Why FIFA Should Give the Red Card to Cruelty and Boot Budweiser as a Sponsor
Following reports that Budweiser will be the official beer of the 2023 Women’s World Cup and the 2026 Men’s World Cup, PETA called on FIFA President Gianni Infantino to score a goal for equines by giving Budweiser the boot if the beer maker won’t stop amputating the tailbones of its iconic Clydesdales.
FIFA needs to give the red card to cruelty and drop Budweiser as a sponsor. There’s nothing sporting about severing Clydesdales’ tailbones.
A shocking PETA video exposé revealed that Budweiser has been severing the famous horses’ tailbones with either a scalpel or a tight band that stops the blood supply to the tail, causing most of the bone to die and fall off. This cruel practice is illegal in 10 U.S. states and many European countries, including Belgium, where Budweiser’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, is based.
Both the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Association of Equine Practitioners condemn cosmetic tailbone amputation.
Horses need their tails for balance and to protect themselves from biting and disease-spreading insects, but Budweiser mutilates Clydesdales just so they’ll look a certain way when hitched to a beer wagon. If the company is concerned that tail hair could become entangled in a wagon’s hitch equipment, simply braiding and wrapping the tails would prevent this possibility.
Budweiser presents the iconic Clydesdales as symbols of traditional American values, but harming horses is the antithesis of what fans in the U.S. and around the world hold dear. FIFA should get the ball rolling in the right direction by dropping Budweiser as a sponsor until the beer maker does right by horses.
