Officials Shut Down Moscow’s Pet Market

Moscow’s pet market, where virtually any creature could be bought, was shut down by police.

The gates were welded tight, and officials said it was the definitive closure of the Stalin-era market, which had thrived on selling birds, reptiles and other animals to increasingly wealthy Russians with a taste for the exotic. The city said the market failed to meet sanitation standards.

Traders called the closure “a mockery,” but some residents welcomed it. “Kittens have their throats cut in our very stairwells, and our children are there to see all the blood,” said a man who gave his name as Anatoly.