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        <title><![CDATA[Edie Falco calls on NYC to ban live animal markets amid coronavirus]]></title>
        <atom:link href="https://usagag.com/2020/04/10/edie-falco-calls-on-nyc-to-ban-live-animal-markets-amid-coronavirus/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
        <link>https://usagag.com/2020/04/10/edie-falco-calls-on-nyc-to-ban-live-animal-markets-amid-coronavirus/</link>
        <lastBuildDate>Fri, 10 Apr 2020 11:00:41 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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            <media:title type="html">Edie Falco calls on NYC to ban live animal markets amid coronavirus</media:title>
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        <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Edie Falco</strong> called on New York City to shut down all live animal markets and slaughterhouses amid the coronavirus pandemic.</p><p>The Brooklyn-born &#8220;Sopranos&#8221; actress and PETA representative sent a letter to Mayor Bill de Blasio Friday comparing the city&#8217;s live poultry shops to the wet markets of Wuhan, China, where experts believe the virus originated.</p><p>&#8220;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?&#8221; Falco wrote.</p><p>&#8220;That step could be pivotal in stopping other deadly viruses from ever jumping to humans.&#8221;</p><p>There are at least 80 live poultry markets and slaughterhouses peppered around the Big Apple, <strong>according to a map</strong> by animal-rights group Slaughter-Free NYC.</p><p>Several of them have already shuttered amid the statewide lockdown, but some remain open, a PETA spokeswoman said.</p><p>Along with her letter, Falco included <strong>a two-minute clip</strong> of footage from the factories and makeshift markets, showing chickens crammed in cages and animals being butchered in the streets.</p><p>Some of the shops are <strong>located near residences</strong>, schools or parks &#8220;where animal waste and animal blood can easily be picked up on shoes and tracked down sidewalks and into restaurants and homes,&#8221; she wrote.</p><p>&#8220;In some, animals are slaughtered on public streets and left to bleed out on the ground.&#8221;</p><p>The Emmy Award winner pointed to <strong>a New York Post story</strong> detailing the dangers posed by the markets, which are found around Asia and Africa.</p><p>&#8220;We need your decisive leadership on this life-or-death issue,&#8221; Falco implored the mayor.</p><p>&#8220;You are uniquely positioned to help stop future pandemics and set an example for other leaders by closing the city&#8217;s live-animal markets immediately.&#8221;</p><p><em>Additional reporting by Francesca Bacardi</em></p>]]></content:encoded>
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