San Francisco’s Cruelty: Animal Outlook’s Fight to End Live Market Horror
Animal Outlook uncovers shocking cruelty in San Francisco’s live animal markets as authorities fail to enforce the law
Los Angeles, February 15th, 2025 — San Francisco is known for its progressive values, but a disturbing reality is unfolding in its live animal markets. Animal Outlook, a nonprofit organization dedicated to exposing animal cruelty, has conducted two undercover investigations — one in 2022 and another in October of 2024 — revealing what it calls “widespread abuse” that violates California’s animal cruelty laws. The evidence, captured on video, is nothing short of horrifying: turtles and frogs being cut open while still alive, suffocated in plastic bags, and bludgeoned with mallets in plain view of shoppers. California law mandates that animals must be rendered unconscious or insensible to pain before being slaughtered, yet these practices continue unchecked. Animal Outlook’s Executive Director, Ben Williamson, gave UnchainedTV’s Jane Velez-Mitchell the latest on what has become a San Francisco scandal.
Authorities Refuse to Act Despite Clear Evidence
Ben Williamson has over a decade of experience working for several of the world’s largest animal protection organizations. Originally from London, Ben began his animal advocacy career in 2012 in the press office at PETA UK, where he broke numerous stories and conducted undercover investigations, including revealing the late Queen Elizabeth’s involvement in cross-channel pigeon racing. His journey with PETA continued as he moved to Los Angeles to serve as the organization’s Senior International Media Director. Before joining Animal Outlook as Executive Director in September 2024, Williamson also worked for World Animal Protection in New York City, and Compassion in World Farming USA in 2021 as Executive Director.
Despite presenting their findings about the markets to San Francisco Animal Care and Control (SFACC), Animal Outlook says enforcement efforts have been lackluster at best. After their first investigation, SFACC reportedly issued only one citation—for a turtle being cut open alive. However, since then, law enforcement has failed to take further action, claiming they are powerless to do so.
SFACC issued a statement saying, “While the allegations are shocking, San Francisco Animal Care and Control can only act on what we see. We cannot cite based on videos.” Animal Outlook strongly refutes this, arguing that California law allows for citations based on video evidence and also noting that the cruelty at live markets often happens right in the open as customers wait for an animal to be slaughtered on the spot. Williamson’s career in public relations has served him well in this case as this investigation has garnered massive news coverage in San Francisco media.
Watch Another Investigation Animal Outlook Conducted into a California Chicken Farm
The Larger Issue: Animal Cruelty Seen as a Low Priority
One of the biggest obstacles to stopping this abuse, according to Williamson, is the perception that turtles, frogs, and fishes do not deserve the same legal protection as dogs and cats. A representative of Animal Care and Control said as much when she publicly commented that, “Courts are backed up with serious felonies and violent crimes, so these are not always seen as a priority.” Williamson says suffering is suffering and should not be allowed to be inflicted with impunity, in violation of the law, no matter what the species.
“These animals are overlooked by society. This would never happen if it was humans, right? If we had documented reliable evidence of this kind of thing happening to humans, you can guarantee that doors would be kicked down and people would be going to jail for this… The case law is quite clear in that you can issue citations for footage involved in traffic law violations. You can do that for this as well. Neither the US Constitution, the California Constitution, nor the California Penal Code prevents the ACC (Animal Care and Control) from issuing citations based on third-party video evidence.”
Coast to Coast Cruelty
Similar battles are happening across the country. In New York City, activists have long protested live markets, which they say are not only cruel but also pose serious public health risks, serving as potential breeding grounds for zoonotic diseases like bird flu.
Watch “The Fight To Ban Live Animal Markets”
Why This Matters Beyond Animal Welfare
The fight against live animal markets isn’t just about protecting animals, but also about preventing the next public health crisis. Scientists warn that crowded, unsanitary live markets can create the perfect storm for pandemics.
Despite mounting evidence and public outcry, authorities remain hesitant to act. Animal rights groups argue that the reluctance to enforce existing animal cruelty laws only emboldens industries that profit from suffering — whether in live markets or animal factory farms.
Animal Outlook is urging the public to demand action. “The more pressure we put on them, the harder it will be for them to ignore these crimes.” Animal Outlook suggests contacting local officials to demand enforcement of animal cruelty laws, joining Animal Outlook’s team by becoming a monthly donor and, of course, not eating animals of any kind.
We invite at any time the agencies and traders involved in this story to respond.
“Not only does Animal Care and Control have the right to enforce the animal cruelty law, which in California is pretty good, but they also have an obligation to do so, because it’s certainly not up to the police.”— Ben Williamson, Animal Outlook
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