San Francisco Chinatown “wet markets” under scrutiny for alleged animal cruelty

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An activist organization claimed that their concerns regarding purported infractions at “wet markets” in San Francisco have gone unanswered. The Chinese community, meanwhile, asserted that the marketplaces have historical roots.

Scott David is getting ready for a new kind of assignment in a bland motel room on the outskirts of Chinatown.

He meticulously puts on his disguise while standing in front of a mirror. He wants to visit a market in San Francisco that is well-known for its fresh food—possibly too fresh.

“It’s extremely important to blend into your surroundings,” he stated.

Using a concealed camera, David, an undercover investigator, records what his advocacy group Animal Outlook describes as cruel conditions in California’s so-called “wet markets.”

“Wet markets are typically markets where they keep live animals,” he stated. “In reality, the markets are where the animals are killed. In actuality, live animals cannot be brought home. Right there, they must kill the animals.

According to the animal advocacy group, a delivery worker throws live fish into a waterless trash can even before he enters a single store, which is inhumane and a sign of the alleged mistreatment occurring in these markets.

Some live crabs are thrown into a cardboard box on the floor, while others are packed so closely together inside a tank that they are immobile. Frogs and turtles are disposed of in plastic containers. Workers ignore a turtle that has flopped on its back for hours.

“Cramped conditions for animals can lead to a lot of transitions of diseases between other species and eventually through people,” David stated.

Wet markets have historical roots, according to Chinatown community leaders.

According to David Luu, president of the San Francisco Chinese Chamber of Commerce, “it just put the community in a bad light.”

“They can reach out to us and identify what they think is inhume so that we can work with our merchants and our businesses and say, ‘Hey, let us help’ rather than coming in and start attacking our businesses,” Luu said.

According to Animal Outlook, it’s about abiding by the law.

“The truth is that these kinds of circumstances are causing these animals to suffer. “They’re not required to be,” David stated.

Video captured at markets throughout the city last fall and previous investigations are said to depict terrible images of illegal conduct, such as frogs being decapitated while alive and turtles being sliced apart while their legs are still twitching.

California law mandates that animals must be slaughtered humanely, which means that they must be rendered unconscious or painless prior to their demise.

However, Animal Outlook claims to have only issued one citation in spite of documenting these problems since 2022.

San Francisco Animal Care and Control claimed in a statement that “SFACC can only act on what we see, even though the allegations are shocking,” yet they declined to be interviewed for this story. Videos cannot be used as citations. Using the resources at our disposal, our animal control officers address constituent complaints and concerns as soon as possible.

More needs to be done, according to Michael Angelo Torres, chairman of the San Francisco Animal Commission, which counsels municipal officials on matters pertaining to animal care.

“We can have more enforcement visits, we can cite the perpetrators of these crimes, and I believe we can bring awareness to the community,” he stated.