“Fur and Feather” live animal market in Shelburne, Ontario, Canada in 2023. Photo: Ira Moon, We Animals Media
By Jessica Scott-Reid
Jessica is a Canadian writer, animal advocate and plant-based food expert. Her work appears regularly in media across Canada and the US.
Most North Americans likely hadn’t heard about live animal markets prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Then once the issue was on our radar, it seemed to be only a problem in places far away. Selling live animals to be slaughtered for food on the spot or later by consumers is not the norm in the West; we tend to prefer our animals butchered out of sight. But in Canada and the US, live animal markets do exist. And now, some experts, advocates and political leaders are sounding the alarm because these markets are a potential source of zoonotic disease with resulting risks for both animals and people.
Diseases that spread from animals to humans, also known as zoonotic diseases, account for roughly 60 percent of all known infectious diseases and 75 percent of new and emerging ones, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And yet live animal markets continue to be held all over the world, including in Canada and the US. For example, at least 130 live bird markets exist in the northeastern United States alone, with roughly 25 million birds passing through them every year, according to the The New York Times. And just this past spring, live animal markets were held in Ontario, Canada, where birds and other animals were sold to the public by breeders and brokers.
Between December 2021 and May 2023, avian influenza impacted millions of domestic birds and thousands of wild birds in Canada. When an outbreak happens at a farm, all the birds must be destroyed and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) uses taxpayer money to fund the mass killings. Despite the persistent threat of avian influenza across the country, live animal markets are still permitted.
Canadian animal law organization Animal Justice, issued a statement describing the scene at one of the markets in Ontario. “Sensitive birds were crammed into small, makeshift cages, and forced to endure the rain and noise as prospective buyers and their families crowded around their enclosures, haggling with sellers.” From footage obtained from the event, the group describes the animals’ enclosures as “old, filthy wire cages, while others were constructed out of cardboard boxes and chicken wire. Some were stacked on top of each other, letting excrement fall onto birds below,” and almost none of the animals appeared to have access to food or water. Even a peacock was seen “trapped in a small cardboard box with no ability to move, with a hole cut out of the back for his tail to stick out.”
Photojournalism outlet We Animals Media (WAM) was on the scene at these animal markets, held by various “Fur and Feather” chapters in Ontario. WAM photographer Ira Moon captured images of animals crammed together in tiny cages. “Provincial officials have allowed events like these to continue despite the persistent threat of avian influenza and visible animal welfare problems,” writes the group.
Live animal market in Oro-Medonte, Ontario, Canada in 2023. Photo: Ira Moon, We Animals Media
Since December 2021, at least 7.2 million domestic birds have been impacted by avian flu across Canada. Animal Justice has since filed a complaint about one of the markets to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), citing “animals are packed into tiny enclosures, often stacked on top of each other in filthy conditions, creating the perfect breeding grounds for disease and risking public health.” Thus far, the group has not received a response.
During the deadliest avian flu outbreak in US history, more than 58 million birds have died as of February 2023. Graphic: US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
But beyond these problematic markets, there are also varying degrees of risk to human health associated with the myriad ways we hold animals captive all across North America. A new report from Harvard Law School and New York University reveals that places like factory farms, petting zoos, fur farms, the exotic pet trade, dog breeding facilities, and even backyard chickens all come with potentially high risk. “Moreover, the nation [US] ‘has no comprehensive strategy’ to mitigate the dangers posed by these practices, many of which operate with little regulation and out of public view,” states The New York Times. Ann Linder, the report’s lead author and an associate director at Harvard’s animal law and policy program, said in the article, “The risk is staggering, because our use of animals is staggering … And we don’t even really understand where that risk is.”
In an effort to minimize these risks in Canada, and to better prepare the country for potential zoonotic disease outbreaks, Ontario Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith has introduced Bill C-293, the Pandemic Prevention and Preparedness Act. The bill takes a One Health approach, which recognizes that “human health, animal health, and environmental health are all deeply interconnected,” as he explained to PFN last year, adding that if we don’t take that seriously, “we are going to see pandemics in the future in a way that we really ought not to.”
“Fur and Feather” live animal market in Shelburne, Ontario, Canada in 2023. Photo: Ira Moon, We Animals Media
Regarding the live animal markets held in Ontario, Erskine-Smith says, “There are significant pandemic risks to live animal markets and intensive animal agriculture. Countries should put strict regulations in place to reduce that risk, and phase out activities that involve high-risk species and pose a disproportionate risk as a result.” He adds that Bill C-293 is currently before the Health committee. “I expect the committee to complete its study this fall, at which point it would return to the House for a vote at 3rd reading.”
As Dr. Suresh Kuchipudi, an expert on zoonotic disease at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, also told The New York Times, the Harvard and NYU report “should change the narrative” that spillover is a “foreign” problem.
Indeed, it could very well happen in our own backyard; another live animal market is scheduled in Ontario this fall.
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