S.F. board votes to ban wild, exotic animal performances in city

[KamaAina]

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/SF-Supervisors-vote-to-ban-animal-performances-in-6200216.php

If the circus is coming to town, that town won’t be San Francisco under a new regulation that would ban all performances by wild and exotic animals in the city.

The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday for the ordinance proposed by Supervisor Katy Tang, which is designed, according to the measure, to “protect wild and exotic animals from cruel and inhumane treatment and to protect the public from the danger posed by the use of wild and exotic animals for entertainment.”...

The ban affects just about any animal but domestic cats, dogs and horses and livestock like cattle, sheep, pigs and goats. Not only would lions and tigers and bears be barred from local performances, but so would elephants, sea lions, ferrets, dolphins and even ostriches and emus.

The ban, which includes movie and television work, doesn’t sit well with the entertainment industry. A letter Monday from the Motion Picture Association of America argued that the ordinance would prevent animals from working in movies filmed in San Francisco, even if the shows had proper permits and animal handlers approved by the federal government. The group urged the city to exempt the industry.

Peachy keen, except for one minor detail: The only venue large enough to host the circus is the Cow Palace, which is just across the line in Daly City.

[Auggie]

1. This is great, but aren't there bigger fish to fry?

[KamaAina]

2. Well, they already banned public nudity

[Auggie]

3. I hear chewing tobacco is next

[KamaAina]

4. Only at AT&T

That could, however, prove to be a home-field advantage for the Lads, as opposing hitters throw nic fits at the plate.

[Auggie]

5. Every playing field in San Francisco:

A huge wad of chewing tobacco stuffed into a player’s cheek has long been an unofficial symbol of baseball, but a proposed city measure would ban its use at every playing field in San Francisco, including AT&T Park.

The first-in-the-nation measure will be introduced at next week’s Board of Supervisors meeting by Supervisor Mark Farrell, who said it was aimed specifically at baseball. A similar statewide measure was slated to be introduced in Sacramento on Wednesday by Richmond Assemblyman Tony Thurmond.

SNIP

The statewide bill covers just about every baseball game or practice that takes place anywhere outside someone’s backyard. It bans all tobacco products, including smokeless tobacco and electronic cigarettes, wherever organized baseball is played. That would include the state’s five major-league stadiums, minor-league parks, college and high school fields and anywhere a game is “played in connection with an established league or other association of persons.”

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/S-F-supervisor-proposes-ban-of-tobacco-at-all-6099587.php

[Cleita]

6. Is that why Sea World is running all those ads claiming how wonderful the

whales lives are as compared to the wilds of the ocean and just how much they LUV the whales?

[KamaAina]

7. Yup.

Well, not this law in particular -- there is no Sea World in SF -- but they're definitely feeling the heat!