In last ditch effort to regain customers, Anheuser-Busch stops cutting tails off horses

2023-09-23

Author’s note: This article is summarized from various sources and attributions are linked within.

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Clydesdale horsesPhoto byJemima WhylesonUnsplash

Though the headline sounds like a Weekend Update report from SNL, it's not too far from what actually happened.

After Anheuser-Busch’s show of goodwill toward Dylan Mulvaney last spring, fans of the products were divided. The company faced major boycotts and still hasn’t recovered from the backlash.

In April they tried to counter the negative publicity with a very patriotic television commercial featuring their much-admired Clydesdale horses. The ad shows the horses “galloping past patriotic symbols, such as people raising an American flag and the Lincoln Memorial.” The voiceover meant to warm all the hearts that had cooled as much as an icy Bud Light said, "This is a story bigger than beer, this is the story of the American spirit."

For a company trying so hard to find favor in the public eye, it seems they’ve failed again over their horses’ tails. The famous Clydesdale horses have been a staple and solid brand symbol since the company “introduced its horse-drawn beer wagon in the 1930s to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition of beer, according to its website.”

In almost 100 years of the public admiring the Clydedales, the fact that the company has been docking the tails of the horses slipped by everyone. Well, not everyone. Per this article, PETA has protested this practice dozens of times, paid for national ad campaigns and more 121,000 concerned consumers pleading for Anheuser Busch to stop this cruel practice.

Tailbone amputation, cutting through a horse’s tailbone for cosmetic reasons, “is banned in at least 10 states and several countries, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, which condemns the practice. The American Association of Equine Practitioners has also condemned tailbone amputation for cosmetic reasons.”

Though PETA maintains this is painful the “AMVA has previously said that welfare concerns appear to relate less to the pain equine docking might cause and more to the surgery being unnecessary, while also limiting a horse's ability to fend off flies and biting insects using its tail.”

After facing backlash from animal rights activists, Anheuser Busch states they ended this practice earlier this year. Though a representative from the company stated, “The safety and well-being of our beloved Clydesdales is our top priority," it seems the practice of mutilating the animals stopped only because of the mounting backlash from PETA.

Their website states, “More than just a mascot, the Clydesdales have been an integral part of Anheuser-Busch for more than 80 years.”

It remains to be seen if the company’s newest attempt to get back in the good graces of Bud Light drinkers will work, but at least the horses won’t be harmed anymore.


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