ST. LOUIS – As festivities commence in and around Busch Stadium for Cardinals Opening Day, animal activist organization PETA will fly a banner overhead protesting the treatment of the famous Budweiser Clydesdales.
According to a PETA spokesperson, the banner is intended to shame Budweiser for “mutilating the horses’ tailbones.”
The organization claims staffers at Warm Springs Ranch, the breeding facility for the Budweiser Clydesdales, remove the tails off the animals shortly after they’re born, either by cutting them off or by tying a tight band around the tail to cut off the blood supply. PETA says this is so the horses all look a certain way when hitched to the beer wagon.
“Horses need their tailbones, and cutting them off causes immense pain, affects their balance, and removes their first line of defense against biting and disease-spreading insects,” PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo said.
PETA is calling for a boycott of Budweiser until the company ends the practice of removing the Clydesdales’ tails.