While crackdowns on counterfeit clothes and DVDs get more attention, Ed Fuentes reports at Blogdowntown that "the Fashion District's illegal animal trade continues unabated." The photo is by Fuentes.

According to a report by the City Attorney's office, many of the small animals found in the Fashion District, most near Santee Alley, are bred in rural animal farms as far away as Temecula. They are then transported to Los Angeles to be stored near Downtown, waiting to sold by vendors who are closely monitored by what could be referred to as pet cartels.

"We have been working with LAPD and Animal Services, trying to remove illegal sales since 1999," said Lynn Myers, General Manager of the Fashion District Business Improvement District. "It's cruel treatment of animals." Often conditions keep the animals near death, Meyers added.