New York City lawmakers propose bill banning live animal markets
New York City storefront slaughterhouses sell live chickens, quails, ducks, goats, sheep, cows and bulls. Feces, blood and body parts litter the streets in front of these markets.
DENIS SLATERY: A pair of New York lawmakers want to shut down New York’s live animal markets to help stem the spread of diseases and prevent future pandemics… There are roughly 80 licensed live animal markets in the five boroughs, according to the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, which regulates the facilities…
Storefront slaughterhouses, peppered throughout the city, sell everything from chickens, quails and ducks to goats, sheep and even cows and bulls. Inspectors stop in at least four times a year to check on the facilities and also make unannounced visits to evaluate slaughter rooms.
But animal rights advocates have long argued that the shops are “unsanitary, unhealthful, and inhumane” and have repeatedly called for their closure… “Feces, blood and body parts regularly litter the public streets in front of these markets, which often just step away from homes, playgrounds, schools and other businesses,” said NYCLASS executive director Edita Birnkrant…
Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal (D-Manhattan) and State Senator Luis Sepulveda (D-Bronx) introduced a bill that would bring an end to live animal or “wet” markets in response to the coronavirus crisis… Early cases of the virus were traced to a wet market in Wuhan, China, before the pandemic spread across the globe, Rosenthal notes.
“In a matter of weeks, COVID-19 has ravaged New York and changed life for millions of New Yorkers,” the Assemblywoman said. “Closing New York’s live animal markets, which operate in residential neighborhoods and do not adhere to even the most basic sanitary standards, until we determine whether they can be made safe, is a vital first step”…
Zoonotic or animal-borne diseases, such as SARS and MERS, originate in animals and are easily transmitted to people who come into contact with infected animals, their bodily fluids or surfaces the animals touched, according to the Centers for Disease Control. As many as three-quarters of new or emerging diseases in humans come from animals, the CDC estimates. SOURCE…
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