their tackling is going to be tested again this week against Denver. Bo Nix does not like to throw the ball downfield (just like in his college days), with over 60% of his attempts covering less than nine air yards and 50% of his yards coming after the catch. If they can’t get the Broncos receivers on the ground on first contact, it could be another long day for them defensively.

They are a bit fortunate, however, that the Broncos aren’t very super at rushing the football. They rank 23rd in the league in yards per game (107) and 18th in yards per attempt (4.3). Not horrible numbers, but nothing that’ll make you shake in your boots.

The Saints defense started the season off great against the run, but they’ve fallen off drastically since then. They now rank 20th in rushing yards allowed per game (133) and 30th in yards per attempt allowed (5.2). Those numbers are just unacceptable when your defense is supposed to be the strength of your team.

The Saints defense also ranked towards the top of the league in sacks through two weeks, but in their last three games, their 1.3 sacks per game put ranks 27th in the NFL. Things won’t get any easier in the sack department either, because the Broncos currently rank 5th in the NFL in sacks allowed, only giving up 1.5 per game.

This week is really going to tell us a lot about the Saints defense. Are they going to lay another egg and show us that maybe they’re not as good as we thought they were early in the season? Or are they going to bounce back with a big-time performance against Sean Payton’s offense and remind everyone that they’re still one of the premier units in the league?

I hope it’s the latter, but I’m not entirely sure to be honest.

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