Will 'Wet Markets' Be Bled Dry By LA City Council?

Last month, the Los Angeles City Council passed a motion, proposed in the wake of COVID-19 by councilmembers Bob Blumenfield and Paul Koretz, that could signal the beginning of the end for live animal markets, also known as "wet markets."

On its face, the motion is about two things: disease prevention and animal cruelty -- although there are no known COVID-19 cases attributable to wet markets, and in-house slaughtering isn't necessarily more cruel than what occurs at industrial slaughterhouses.

For the handful of live-animal market owners and employees in L.A., the motion is a threat to their livelihoods. For wet-market shoppers — who are mostly people of color — it could change the way they buy, cook and eat.

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• LA's 'Wet Markets' Could Be On The Chopping Block

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