Nature concerns: how will China ban wildlife trade after the outbreak of coronary pneumonia?

Author: Wang zhaoyue's outbreak of coronary pneumonia in 2020 is comparable to that of SARS virus in 2002 The wild animal market is considered to be the most suspicious source of disease, which has attracted wide attention of the state and society The central government suspended the sale of wildlife products last month because of the rapid infection of covid-19 in people It is reported that the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China will hold a meeting and make a decision on how to supervise the trade of wildlife products for a long time, and nature has made a detailed report on this doi:10.1038/d41586-020-00499-2 In China, wildlife trade usually includes food, fur and traditional medicine As far as the relevant laws are concerned, some researchers hope to ban wildlife trade in an all-round way, while others say that sustainable trade in some animals can be allowed, because many people depend on such animals for their livelihood According to the estimation of non-profit entrepreneurs and ecological society, wild meat is prohibited Such consumption could cost China about 50 billion yuan (US $7.1 billion) and put about 1 million people out of work The wildlife protection act, promulgated in 1988, expressly prohibits the hunting, killing, sale and purchase of about 1800 species of rare and endangered animals, except with special permission Scientists speculate that the government will ban the consumption of wild animals such as snakes and bats, but it is not clear whether it will expand to breeding wild animals such as sika deer, and that wild animals and plants used for fur and traditional medicine may not be affected Proposals from researchers, environmentalists and other special interest groups will also be considered in the revision of the law Xu Ling, director of the wildlife trade monitoring network traffic China office, believes that the sale of wildlife is an important part of Chinese people's lives and should continue to be regulated rather than banned Zhou Zhaomin, a wildlife policy researcher at the Xihua Normal University in Nanchong, said a comprehensive ban on wildlife trading would criminalize a large part of China and would be untenable Closing the wildlife market could shift trade to the black market The outbreak of the coronavirus is a wake-up call for China's top legislature to tighten the rules for wildlife trade permanently Lu Zhi, a conservationist at Peking University, said any decision at Monday's meeting could bring more detailed and broader changes to the law Reference: [1] China set to clamp down permanently on wildlife trade in wake of coronavirus