Chinese have been eating wild animals for centuries for their perceived health-enhancing qualities.

However, such a tradition is changing today as most city dwellers interviewed by the latest survey on wild animal consumption said that they have gone off the creatures.

The survey was based on 24,000 random interviews in 16 cities from last December to this January the traditional season when wild animal consumption is high.

Co-sponsored by the China Wildlife Conservation Association (CWCA) and its partner Wildaid, a non-governmental organization from the United States, the survey found that 54 per cent of urban interviewees chose "potential health risks" as the reason for giving up the wild dishes.

The survey covered eight cities, with Chengdu, Shanghai and Guangzhou ranking at the top of the list of the wild animal abstainers, with more than 93, 71 and 70 per cent of the locals respectively viewing the habit as a potential health risk.

"Generally speaking, over the past five years, the number of people consuming wild animals has decreased. This is explained by a rising public awareness of wildlife protection and health knowledge, coupled with SARS in 2003," a spokesman for CWCA said yesterday in Beijing.

Zhao Shengli, CWCA's vice-secretary-general, said over 74 per cent of the respondents knew that eating wild animals is against the law in China, especially those species not listed in the "54 Terrestrial Wildlife Species That May Be Commercially Utilized," which has been updated since the SARS epidemic in 2003.

"In this regard the public's awareness and attitudes have changed. This is due to the extensive media coverage of SARS and avian flu, and the publishing of the wildlife list. This has encouraged consumers to reduce or even stop their consumption of wild animals," Zhao said.

During the past year, more than 71 per cent of the interviewees did not eat wild animals, compared to 51 per cent in 1999.

For those who still keep wild animals on their dining tables, more than 32 per cent cited nutrition as a major reason; 31 per cent as curiosity; 27 per cent for taste; and 9.2 per cent as a status symbol.

"Recent endangered wildlife smuggling cases also indicate that demand for wild animals remains a strong issue in some areas," CWCA's experts said. They hope the results of its survey can be used by policy-makers to further assist the country's wildlife protection.

Further results in the survey found that compared to 1999, wild animals have increasingly become commercially farmed, as their ratio rose from 23 per cent to 37.5 per cent this year.

Furthermore, while the number of restaurants serving wild animals has decreased, the number of grocery stores selling wild animals has increased. However, legal permits are in place.

(China Daily 04/19/2006 page3)