United States-Objections to slaughterhouse.

UNITED STATES-OBJECTIONS TO SLAUGHTERHOUSE.

About a dozen people showed up Monday in front of City Hall to protest plans for a slaughterhouse at William and Babcock streets.

It was an unusual coalition that included the owner of a Subway sandwich shop, vegetarians, animal rights advocates, environmentalists and a couple of Hare Krishnas.

"It’s going right behind my business, and we’ve got some concerns," said Bobby Horton, owner of a Subway franchise at 1285 William St.

He fears that having a slaughterhouse nearby would repel potential patrons of his restaurant. The owners of the proposed slaughterhouse -- Mustasa Jaarah and his father, Yousef, of Brooklyn -- plan to butcher poultry, goats, lambs, rabbits and calves on the site that, essentially, would be under the same roof as Horton’s sandwich shop.

"There are issues with diseases. There’s going to be an increase in flies, rodents, field mice," Horton said.

Tracy Murphy, founder of the Buffalo Vegetarian Society, expressed concerns that having a slaughterhouse in an urban environment would promote disease.

"Live animal markets are known to spread diseases, such as avian flu, [hoof]-and-mouth disease," Murphy said.

She joined other protesters, many who carried signs that read: "Will our city approve the killing of baby calves and lambs?" and "If slaughterhouses had windows, the whole world would be vegetarians."

The owners of the proposed slaughterhouse have argued that there is not another in the region that butchers in a Muslim tradition known as Halal, which includes a prayer as the animals are killed. They also have said that they have operated a slaughterhouse in Brooklyn for 15 years without any complaints from neighbors.

Still, Horton said, a petition in opposition to the slaughterhouse is being circulated and will be forwarded to the City Council, which is expected to vote on whether to approve a license for the business. City zoning officials have given the green light to the project.