Environmental attorney Bryan Pease has sent the following cease and desist letters on behalf of the Animal Protection and Rescue League to entities killing and discarding chickens for Kapparot in Los Angeles and to LA city officials:

9/6/18 - KILLING AND DISCARDING CHICKENS FOR KAPPAROT IS A FELONY

9/11/18 - CEASE AND DESIST BASING ENFORCEMENT DECISIONS ON RELIGION

Current cases pending are:

Animal Protection and Rescue League v. City of Los Angeles
U.S. District Court Case No. 8:17-cv-01581-JLS-JDE
Ninth Circuit Case No. 18-55726
Appeal is pending on whether city providing police protection and carcass pickup for illegal killing and discarding of chickens constitutes an Establishment Clause violation

Animal Protection and Rescue League v. City of Los Angeles
Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. BS174454
Currently pending action seeking writ of mandate to require city to enforce neutral laws of general applicability against illegal killing and discarding of chickens for Kapparot
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Animal Protection and Rescue League v. Chabad of Irvine
Orange County Superior Court Case No. 30-2015-00809469
Court of Appeal Case No. G055229
Appeal is pending on issue of whether charging a fee to illegally kill and discard animals for Kapparot can be enjoined by private parties under the Unfair Business Practices statute

United Poultry Concerns v. Chabad of Irvine
U.S. District Court Case No. 8:16-cv-01810 AB GJSx
Ninth Circuit Case No. 17-55696
Appeal is pending on issue of whether charging a fee to illegally kill and discard animals for Kapparot can be enjoined by private parties under the Unfair Business Practices statute

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The 9/11/18 cease and desist letter originally sent to the deputy city attorney handling the pending state case was forwarded to the mayor, city council, city attorney and animal services on 9/13/18 with this email:

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Bryan Pease <bryanpease@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Sep 13, 2018 at 10:07 AM
Subject: Illegal killing/discarding animals for Kapparot
To: <mayor.garcetti@lacity.org>, <mike.n.feuer@lacity.org>, <councilmember.cedillo@lacity.org>, <councilmember.Krekorian@lacity.org>, <councilmember.blumenfield@lacity.org>, <david.ryu@lacity.org>, <paul.koretz@lacity.org>, <councilmember.martinez@lacity.org>, <Councilmember.Rodriguez@lacity.org>, <councilmember.harris-dawson@lacity.org>, <councilmember.price@lacity.org>, <councilmember.wesson@lacity.org>, <councilmember.bonin@lacity.org>, <councilmember.englander@lacity.org>, <councilmember.ofarrell@lacity.org>, <councilmember.huizar@lacity.org>, <councilmember.buscaino@lacity.org>, <mark.salazar@lacity.org>


Dear Mayor, City Attorney, City Council, and Animal Services:
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Please see attached cease and desist letter regarding LAPD's willful lack of enforcement of animal cruelty laws regarding the mass killing and discarding of chickens scheduled to take place again this weekend for Kapparot.

As detailed in the letter, Penal Code section 597(a) prohibits such killing and discarding of animals regardless of religious motivation. There is clear caselaw holding that the term "maliciously" in the statute means without legal justification and does not require ill-will. Unlike killing animals for food, which is specifically allowed by statute, killing animals to be discarded after a religious ritual is not permitted under any law and thus violates Section 597(a) as lacking any legal justification.

The US Supreme Court has held neutral laws of general applicability like Penal Code 597 to be fully enforceable against conduct motivated by religion. Yet, LAPD has been explicitly telling community members that they will not enforce the law due to religion.

This is unacceptable and must change. The people of Los Angeles deserve better than to have those entrusted to protect and serve them willfully turn a blind eye to spectacles of mass cruelty based on a gross misunderstanding and perversion of the First Amendment.

The City Council clearly would like to put a stop to killing and discarding animals for Kapparot, as evidenced by LAMC section 53.67, which specifically bans killing animals for religious purposes. While this local ordinance is likely unenforceable due to specifically targeting religion, there is no excuse for the executive branch refusing to enforce neutral state laws of general applicability that prohibit the same conduct regardless of religious intent.

Please advise if the City will begin enforcing neutral laws of general applicability such as Penal Code section 597 against mass killing and discarding of animals for Kapparot so that my clients, individuals and animal protection nonprofits, can drop their pending state and federal claims against the City. Thank you for your cooperation.

Regards,
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Bryan W. Pease
Attorney at Law (lic.: CA & NY)
3170 Fourth Ave., Suite 250
San Diego, CA 92103
Tel: 619-723-0369
‍www.bryanpease.com




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