The San Francisco Board of Supervisors might ban sales of all pets, including fish, reptiles, rats, birds, dogs and cats. Selling live animals to kill and eat would still be legal. Naturally.

The city's animal shelter supports the ban, saying it is flooded with small animals like hamsters and goldfish that usually have to be euthanized. The head of the local SCPA is also a supporter, saying birds and fish are often sourced in a cruel manner before they even reach pet shops. And the SF Commission of Animal Control and Welfare, which voted to recommend the ban, is even more staunch in its support:

"Why fish? Why not fish?" said [commissioner] Philip Gerrie... "From Descartes on up, in the Western mindset, fish and other nonhuman animals don't have feelings, they don't have emotions, we can do whatever we want to them. If we considered them living beings, we would deal with them differently.

Hopefully the people who continue to buy turtles, chicken and fish from San Francisco's perfectly legal live meat markets will keep that in mind when slaughtering their dinner!

[LAT, image via AP]