Open-Air Sales: Cute And Cuddly Or Costly And Unsafe?

Baby alpacas, litters of kittens, squealing pot-bellied pigs, calves and ponies, hundreds of rabbits, geese, ducks, chickens and parakeets, ferrets and hundreds of puppies are up for sale, hauled to town by people eager to make some cash.

The acres of animals are a significant feature of the decades-old, four-days-a-month flea market known as First Monday Trade Days, a dizzying array of 7,000 vendors that draws as many as 500,000 shoppers. The event is so popular that it has already pumped more than $1 million in tax revenue into the coffers of this town of 5,000 this year and sometimes causes gridlock at the I-25 exit less than 5 miles away, says First Monday operations supervisor Linda Hatfield.

Bargain hunters regard the tree-studded section of the First Monday spread known as Dog Alley - though scores of other species are also sold there - as a dream-come-true assemblage of furred and feathered options. But others increasingly regard such an animal bazaar as a throwback that contributes to pet overpopulation, encourages impulse-buying and costs local governments millions for picking up and sheltering discarded animals.