- "Nearly two tons of turtles are sold daily in Asian
live animal markets."
-
- "An estimated 10,000 tons of snakes are eaten in
China every year."
-
- "...slaughter methods employed by shop merchants
show a complete disregard for the animals suffering or for maintaining
sanitary conditions. Frogs are frequently skinned alive; turtles have their
shells ripped from their backs and have their intestines removed while
conscious; live birds are placed in plastic bags for sale."
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- The stories coming out of Southern China where researchers
have found a SARS-like virus in civet cats, a relative of the mongoose
that is regularly sold in wild-animal markets in the region, tend to give
Americans a false sense of security. As long as we control our borders
and ban potentially virus-laden wildlife, we're safe. Right?
-
- Not necessarily.
-
- Live markets, where consumers can purchase animals (wild
or domestic) and have them slaughtered on the premises (or take them home)
to ensure the meat is fresh, can be found all over the world, notably throughout
California. The most famous live markets, of course, are in China. The
Southern Chinese have a long tradition of eating wild game, including civet
cats and snakes and turtles. People in the region believe eating wild animals
promotes health and vitality or some admirable trait associated with a
particular animal.
-
- But whether in Southern China or Chinatown in San Francisco,
live animal markets tend to share the same problems: Not only can they
sell diseased animals for human consumption, but they can perpetuate a
wide variety of animal cruelties, from inadequate housing to inhumane slaughtering.
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- The Conservation Threat
-
- The ever-growing demand for wildlife is creating serious
conservation concerns for many species. Turtles are perhaps the most dramatic
case: Nearly two tons of turtles are sold daily in Asian live animal markets.
The demand for turtles for use as food has decimated wild turtle populations
across China. In recent years, Asian dealers have turned to other countries,
in particular the United States, in order to meet the Asian appetite for
freshwater turtles.
-
- In 2002, 23,000 turtles were collected in North Carolina
alone, up from just 460 in 2000. The majority of these turtles were shipped
to Asian markets. In response to this growing demand, several states including
North Carolina, South Carolina and Minnesota enacted legislation to protect
wild freshwater turtles from over-collection for trade.
-
- But turtles are not the only animal whose wild populations
are at risk from live markets. An estimated 10,000 tons of snakes are eaten
in China every year. In recent years, the over-collection of snakes across
Asia has resulted in rodent population explosions in several areas, which
in turn have caused severe crop damage and economic losses for many farmers.
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- The most profound problem associated with wildlife consumption
in China has been the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS),
believed to have originated at live animal food markets in China's Guangdong
Province, where it may have passed from animals to humans working in food
preparation. SARS was first reported in Asia in February 2003. The illness
quickly spread across 30 countries in East Asia, North America, South America,
and Europe. Before being declared contained in July 2003, the SARS outbreak
claimed the lives of 813 people and caused 8, 347 cases human illness.
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- Chinese Live Animal Markets
-
- Animals at Chinese live markets are kept in deplorable,
over-crowded conditions. Mammals and birds are crammed in wire cages where
they can hardly move. Fish flail helplessly in a thin layer of filthy water.
Live turtles and frogs are kept crammed in crates where animals on the
bottom are frequently crushed by the weight of the animals above. None
of the animals are fed, watered, sheltered from the elements or, least
of all, have any opportunity to exercise due to severe overcrowding.
-
- As a result, market animals are frequently in seriously
compromised health because of these conditions. Animals taken from markets
have been found to be carrying Salmonella, E coli, Pasturella, Giardia,
and a variety of parasites.
-
- What's more, slaughter methods employed by shop merchants
show a complete disregard for the animals suffering or for maintaining
sanitary conditions. Frogs are frequently skinned alive; turtles have their
shells ripped from their backs and have their intestines removed while
conscious; live birds are placed in plastic bags for sale.
-
- Unsanitary and inhumane slaughter methods allow blood,
intestinal contents, feces and urine to contaminate the market environment.
Market alleys are periodically sprayed down with high-powered pressure
hoses to clear the streets of blood and excrement from slaughtered animals.
Health researchers believe that such practices create conditions conducive
to cross infection between animals and humans, as is the case with the
SARS virus.
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- The SARS Outbreak
-
- SARS is caused by an unknown member of the corona family
of viruses, which is responsible for the common cold. It is believed that
the most common route for SARS transmission between humans is by inhalation
of contaminated airborne respiratory droplets from the cough or sneeze
of an infected person, or by contact with surfaces contaminated by the
virus that is passed to mucous membranes of the mouth, eyes or nose.
-
- In May 2003, researchers announced that a corona virus,
one that's 99% similar to SARS in humans, was isolated from civet cats
and raccoon dogs taken from the live animal markets of Guangzhou City.
A study conducted in Guangdong also indicated that more than 30% of the
early SARS cases in Guangdong occurred among food handlers. That same month,
May 2003, authorities in Guangdong banned all trade in wildlife, cancelled
traveling animal shows; they also forced restaurants specializing in game
to surrender any live animals.
-
- In mid-August 2003, four months after suspending wildlife
sales, the China State Forestry Administrationóunder pressure from
wildlife merchantsóreauthorized the sale of 54 species of wildlife,
including the civet cat, provided that the animals were farm-raised. However,
in November 2003, wild-caught animals were still found at the live markets
in Guangzhou, including many reptiles, mammals, amphibians and birds in
severely over-crowded conditions.
-
- Nearly five months after the wildlife trade ban was lifted,
the Chinese government confirmed a new case of SARS on January 5, 2004óin
the Guangdong Province, where the first outbreak originated. The Chinese
government immediately responded by announcing a massive eradication of
the civet cats sold at markets and restaurants in Guangzhou City, even
though the SARS victim reportedly had never eaten civet cat.
-
- Wildlife markets were also shut down, and clean-up efforts
included restaurants and food outlets. The government aimed to kill 10,000
civet cats from live markets by, among other methods, drowning them in
vats of antiseptic solution and then incinerating their remains or boiling
the animals into vapor.
-
- The World Health Organization (WHO) expressed concern
about the eradication effort, saying that the hasty mass slaughter may
actually increase the likelihood of spreading any disease. WHO officials
also pointed out that although civet cats were found to carry a virus very
similar to the one in human SARS victims, there is no evidence to suggest
the cats are the original or only source of the disease. Researchers have
found a SARS-like virus in a wide range of birds, reptiles, and mammals
sold in markets and farms in south China. It is not yet known how the SARS
virus jumped from wildlife to humans.
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- Live Markets in the United States
-
- While the U.S. media report on the SARS epidemic and
the conditions of live animal markets in China, many similar markets exist
in Chinatowns across the United States, each with the same potential for
a zoonotic disease outbreak such as SARS.
-
- Live animal food markets exist throughout California,
especially in Los Angeles and San Francisco, as well as several large cities,
including New York. Each year, California markets sell hundreds of thousands
of turtles, frogs, fish, chickens, crustaceans, and many mammal species.
Conditions at U.S. live animal markets can be no better than those in China.
These markets have been the center of heated debates among market merchants,
animal welfare advocates, and health agencies for many years.
-
- To cite but one example: In an attempt to rescue animals
from the cruelty of live markets, animal advocates purchase live critters
(especially turtles and frogs) from the markets with the intention of releasing
them back to the wild. However, live market animals may be carrying diseases
that could be detrimental to local wildlife populations.
-
- What's more, many non-native species of turtles and frogs
are found for sale at the markets; if released into the wild, these imported
species will compete with native wildlife species for food and habitat,
thereby threatening their survival. For example, markets often feature
American bullfrogs that are commercially raised in Taiwan. When released
into the California ecosystem, these bullfrogs will eat native reptile
and amphibian species such as garter snakes, and smaller frogs, possibly
driving these species to extinction.
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- San Francisco's Live Markets
-
- The ongoing battle over live markets has centered on
San Francisco, home to the largest Chinatown in the United States. Attempts
by animal welfare groups to improve conditions at the markets, or shut
them down, have been met with charges of racism from the Asian-American
community. Asian merchants claim that eating wild animals is an important
tradition, and that attacking the live animal markets is an attack on Asian
culture.
-
- Animal protection groups respond that the racism charge
simply clouds the real issue of animal cruelty, and that live animal merchants
should be held accountable for violating animal cruelty laws and health
codes. They point out that California animal cruelty laws and health codes
are routinely violated at the markets. At the same, they charge that because
of the volatile political climate, local legislators and authorities are
not willing to enforce existing legislation, which protects market animals
from the inhumane conditions, cruel slaughter methods, and unsanitary environments
that create a public health threat.
-
- After market owners abandoned a voluntary agreement to
adopt more humane slaughter methods and improve living conditions for their
animals, animal advocate groups successfully pushed legislation. In 2000,
AB 2479 was signed into law; it allowed frogs, turtles and birds, which
make up the majority of animals sold at live markets, to be protected under
California animal cruelty statutes. The cruelty statute prohibits stores
from storing and displaying animals in ways likely to result in injury,
starvation, or suffocation. It also prohibits stores from skinning and
dismembering live animals.
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- It's a start. But only that.
-
- - Michelle Jacmenovic is a Research Associate in The
HSUS's Wildlife Advocacy Division.
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- Copyright © 2004 The Humane Society of the United
States. All rights reserved.
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- http://www.hsus.org/ace/20294
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