San Francisco is the reason Californians have a reputation for being more than a little nuts. Last time I wrote, a group was trying to get enough signatures for an initiative to ban circumcision in the city. But at least that was an independent group not a governmental agency. This time, the Commission on Animal Control and Welfare is trying to ban the sale of ALL animals as pets. Yes, all. No longer could you buy fish, hamsters, snakes, lizards, gerbils, birds, or any other animal as a pet. Originally meant to prevent pet stores from selling puppies from "puppy mills" this august body went hog wild and decided animals should not be kept as pets.
This ordinance would not be put to a vote but would be voted in or out by the Board of Supervisors. According to one commissioner, we in the Western world violate animals' rights and have no respect for their feelings. Feelings? Anthropomorphize is a word they should learn. Have you seen the size of snake's head? How much sentient brain matter can be in there? That's why our most basic instincts are said to come from our reptilian brain. I certainly don't advocate animal cruelty, I believe most animals should be left in the wild especially birds. However, I don't run the world and castigating western culture for animal cruelty is really ignorant. Maybe this person should travel to Japan where animals are filleted live at the table for diners. But I digress. The only live animals for sale in S.F. would be the ones sold for food. So you could go to Chinatown and buy a live chicken provided you were going to kill it and eat it. You could buy a turtle or a fish as long it was dinner. You could not buy it to take home and put it in a tank to enjoy watching it or have it lay eggs for your omelet.
Yes we are such terrible people here in the West that the pet supplies industry is worth billions. So terrible that hopelessly sentimental ads for pet adoptions run on TV all the time. So awful are we that rescue organizations exist for unwanted pets. Pets sleep in our beds, eat from our tables and shop in Bloomies. Give me a break San Francisco.
Save your sympathy for the sentient beings who are mistreated, neglected, and abused in your city for they are many.
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