To think that China needs to act

[Dongdingdong]

From what I understand, the coronavirus originated in a wet market in Wuhan that sold animals both dead and alive. According to the Telegraph, these markets "pose a heightened risk of viruses jumping from animals to humans because hygiene standards are difficult to maintain if live animals are being kept and butchered on site. Typically, they are also densely packed."

Also: "The animal source of the latest outbreak has not yet been identified, but the original host is thought to be bats. Bats were not sold at the Wuhan market but may have infected live chickens or other animals sold there. Bats are host to a wide range of zoonotic viruses including Ebola, HIV and rabies."

When this latest pandemic dies down, the Chinese government needs to ban these wet markets entirely. Will the rest of the world be putting pressure on them to do so or will we simply continue as before until the next pandemic breaks out?

China reported no new domestic cases of coronavirus today, which is encouraging - but given the below article, how do we know whether the Chinese government is telling the truth?

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/china-accused-of-cover-up-as-coronavirus-death-toll-soars-fxmx5sxdp

I think we can only know the truth from what is actually happening in China. The govt cannot afford to say it is under control when it isn’t. Restaurants in my area are open which indicates an improvement. Restrictions and quarantine measures for those coming back to China are incredibly strict, which also indicates that most new cases are coming from outside.

Asia for Animals Coalition, a partnership of reputable animal rights organisations, have started an online campaign to close wet animal markets.
"Alongside their highly unsanitary conditions, these markets are also responsible for the misery and suffering of countless millions of animals each year."

Here's the link on how to write to your local embassy (there's a template letter and contact details:

asiaforanimals.com/coronavirus-covid-19-update/

Search for the link between Zoom and Ch1na

but it will be difficult as it's such a cultural part of their lives.

Not really. Outdoor markets per se are not the issue---it is the presence of live wild animals that is the issue. And the live wild animal consumption is limited to certain parts of China.

In any case, there is also good evidence that this virus was accidentally leaked from a lab which was studying animal coronaviruses.

I think some people have double standards.

People say sue China. But would they sue places for HIV, Ebola or MERS? Would they sue UK gov for lack of ppe and not locking down quick enough? Some places got second waves of infection because UK let it get out of control - should UK get sued?

UK knew about risk of pandemic for a long time and has had bird flu, sars, mers, Ebola. They could have observed and taken a cautious approach by following the countries that ‘have experience’. UK have much more money per capita to spend on their population than China.

I don’t blame the UK gov as I think they were doing what they thought was best. However it does annoy me that the people who are calling for suing China do not hold UK to similar standards.

That’s not to say that China shouldn’t ban wildlife markets and enforce animal welfare standards. Or that there shouldn’t be border checks/quarantine periods/international disease surveillance.

My colleague lived in China for a few years & said that the difficulty is that it is so deeply ingrained in their culture that 'fresh' meat is far preferable, hence the live animals. The fresher the better.

For context: not everywhere has the European temperate climate. So if you do not have a refrigerated supply chain, meat would go bad more quickly - think of the slime that develops on fish. Ideally there should be regulated, inspected slaughter facilities that meets animal welfare standards, but it may be harder to achieve than in Europe. In addition, it would inevitably mean higher carbon footprint due to more transport and more waste in packaging.

Wet markets with ‘normal’ animals (eg chicken, fish) are different from exotic wildlife markets. Also, wet markets do not necessarily have to contain live animals - I think the only animals I have seen live in the past 20years is lobsters, crabs, fish.

Though I visit places in east Asia rather than china