Nation bans consumption of wild animals

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus, which is widely believed to have originated in wild animals, has prompted China's top legislature to roll out a swift decision to comprehensively ban the eating of wildlife across the country.

It also adopted a decision on Monday to postpone its annual plenary session, which usually starts on March 5.

A decision made by the National People's Congress Standing Committee on Monday has made it clear that all wildlife on the protection list of the existing Wild Animal Protection Law or other laws and all terrestrial wildlife, including those artificially bred and farmed, are banned from consumption.

The decision, which immediately takes effect, also calls for harsh penalties for hunting, trading and transporting wild animals on the protection list of existing laws. Also, hunting, trading and transporting terrestrial animals that grow in the wild and are used for eating purposes are banned, according to the decision.

Li Zhanshu, chairman of the NPC Standing Committee, said on Monday that under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, much progress has been made in epidemic prevention and control work. The top legislature's new decision was made to safeguard people's lives and health, he said.

Li instructed authorities to strictly implement the decision, strengthen market supervision, harshly crack down on the illegal wildlife trade and promote environmental protection and public health awareness.

He also said that postponing the NPC plenary session is a careful decision that could help concentrate efforts on fighting the epidemic.

The novel coronavirus, which had infected 77,150 people on the Chinese mainland as of Sunday, has killed 2,592, according to the National Health Commission. The virus is thought to have emerged at a seafood market in Wuhan, Hubei province, where wildlife was also sold illegally, according to media reports.

"Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, the prominent problem of recklessly eating wild animals and its potential risk to public health have aroused wide public concern," Zang Tiewei, a spokesman for the committee's Legislative Affairs Commission, said on Monday.

"But amending the Wild Animal Protection Law needs to go through legislative procedures. At the critical moment in epidemic prevention and control, it's highly necessary and noteworthy for the NPC Standing Committee to pass a special decision."

NPC Standing Committee decisions usually pertain to single issues and are not as comprehensive and systematic as laws, but with equal legal effect.

However, as fishing is an important mode of production and also an internationally accepted practice, aquatic wild animals such as fish are not on the prohibited list, according to Yang Heqing, deputy director of the Legislative Affairs Commission's economic law office.

Common poultry and livestock like pigs, cattle and sheep are also not on the list.

Also excluded are animals that have been farm-raised for a long time, so as to have become widely accepted by the public, and that form value chains helpful in local poverty alleviation, such as pigeons and rabbits, Yang said.

However, such animals should be managed under the category of poultry and livestock, and relevant central government departments should draft and publicize a list of such animals and put them under strict inspection and quarantine measures.

"The decision may bring economic losses to some farmers who raise animals. Local governments should support and help them to adjust and transform production, and offer them compensation depending on the practical situation," Yang said.

Also, under some special circumstances and with the regulations of relevant laws, wild animals can be used for nonedible purposes, such as for scientific research, for drugs and display. But strict application and approval procedures are required, according to the decision.

Violators will be severely punished, and venues for illegal production and trade will be seized and closed, the decision said.

Next, the NPC Standing Committee plans to amend the Wild Animal Protection Law, and a draft revision to the Animal Epidemic Prevention Law is expected to be submitted for review in the near future, Zang said.

The top legislature is also accelerating the legislation on biological security, and it is considering revising the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases and some other laws to improve the public health emergency management system, he added.