PETA Urges Conshohocken Restaurants To Cancel Budweiser Clydesdale Events

CONSHOHOCKEN, PA — Animal activists are urging Conshohocken restaurants and establishments to cancel planned events centering around the apperance of Budweiser's Clydesdale horses in town on Friday, citing recent discoveries showing severe mistreatment of the famous animals. Specifically, the horses have their tailbones amputated.

The Clydesdales are slated to appear on Fayette street in the afternoon. Establishments like Flanigan's Boathouse and The Great American Pub are among those asked by PETA to reject the horses.

“Horses need their tails, and cutting them off causes immense suffering, affects their balance, and removes their first line of defense against biting and disease-spreading insects,” PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo said in a statement. “Budweiser disfigures horses to sell beer—and Conshohocken businesses should tell the King of Tears to stay away.”

Patch has reached out to both local establishments for comment.

Clydesdales have been a fixutre in Conshohocken and other towns around the greater Philadelphia region for promotional events for years. A PETA investigation earlier this year uncovered that Budweiser had been severing horse tailbones with either a scalpel, or a tight band that stops blood supply to the tail, "just so the Clydesdales will look a certain way when hitched to a beer wagon," they alleged.

Tailbone amputation is illegal in 10 states, and is condemned by a wide variety of animal groups outside of PETA, including the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Association of Equine Practitioners.

When the investigation first broke, an Anheuser-Busch spokesperson told the New York Post did not comment on the issue directly.

“The safety and wellbeing of our beloved Clydesdales is our top priority,” the spokesperson reportedly said. “Combined with our highly trained staff of professional caretakers, we partner with an equine medical expert to ensure our animals receive the highest level and quality of care. For 90 years the iconic Clydesdales have represented the best of the American spirit and have made a positive impact across our country in communities large and small.”

Anheuser-Busch did not immediately respond to a Patch request for comment on PETA's campaign to stop the Philly area events.

The arrival of the horses will lead to significant closures downtown. No parking will be available on both sides of Fayette Street and East Second Avenue beginning at 2 p.m., and both sides of Fayette Street will be closed from First Avenue to Third Avenue beginning at 2:30 p.m.

Fayette Street will be re-opened at 6:30 p.m.