DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — NBC4 has a story (with images and video) online today about illegal animal sales Downtown.

But there's also a big business illegal going on in selling live animals on the street. Parakeets by the thousand have been sold this year, reported Kriegel. Little iguanas that will grow to be five feet long are sold. Also for sale are small turtles, which can give children salmonella.

"It is against the law to sell animals on the streets," one police officer told NBC4. "You have to have a pet shop to sell these types of animals. Permits are required."

I'm sure anyone who has walked around the Fashion or Toy districts has seen these types of sales going on. The article mentions that Animal Control wants to make street purchases illegal, not just the selling. It would be interesting to see if that would create enough of a deterrent from purchasing to cut down on the supply.

It would be nice if this issue were taken as seriously as the DVD pirates.