A NEIGHBORHOOD WINDOW INTO THE HORRORS OF ANIMAL FARMING
By Rebecca Sunshine
I am sure that most of you who are reading this publication are animal lovers. And that you likely have had one or several experiences related to the inhumane treatment of animals that have left indelible images in your mind. My first came as a child who loved going to game farms and feeding and petting the deer. And then seeing a dead deer strapped to the roof of a car on the drive home. Another heart-sinking moment came as an adult when I passed a live animal market in the neighborhood where I worked.
PHOTO © DONNY MOSS – THEIR TURN
Did you know that in New York City alone there are about 80 of these markets? Species sold in these markets include chickens, ducks, guinea fowl, turkey, quail and rabbits. And although against regulations, sometimes goats, sheep and cows are sold. These animals are kept in cramped, overcrowded, and squalid conditions. The small animals are often stored in cages piled on top of each other where they defecate and urinate on the animals in cages below them. They are not fed or given water, and some are already sick and dying. The suffering continues until they are sold and slaughtered.
Unannounced visits to these markets and inspection reports attained through the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) show flagrant repeated violations. To list just a few: Cages were encrusted with feces and feathers; animals were seen cannibalizing each other; live animals were able to witness the kill area where other animals were being killed; garbage, stagnant water, animal parts and blood were found outside these markets attracting rats and mice; and noxious foul odors wafted into the adjacent neighborhood.
In 2020, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, with the backing of many animal welfare organizations and those in the medical field, a bill was introduced in NYS to prohibit these markets. Allowing these markets to operate in congested urban neighborhoods was seen as a risk that should not be taken.
In the four years since this bill was introduced there have been avian flu outbreaks in live markets in Brooklyn and Queens. Residents living in the neighborhoods where these markets exist continue to file complaints. Yet violations of unhealthful conditions and animal cruelty are not enforced, and these dangerous and inhumane markets continue to operate with impunity.
And of course, many of these horrors and more exist on much larger scales in factory farms and slaughterhouses throughout the country.
Speaking out against this cruelty and adhering
to and promoting a plant based diet may save the animals we see, and those suffering out of our sight.
Please contact me through Wildlife Watch and I will be happy to let you know how you can help to support the NYS LIVE ANIMAL MARKET BAN.