After 76 days of lockdown, restrictions were lifted from what is known as the ¡®ground zero¡¯ of coronavirus spread- Wuhan. However, just a few days after life got back to ¡®normal¡¯ there, a cluster of fresh coronavirus cases was found and it was reported that the Chinese government plans to test all 11 million of Wuhan¡¯s residents.?
Now, reportedly Wuhan has banned the eating of wild animals as a response to the pandemic.?
This news comes a month after reports?claimed that Wuhan wet market reopened and was back in business, a move that faced severe backlash from across the world.?
When WHO was questioned on the existence of markets selling live wild animals, it said that it was ¡®okay¡¯ to keep them open as they (or potential sites of another epidemic outbreak) provide livelihood to millions.?
Coming to China, CBS reports that the Chinese farmers are being offered cash to quit breeding exotic animals. According to the report, the local administration in Wuhan announced Wednesday that the eating of all wild animals was officially banned.
Reportedly the city in China¡¯s Hubei province has also banned ¡®virtually all hunting of wild animals within its limits, declaring Wuhan "a wildlife sanctuary," with the exception of government sanctioned hunting for "scientific research, population regulation, monitoring of epidemic diseases and other special circumstances¡±.¡¯
The new strict control on breeding of all wild animals makes it clear that they cannot be reared as food.?
To make the move easy on wild animal breeders the local administration would take part in the wider national scheme to buy them out.?It is reportedly the first time Chinese authorities have pledged to buy out breeders in an attempt to curb exotic animal breeding.?
The coronavirus that has claimed over 3,00,000 lives in the world is believed to have passed from bats to people, possibly via other species, like the pangolin.?
Last month, Shenzhen, a city in China became the first one in the country to stop its residents from eating dog and cat meat.?
And then the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs reportedly recognised dogs as 'companion animals' and 'not suitable' to be managed as livestock. According to the China's Animal Husbandry Law, only animals that are officially, listed as livestock or poultry can be bred, raised, traded and transported for commercial purposes in China.?
The move might trigger the banning of other live wild animal trade.?