SHENZHEN, China: The Chinese city of Shenzhen has banned the eating of dogs and cats as part of a wider clampdown on the wildlife trade since the emergence of the new coronavirus.
Scientists suspect the coronavirus passed to humans from animals. Some of the earliest infections were found in people who had exposure to a wildlife market in the central city of Wuhan, where bats, snakes, civets and other animals were sold.
The disease has infected more than 935,000 people around the world and killed some 47,000 of them.
Authorities in the southern Chinese technology hub said the ban on eating dogs and cats would come into force on May 1.
“Dogs and cats as pets have established a much closer relationship with humans than all other animals, and banning the consumption of dogs and cats and other pets is a common practice in developed countries and in Hong Kong and Taiwan,” the city government said in an order posted on Wednesday.
“This ban also responds to the demand and spirit of human civilisation.”
China’s top legislature said in late February it was banning the trade and consumption of wild animals.
Provincial and city governments across the country have been moving to enforce the ruling but Shenzhen has been the most explicit about extending that ban to dogs and cats.
Dogs, in particular, are eaten in several parts of Asia.
Liu Jianping, an official with the Shenzhen Center for Disease Prevention and Control, said that the poultry, livestock and seafood available to consumers were sufficient.
“There is no evidence showing that wildlife is more nutritious than poultry and livestock,” Liu was quoted as saying by the state-owned media Shenzhen Daily.
Shenzhen’s initial rules, first proposed in late February, appeared to ban the consumption of turtles and frogs – both common dishes in China’s south.
But the city government acknowledged this week that this had been a “a hot point of controversy” and clarified that both could be eaten.
The city’s campaign to stop the eating of wildlife has won praise from animal welfare groups.
“Shenzhen is the first city in the world to take the lessons learned from this pandemic seriously and make the changes needed to avoid another pandemic,” said Teresa M. Telecky, the vice president of the wildlife department for Humane Society International.
“Shenzhen’s bold steps to stop this trade and wildlife consumption is a model for governments around the world to emulate.”
© 2020 Bangkok Post
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They are degenerates who caused global pestilence with their disgusting eating habits, unsanitary hygiene and lying communist regime. The ‘wet markets’ are fully operational elsewhere; selling snakes, bats, mice, wolf pups, dogs, domestic cats etc for human consumption. What sort of diabolical asshole would be happy to kill a cat or dog and eat it?
Dirty, filthy bastards. China is nothing more than a virus breeding ground, and is a danger to world health. The whole fucking place needs fumigating, and all Chinese restaurants everywhere, closed forever, along with Indian reataurants too.
Paki and turkish joints are the worst.
No intention of visiting either. I can’t understand why Ukrainians flock to Turkey and Egypt, I wouldn’t trust the food, or hygiene standards in either country.
And learn to eat with spoon, fork and knife, like in real countries.
Again, I’m not in the least surprised that the COVID 19 virus came from China. After SARS and MERS and now the current plague, this filthy place is the gutter of the world and a bacteria and virus breeding ground. I despise their disgusting eating habits and their treatment of animals is deplorable. Furthermore, their hygiene is next to non-existent and their traditional medicine is a crime against nature. It’s too bad that corona hadn’t remained within China’s borders … except maybe if it had only traveled north, it would have been fine with me.