China's top legislature imposed a total ban on the trade and consumption of wild animals, according to China Central Television, a move aimed at curbing activities that scientists say may have caused the deadly coronavirus to jump from animals to humans.
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress made the decision at a meeting on Monday (24.02.2020). The measure should restrict trade and protect biodiversity, said Li Shuo, senior global policy advisor at Greenpeace in Beijing.
The coronavirus is spreading globally, roiling markets and businesses, after originating in China, where more than 77,000 people have been infected and more than 2,500 have died. The virus emerged in early December in Wuhan, an industrial city of 11 million in Hubei province, and early attention focused on a seafood market where live animals were sold, even though a third of the first 40 cases were found to have no link.
The process to end trade and consumption «It will be a challenging exercise"Li said. Defining what wildlife is, whether Chinese medicines are included and what counts as illegal are some of the issues that need to be addressed, he said.
According to the People's Daily, wild animals covered by the ban include those that the Wildlife Protection Law and other laws prohibit people from eating, terrestrial wild animals that China protects as they have "important ecological, scientific and social value," as well as other terrestrial wild animals, including those bred in captivity.
China issued a temporary ban on the trade in wild animals shortly after the virus outbreak, and pressure has mounted to make the ban permanent. The current Wildlife Protection Act prohibits the sale of food from endangered species, but it does not cover all wild animals.International animal rights groups have criticised the use of exotic animal parts such as tiger bones, gall bear and pangolin scales in traditional Chinese medicine.
Source: Bloomberg
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