This week San Francisco felt the effects of California policies that have San Francisco’s Asian community up in arms.
On Thursday the San Francisco Chronicle reported on a new state ban on the importation of live turtles and frogs for sale as food. The California Fish and Game Commission adopted the ban last month to prevent people from freeing non-native species into the state’s sensitive habitats. The sanction faces opposition in San Francisco from Asian American politicians and merchants, as it targets Chinese businesses that sell those animals.
In response to the statewide ban, the Chronicle reported that Assemblywoman Fiona Ma said, “These minority markets have had this practice for hundreds of years, and all of a sudden the commission comes up with this policy — I understand the non-native species concern, but they don’t ban the importation of fish and frogs at pet stores.”
