Price paid, but lessons not learned

A seafood market selling wild meat in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, has been identified as the probable source of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Experts from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and several other universities have confirmed a link between the outbreak and bush meat. In fact, most major disease outbreaks in history have been linked to the meat of wild animals. A virus existing in wild animals does not necessarily infect or kill people, but when people eat these wild animals or intrude into their habitat, it increases the possibility of such viruses spreading and triggering an outbreak.

Human beings have paid a huge price for this, but have not learned the lessons. Research shows that the nutrients in some wild animals are also available in foods people eat daily. So, there is nothing to be missed by avoiding bush meat, while eating it exposes one to great risks. Some new cases of plague in Inner Mongolia autonomous region before the New Year were linked to the consumption of rabbits and prairie dogs.

To do away with this overindulgence in bush meat, the 16th session of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People’s Congress — China’s top legislature — which concluded on Monday, decided to ban the trade in wild animals for food.

About 100 species of wild animals are bred in China for use as food, fur, medicines and in experiments. There are 500,000 breeding enterprises employing more than 1 million people, and a total ban on wild animals may cause huge financial losses. It is time the country considers offering subsidies to support these enterprises’ business transformation.