Game meat off the menu

Eatery owners plan new dishes after wildlife food trade ban

NANNING: When night falls, food streets in Nanning, capital of southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, spring to life with eager diners and bustling restaurants as the coronavirus outbreak wanes in the country.

Huang Shixiong, co-owner of a restaurant specialising in snake meat along a food street, has shut down his eatery since late January, even though his competitive neighbours have started attracting diners after the prolonged Spring Festival holiday due to the epidemic.

Huang holds shares of three chain restaurants in Nanning registered with the name “Rongji”, with snake meat featured prominently on the menu. However, he now plans to change their signature dishes as the consumption of wild animals is prohibited nationwide.

On Feb 24, China’s top legislature issued an order to ban the illegal trade of wild animals in a bid to wipe out the habit of eating game meat to safeguard people’s lives and health.

Terrestrial wildlife of important ecological, scientific and social value are not allowed to be traded or consumed, according to the order.

“It is still unclear whether snakes are on the prohibited list, so we are waiting for further notice at the moment,” Huang said, noting that the snakes his restaurants used are captive bred ones.

Local authorities have told Huang and his counterparts selling dishes made of game meat in the city to suspend business immediately after the ban came into force.

“If snake-related dishes are prohibited, Cantonese cuisine will be a suitable alternative for us to ease the losses as our restaurants are inspired by the cooking culture in Guangzhou,” he said.

The same goes for the Huahua Hot Pot, another restaurant chain in Nanning. One of the main ingredients of its signature dish “stir-fried rice frog legs” has been replaced with bullfrogs after a public announcement on March 5.

“We have banned the use of rice frogs at all of our restaurants, including those raised by humans, because we do not want to risk touching the red line,” said Li Yongjiu, manager of the Huahua

Hot Pot.

“We have discouraged the catering industry to cook and provide dishes made of wild animals, and received active response not only from the restaurant owners but also from the chefs,” said Wu Dongdong, secretary of the Guangxi Restaurant and Catering Association.

“In fact, the consumption of game meat accounts for little in the business,” Wu said.

In Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province, Yang Derong, a restaurant owner, removed the words “game meat” from the name of his eatery before he resumed business.

“I’ve been in the business for 12 years, mostly offering dishes of wild boar, hare and other farm animals,” Yang said. “They are captive-bred animals supplied by qualified farms in the neighbouring Anhui province.”