The wildlife cuisine of southern China's Guangdong Province is
under fire from animal welfare activists and medical experts after
the SARS coronavirus was traced to wild animals.
Experts said the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome
(SARS) might persuade some people in the province to change their
dining habits.
"The latest findings that there may be a link between wildlife and
the emergence of SARS may set off the alarm for the wildlife
gourmands," said Yuan Xicai, a research fellow at the
Guangzhou-based South China Endangered Species Research
Institute.
On
Friday, scientists in Guangdong and Hong Kong announced they had
discovered a link between the SARS virus and the masked civet.
Guangdong people have earned a reputation for eating anything that
moves, including snakes and other wild animals.
Before the SARS outbreak, restaurants in Guangdong tempted their
customers with exotic and sometimes endangered species -- popularly
known in China as "enjoying wild flavors."
Many believe the meat of some wild animals increases virility,
enriches the blood and is healthy in other ways.
Experts warned that once eaten as delicacies, wild animals carrying
parasites and viruses could greatly threaten people's health.
"Our experiments have detected various parasites and viruses in
snakes, crocodiles, giant lizards and many other reptiles which
Guangdong people used to eat," said Chen Shijun, a research fellow
with Guangdong Provincial Wildlife Rescue Center.
The tradition of eating wild animals has persisted for a long time
in Guangdong. But there is a different attitude towards
wildlife.
"Ancient Chinese philosophy has taught us: 'Man is an integrated
part of nature'," said Zhang Weiliang, deputy director of Baiyun
District Forestry Bureau, Guangzhou. "And the outbreak of SARS is
the punishment we deserve for eating wild animals."
"Mankind should treasure animals rather than slaughter them," Zhang
said.
Authorities in Guangdong banned the trade in wildlife this week
following suspicions that the virus might have come from wild
animals.
A
new draft of regulations ordering people to stop eating wild
animals has been submitted to Guangdong provincial People's
Congress, the provincial legislature, for approval.
Traveling animal shows have been ordered to cancel performances,
and restaurants that specialize in wild game dishes have been
ordered to turn over any live animals.
"The current introspection of gluttonous wildlife diners is mainly
attributable to the outbreak of SARS," said Dr. Li Wangen, a
nutritionist at No. 2 Hospital affiliated to Guangzhou Medical
College.
"It is just the beginning of further progress in giving up wildlife
consumption," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency May 30, 2003)
