According to investigative authors Michael Helquist and Rick Osmon, writing in Coming Up! in 1984, Animals Bathhouse was known primarily as a bathhouse for fisting. In AIDS prevention literature, aka safe sex guidelines, the Bay Area Physicians for Human Rights and the San Francisco AIDS Foundation listed fisting as an unsafe sex practice. In 1986, Superior Court Judge Roy Wonder revoked the hotel license of Animals because: the private rooms are not being used for lodging ... but for unsafe sexual activity. Animals closed down.
John Mehring
San Francisco
Betcher's lover was Russell Culver, co-owner of Animals. This is from the book, And the Band Played On: At a community meeting on AIDS in May 1983, called by Supervisor Harry Britt's office et al., the owners of Animals handed out a flyer stating, We do not intend to be singled out, subjected to an inquisition-like atmosphere. We find no evidence either from the medical community or health department which indicates that bathhouses are either the source of or a primary contributing factor to the AIDS threat.
Adrian Heath
Britain
Yes and they were proven wrong about that for sure. The bath house's were a huge vector for hiv infection. To deny it is sheer folly.
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