Closure of Live Food Markets in China Due To SARS…Look Closer To Home
By Susan Tellem and Marshall Thompson
American Tortoise Rescue (ATR), along with several other animal welfare groups has
been trying to close down the “wet” live food markets in major U.S. cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles and
New York for the same reasons that the current SARS epidemic has closed the live markets in China. There,
as in the U.S., animals are kept in horrendous and unsanitary conditions before they are eaten…no shade, upside down,
crowded beak to beak and claw to claw, with no food or water. Some of these animals are even threatened
or endangered.
Blood and feces tests on these live animals, including rabbits,
turtles, frogs, fish and even raccoons, reveal salmonella, TB, leprosy and a range of other zoonotic diseases easily transmitted
to humans. ATR repeatedly has brought hard evidence since 1995 to a variety of local, state and federal
agencies to no avail.
Fish & Game, USDA, Los Angeles County and California Health
Depts. among others have deliberately stayed away from this political hot potato because closing them would mean angering
the Asian voting block. The USDA official I spoke to said, “Lady. We don’t
even inspect fish. Why would we inspect turtles?”
The argument used by the
vendors and buyers is that live markets are a Chinese tradition (o.k. before refrigeration in China and elsewhere, live food
markets made sense, but that excuse no longer holds water). "Culture" and "tradition" justify nothing. To quote a good friend of mine,
Action for Animal’s Eric Mills, “"There's a
lot of crime done against animals in the name of diversity." Should we defend human slavery or female genital mutilation on the same grounds of tradition and
culture? They've been around for a long time, too.
To make
a bad situation even worse, recently San Francisco Assemblyman Leland Yee (D - SF) introduced AB 566 allowing the market owners
to have records showing what kind of animals they are selling as food in Chinese – only the wholesaler will have to
provide them in English.
Our reason for closing the live markets is two-fold – to
prevent Asian and other shoppers from getting sick with serious and sometimes fatal symptoms resembling the flu, and to prevent
the inhumane treatment of helpless animals. Overlooking these logical reasons for our concern, we have
been labeled racists throughout California and elsewhere. It is not surprising that when there is no legitimate
defense, pulling the race card is always an easy trump.
Now, with the closing
of the live markets in China because of SARS, we call on government officials to close live markets here in the states as
well before someone else dies.
-----------------------
Founded by Susan Tellem and husband Marshall Thompson,
American Tortoise Rescue is a national organization based in Malibu, Calif. since 1990 for the rescue, rehabilitation, protection
and adoption of turtles and tortoises of all species. www.tortoise.com - 800-938-3553
#2
We concur with China activists
who see SARS as a silver lining
here in the states as well. What
stuns us, however, is the adamant refusal of California and U.S. government agencies to take similar action here in the states.
Live Chinese food markets abound in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, as well as other large and
small cities with high numbers of Chinese residents.
American
Tortoise Rescue (ATR), along with several other animal welfare groups has been trying to close down the “wet”
live food markets for the same reasons that the SARS epidemic has closed the live markets in China. There,
as in the U.S., animals are kept in horrendous and unsanitary conditions before they are eaten…no shade, upside down,
crowded beak to beak and claw to claw, with no food or water. Some of these animals are threatened or endangered.
Blood and feces tests on these live animals, including rabbits, turtles, frogs,
fish and even coatimundi and raccoons, reveal salmonella, TB, leprosy and a range of other zoonotic diseases easily transmitted
to humans. ATR repeatedly has brought hard evidence since 1995 to a variety of local, state and federal
agencies to no avail.
Fish & Game, USDA, Los Angeles County and California Health
Depts. among others have deliberately stayed away from this political hot potato because closing them would mean angering
Chinese voters (this makes no sense since many
are not registered anyway). The USDA official
I spoke to said, “Lady. We don’t inspect fish. Why would we inspect turtles
and raccoons?”
The argument used by the vendors and buyers is that live markets are a Chinese tradition (o.k.
before refrigeration in China and elsewhere, live food markets made sense, but that excuse no longer holds water).
"Culture" and "tradition" justify nothing.
To quote a good friend of mine, Action for Animal’s Eric Mills, “"There's a lot of crime done against animals in the name of diversity." Should we defend human slavery or female genital mutilation on the same grounds
of tradition and culture? They've been around for a long time, too.
Our reason
for closing the live markets is two-fold – to prevent Chinese and other shoppers from getting sick with serious
and sometimes fatal symptoms resembling the flu, and to prevent the inhumane treatment of helpless animals. Overlooking
these logical reasons for our concern, we have been labeled racists throughout California and elsewhere. It
is not surprising that when there is no legitimate defense, pulling the race card is always an easy trump.
Now, with
the closing of the live markets in China because of SARS, we call on government officials to close live markets here in the
states as well.
-----------------------
Founded by Susan Tellem and husband Marshall Thompson, American Tortoise Rescue is a national
organization based in Malibu, Calif. since 1990 for the rescue, rehabilitation, protection and adoption of turtles and tortoises
of all species. www.tortoise.com
