Inspectors from the Los Angeles County Health Department reportedly visited the Metro Supermarket in Temple City, CA, on Tuesday after being informed that the store was selling raccoons as food.
Store employees indicated they had entire frozen and bagged raccoons selling for $9.99 per pound. Raccoon is considered a delicacy in China, they said, adding that they have been selling raccoons for years without any previous problems. A customer at the market had filmed the frozen raccoons on her cell phone and shared the video via social media. “The way it’s packaged in the store, it’s so real, and it’s so fresh, and you don’t see chickens with their feathers and blood all over them, and their expression, with their tongue hanging out,” Christina Dow said. She also contacted the county health department, where officials said that selling raccoons as food may be perfectly legal, depending on where the meat came from. Indications on Thursday were that the animals were sourced from a wholesaler who got them from Florida. Even though raccoon are considered game animals in California, they may still be legal to sell as food depending on whether they came from an “approved source” such as a licensed trapper. Since the health department’s visit, the market in Temple City has reportedly stopped selling the frozen raccoons, at least until the matter is reviewed and the legality determined. According to media reports, there wasn’t much consumer demand for the animals.
