China Declares “Immediate” Ban on Wildlife Trade Amid Coronavirus Concerns
Nearly 20,000 wildlife farms have shut down under the “monumental” ban.
China’s top legislative committee has approved a ban on the trade and consumption of wildlife in what campaigners have hailed as a “monumental” decision.
The spread of the deadly coronavirus Covid-19 has been linked to the consumption of wild animals.
Now state television in China have reported that the government’s new proposal is “prohibiting the illegal wildlife trade, abolishing the bad habit of overconsumption of wildlife, and effectively protecting the lives and health of the people”.
Already, the ban has revealed the huge scale of China’s “secretive” wildlife farm industry.
Whilst specific details are limited, nearly 20,000 wildlife farms have now been shut down, according to The Guardian. Local Chinese press have reported that among the animals bred on these wildlife farms, are “civet cats, bamboo rats, ostriches, wild boar, sika deer, foxes, ostriches, blue peacocks, turkeys, quails, guinea fowl, wild geese, mallard ducks, red-billed geese, pigeons, and ring-necked pheasants.” Accordingly, this huge trade was valued at £57bn in 2017.
Animal campaigners have welcomed the decision:
"China's wildlife trade has decimated populations of certain wild animals within the country and in other nations, and this is its most monumental announcement concerning animal welfare since it banned ivory in 2017,” said Alexia Wellbelove HSI's Senior Campaign Manager. "And it couldn't have come sooner: the coronavirus outbreak, believed to have originated at a live animal market in the city of Wuhan, is spreading to other countries.”
"HSI looks forward to China's Wildlife Protection Law being revised to make the ban permanent. We also hope the ban will be extended to include the trade in wildlife for medicinal and decorative purposes. In order to prevent businesses that breed wildlife for consumption and other trade from carrying on their activities underground, China should also act to help these businesses transition to alternative livelihoods,” concluded Ms Wellbelove.
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