Activists Battle to Ban Sale of Live Animals at Farmers' Markets

Live birds, turtles and frogs are all on the list of "products" you can purchase at some California farmers' markets, but if animal activists have their way, live animals sales will be taken off the menu.

There is only one market in San Francisco that allows live chickens and other birds to be purchased: the Heart of the City Farmers' Market at United Nations Plaza.

The chickens are shuttled back and forth to the market in small crates and sent home with customers in plastic bags to be killed and cooked. In California, poultry is exempt from animal cruelty laws and vendors see nothing wrong with the way they operate.

Animal activists protest almost every day the market is open and have done so for nearly a year. They hand out pamphlets and educate people on how the birds are mistreated. They also record video and have filed complaints with the district and city attorneys, Animal Control and the Public Health Department. So far, though, none of those complaints have ended in charges.

Matt Gonzalez, the activists' attorney, says that, "you can't commit cruelty on animals simply because they're chickens. They're punting it just because they don't want to go into the issue because of cultural impacts."

And those cultural impacts are aimed at the Asian-American market. Similarly, the controversy over the sale of live turtles and frogs is also heating up.

Last year, members of the California Fish and Game Commission decided to ban the importation of turtles and frogs for food. But facing accusations that the ban was more of an attack on the Asian culture than an animal protection issue, the Commission decided to lift the ban in early February.

However, President of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals of Los Angeles, Madeline Bernstein, and Action for Animals coordinator, Eric Mills, agree that the animals are treated poorly from the time they are captured to the time they are slaughtered — and are often fully conscious when killed.

California law states that turtles and frogs must be killed before sent home with the consumer. However, former warden Miles Young and Mr. Mills state that this isn't always the case.

While lawmakers are divided, one commissioner has firmly believed in the ban since the beginning. Commissioner Dan Richards feels that live turtles and frogs have no place in California because they end up in native Californian waters and become invasive species. Several animal advocacy and conservation groups share this concern as well.

Here's the bottom line: it is an animal protection issue, not a cultural attack. Turtles, frogs and birds shouldn't be shoved into holding crates and sent home with customers in plastic bags. Nor do they deserve to be inhumanely slaughtered while conscious.

Join the protest: tell the Heart of the City Farmers' Market to ban the sale of live animals.

Photo credit: RyanCarr