For Immediate Release: April 16, 2013

(Kissimmee, FL) — On Tuesday, April 16 the Kissimmee City Commission will consider an ordinance to prohibit the public slaughter of animals. The proposed ordinance is in response to citizen complaints about the butchering of wild pigs and other hunted animals in public view. The Animal Rights Foundation of Florida (ARFF) has sent a letter to commissioners urging them to reject the ordinance.

“The killing and butchering of an animal– whether the unfortunate animal is a wild pig, deer, cow or a chicken– is horrible to witness, but that is exactly why it shouldn’t be hidden behind the walls of a slaughterhouse,” said ARFF Communications Director Don Anthony. “We urge the City of Kissimmee to either reject the proposed ban on the public slaughter of animals, or ban slaughter completely in the city.”

Paul McCartney famously said, “If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian.” Although that is an exaggeration, it is true that animal slaughter in plain sight, along with the cries of animals and the smell of blood, would be a powerful reminder of the individual animals behind the meat on people’s plates.

For animal advocates working for a future without slaughterhouses, that day might come faster if it was impossible for meat eaters to hide from the slaughterhouse.

*ARFF’s letter to the city commission is available upon request

# # #