For Immediate Release; August 12, 2020
Contact: Edita Birnkrant, [email protected]; 917.940.2725
NYCLASS CALLS FOR SHUT DOWN OF OVER 80 LIVE SLAUGHTER MARKETS DANGEROUSLY OPERATING IN NYC AFTER GOV CUOMO SIGNS INTO LAW MORATORIUM BILL ON NEW LIVE SLAUGHTER MARKETS.
VIDEO SHOWS BLOOD, FECES, BODY PARTS ON PUBLIC STREETS OUTSIDE QUEENS SLAUGHTER MARKET
New York - Governor Andrew Cuomo signed legislation (S6252/A8009) into law Monday extending the existing four-year moratorium on new live poultry markets and slaughterhouses in New York City being licensed and said it will "protect public health and quality of life, which is more important now than ever," but over 80 live animal slaughter markets continue to operate in New York City, many in densely populated neighborhoods and pose critical public health risks, as video footage taken by NYCLASS shows.
Video footage taken yesterday by NYCLASS outside of a live-animal slaughter market in Jamaica, Queens, shows blood, feces and animal filth covering the public streets, a common occurrence at NYC live slaughter markets which creates a serious health hazard to everyone who lives in the area or works at or visits the market. Footage from this same market at an earlier date shows a dumpster left out on the public street after they were closed, filled with rotting chicken bodies and streaming blood and filth into the street and nearby sewer.
NYCLASS is urging an immediate shutdown of the over 80 live-slaughter markets operating right now, all of which pose public health hazards to New Yorkers in this heightened environment of a global pandemic health crisis created by a zoonotic disease.
NY Bill # A.10399/S.8291, sponsored by Assemblymember Linda Rosenthan and Senator Luis Sepulveda would do exactly that and would set up a task force to investigate the health risks posed by these markets and would research if they could operate in a safer way.
NYCLASS Executive Director Edita Birnkrant said "We cannot allow over 80 live-animal slaughter markets to continue operating within New York City neighborhoods, during the pandemic, while posing significant health hazards to residents, customers and workers, selling sick and diseased animals caged in filthy, inhumane, overcrowded conditions. These conditions are breeding grounds for infectious diseases.
Feces, blood and body parts regularly litter the public streets in front of these markets, which are often just steps away from homes, playgrounds, schools and other businesses, and in fact we documented exactly those conditions yesterday in Queens, the day after Cuome signed the moratorium into law on new slaughter markets Ample footage exists from many other markets throughout New York showing that this is an alarming pattern. Why should people who live and work in these neighborhoods be subjected to these hazards every day? People just walking down the street have to contend with blood and feces on the contaminated sidewalks, which can then be tracked into subways, buses, homes, schools. Residents who live right next door to these slaughterhouses have told us that the smell is unbearable, and the filth and hazardous conditions severely impact their quality of life. The conditions and mistreatment of the animals at these live slaughter markets is also horrific, as documentation shows.
These slaughter markets are poorly regulated, have a pattern of serious health and sanitation violations and are breeding grounds for diseases and new virus outbreaks, according to health experts. We commend Governor Cuomo for extending the moratorium on new live slaughter markets, but we must pass into law NY Bill A.10399/S.8291, sponsored by state Assemblymember Linda Rosenthan and state Senator Luis Sepulveda, which would immediately shut down the NY slaughter markets operating right now, to protect public health and prevent the likelihood of future pandemics these markets may pose. We urge the NY State legislature and Governor to take swift action to address this clear and present danger to all New Yorkers."
Dr. Barnard, President of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine said, “Avoiding future pandemics like the COVID-19 global crisis requires a total ban on live markets, including 80 in New York City alone,” says Neal Barnard, MD, FACC. “Poultry flocks are breeding grounds for influenza A viruses, and live animal markets are the source of coronavirus.”Zoonotic diseases originate in animals and are easily transmittable to humans who come into contact with infected animals, their bodily fluids or surfaces that those animals have touched. Many animals who appear otherwise healthy can be carriers of various zoonotic diseases. According to the Centers for Disease Control, zoonotic diseases are quite common worldwide, and scientists estimate that three out of every four new or emerging diseases in people come from animals.
LINK TO YESTERDAY'S VIDEO FOOTAGE https://twitter.com/nyclass/status/1293285017704181760?s=20
EARLIER FOOTAGE: https://twitter.com/nyclass/status/1293232051475406850?s=20
FOOTAGE OF HORRIFIC CONDITIONS AND TREATMENT OF CHICKENS AT A BRONX ANIMAL SLAUGHTER MARKET:
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NYCLASS (New Yorkers for Clean, Livable, and Safe Streets) is a a 501(c)(4) non-profit animal rights organization founded in 2008 on the core mission of saving NYC carriage horses, enacting animal rights legislation into law, and electing pro-animal candidates to office. NYCLASS is committed to changing the world for animals and seeks to create a truly humane society for all by passing New York City and State legislation, embracing grassroots efforts and on the street activism to educate and activate the public.
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