After the outbreak of the coronavirus, the Chinese metropolis of Shenzhen has prohibited the eating of dogs and cats as part of a stricter measure on wildlife trade.
Medical experts believe the coronavirus was transmitted from animals to humans. Some of the earliest known sickness were discovered in people in the central city of Wuhan who were exposed to a wildlife market where snakes, civets, bats and other animals were sold.
The animal welfare group HSI lauded China's latest decision. The landmark move ends the brutal trade that annually kills approximately 10 million dogs and 4 million cats in the country, Dr. Peter Li, HSI's China policy specialist, said.
Chinese authorities banned wild animals from trade and consumption in February. The move came after it emerged that the starting point for the outbreak of the new coronavirus may have been a market in Wuhan selling wild animals and wildlife products, offering the means for the virus to spread from animals to humans.
News of this led to a strong crackdown by the Chinese government on the trade and markets that sold these goods. Provincial and local governments around the country acted to enact the ruling, but Shenzhen was the most specific in applying the ban to dogs and cats.
In an order posted on Thursday, city authorities said dogs and cats "as pets" have formed a much closer relationship with humans than all other species. The ban on eating these animals and other species, authorities pointed out, is a common practice in developed countries and in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
As this developed, Liu Jianping, an official with the Shenzhen Center for Disease Prevention and Control, said consumers have ample poultry, livestock and seafood available.
"There's no sufficient proof that wildlife is more nutritious compared to poultry and cattle," Liu was quoted by state-owned Shenzhen Daily media as saying.
Based on a Johns Hopkins University tally, there are now nearly one million reported cases of the virus worldwide, with more than 47,000 deaths.
There are 81,589 confirmed cases in China alone and 3,318 deaths, the National Health Commission has reported. Scientists and health experts are still yet to find out the cause of the virus and how it might have spread to humans.
Shenzhen is the fifth largest city in China, and although the dog meat trade in the region is relatively small than the rest of the country, its real sense is that it might cause a domino effect with other cities following suit.
According to experts, most people in China do not eat dog or cat meat, and especially among younger Chinese people there is considerable opposition to the trade.
