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The novel coronavirus originated in a live-animal market in China and is spreading rapidly in the U.S., where such markets also exist. At these places, animals are caged and killed, putting public health at risk.
Join PETA and Slaughter Free Chicago in urging Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to shutter the city's live-animal markets immediately.
Live-animal markets are blood-soaked slaughterhouses where members of the public can purchase live animals, such as chickens and rabbits, who are then slaughtered while the customer waits.
There are nearly a dozen operational live markets and slaughterhouses in Chicago, many of which are near schools, parks, and residences. In the city, animals have been documented crammed into small, filthy cages. At one store, turkeys were packed into a hallway with no room to move at all.
Not only are these markets cruel to animals and hazardous to human health, many are also operating illegally, since they break a Chicago zoning ordinance that forbids the slaughter of "poultry" birds within 200 feet of any other place or structure. Feces and blood from live-animal markets can easily be tracked down sidewalks and into restaurants and homes.
Just as we don't want to be infected with or die from COVID-19, other animals don't want to suffer or be killed for food. A hen, for example, just wants to be left in peace so that she can teach calls to her chicks before they hatch (much like how a human mother talks to her baby in the womb) and teach her young the ways of the world once they're born.
Please fill out the form below to take action to help shut down Chicago's cruel and dangerous live-animal markets.