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Edie Falco called on New York City to shut down all live animal markets and slaughterhouses amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Brooklyn-born “Sopranos” actress and PETA representative sent a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio Friday comparing the city’s live poultry shops to the wet markets of Wuhan, China, where experts believe the virus originated. …
Edie Falco called on New York City to shut down all live animal markets and slaughterhouses amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The Brooklyn-born “Sopranos” actress and PETA representative sent a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio Friday comparing the city’s live poultry shops to the wet markets of Wuhan, China, where experts believe the virus originated.
“As a New Yorker and an honorary PETA director, may I urge you to take whatever action is necessary to effect the immediate and permanent closure of all live-animal markets in our city?” Falco wrote.
“That step could be pivotal in stopping other deadly viruses from ever jumping to humans.”
There are at least 80 live poultry markets and slaughterhouses peppered around the Big Apple, according to a map by animal-rights group Slaughter-Free NYC.
Several of them have already shuttered amid the statewide lockdown, but some remain open, a PETA spokeswoman said.
Along with her letter, Falco included a two-minute clip of footage from the factories and makeshift markets, showing chickens crammed in cages and animals being butchered in the streets.
Some of the shops are located near residences, schools or parks “where animal waste and animal blood can easily be picked up on shoes and tracked down sidewalks and into restaurants and homes,” she wrote.
“In some, animals are slaughtered on public streets and left to bleed out on the ground.”
The Emmy Award winner pointed to a New York Post story detailing the dangers posed by the markets, which are found around Asia and Africa.
“We need your decisive leadership on this life-or-death issue,” Falco implored the mayor.
“You are uniquely positioned to help stop future pandemics and set an example for other leaders by closing the city’s live-animal markets immediately.”
Additional reporting by Francesca Bacardi
