China’s Wildlife Markets: The Greatest Risk to Human and Animal Health
By: Margaret Marshall
When news broke in mid-January 2020, of a mysterious, deadly virus that was causing mass devastation in Wuhan, China, the kind of global impact that was inevitably felt could not have been fathomed. The Coronavirus, otherwise known as COVID-19, has spread to 214 countries, with over 35 million confirmed cases and over 1 million confirmed deaths.[1] Shortly after the news of Wuhan broke internationally, the question of where this mysterious virus originated from seemed to be on everyone’s minds. Theories ranged from a new strain of flu, the likes of which we have never seen before[2]; to a lab-created bioweapons experiment let loose on the world – some would believe intentionally.[3] However, one theory that took shape, eventually becoming the lead story, stated that COVID-19 originated in an unregulated Chinese wildlife market where illegal trade took place.[4] Even with the news that COVID-19 may have originated in a Wuhan wildlife market, China took few steps to implement new legislation to regulate or shut down these wildlife markets.[5] This blog post will delve into these wildlife markets and how the illegal wildlife trade poses a risk to both animal and human health, and why ultimately China, as well as other countries, should ban these wildlife markets once and for all.
To begin, the illegal international wildlife trade, which often takes place in these wildlife markets, is widespread. It is a multibillion-dollar industry that is the fourth most lucrative illegal industry in the world behind only illegal drug, human, and arms trafficking.[6] This industry exploits hundreds of millions of animals every year for the monetary gain of a few.[7] Additionally, it is estimated that the illegal wildlife trade is the second largest direct threat to species, just behind habitat destruction – driving numerous species to the brink of extinction.[8]
Much of the illegal wildlife trade takes place in wildlife markets scattered throughout Asian countries.[9] For the purpose of this post, it is important to differentiate between a wildlife market, like the one where COVID-19 is thought to have originated, and wet markets, which have often been confused as the source of COVID-19.[10] Wet markets are open air markets that sell perishable foods such as meat and vegetables. These wet markets have proven to be extremely prevalent throughout the Asian countries, namely China.[11] Wildlife markets, on the other hand, are found worldwide and “specifically sell wild animals for meat or as pets. The markets themselves may be legal, though they sometimes offer illegal species alongside permitted ones.”[12]
In wildlife markets, animals are often kept in close proximity, which allows for the spread of disease.[13] In addition, the animals are often slaughtered on the spot in unsanitary conditions, which in turn can permit the easy spreading of viruses like COVID-19.[14] In fact, COVID-19 is not the only harmful and wide-spread disease that is believed to have originated in these wildlife markets. The Ebola outbreak of 2014 and the SARS outbreak of 2003 have both been traced back to the “existence of large, unsanitary and poorly-regulated wildlife markets [which] provide an ideal environment for diseases to cross over between species.”[15]
Clearly, the wildlife markets in China that play host to much of the illegal wildlife trade pose an enormous threat for the health and safety of the entire international community, and how countries like China respond to this outbreak can affect countless lives. China’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak came shortly after it reached international attention and it did not address the wildlife markets or the illegal wildlife trade.[16] In late February, China announced a temporary ban on “all farming and consumption of terrestrial wildlife of important ecological, scientific and social value.”[17] While on its face this new legislation may seem a major win in the efforts of combatting the illegal wildlife, most experts are adamant that it will not be enough to create any impact on the illegal wildlife trade.[18] This ban “covers only land animals. It punishes consumers but does not tackle corrupt ties among government officials, corporate interests and ‘breeders’ who use permits as a cover for illegal trade.”[19] In addition, there is a loophole in this new legislation that “makes an exception . . . for wild animals used in traditional Chinese medicine,” which means that for wild animals that are commonly traded for their parts that are used in traditional medicine, such as pangolins, tigers, and rhinos, trade is allowed to continue.[20]
For good reason, it is believed that China’s ban on the trade of wild meat will slowly be reimplemented, which skeptics fear could lead to further devastation.[21] Chinese officials have been under immense pressure to reinstate the trade of wild game meat by Chinese citizens.[22] The wildlife farming industry is estimated to be worth approximately sixty-five billion dollars and employs more than fifteen million Chinese citizens, who “are often the poorest in society.”[23] With this pushback from citizens, many believe it is only a matter of time before the trade of wild meat will be reinstated. Ultimately, China has made some strides to attempt to squash the illegal wildlife trade, but inevitably has allowed the environmental threat to continue.
It is evident, that the illegal wildlife trade and wildlife markets are an immense health risk to the international community. China has shown its unwillingness to shut down these markets, even in the wake of the devastating Coronavirus that has been linked to these wildlife markets that participate in the illegal wildlife trade. Truly, the only solution is to impose an outright ban on these wildlife markets. For the safety of these species and mankind, something must be done about these wildlife markets.
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Picture Credit: Getty Images
[1] Countries Where COVID-19 Has Spread, Worldometer (last updated October 3, 2020), https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/countries-where-coronavirus-has-spread/.
[2] Lisa Lockerd Maragakis, Corona Virus Disease 2019 vs. the Flu, John Hopkins Medicine (last update Oct. 2, 2020), https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/coronavirus-disease-2019-vs-the-flu.
[3] Ruby Prosser Scully, How Do We Know COVID Isn’t a Bioweapon?, Med. Rep. (July 13, 2020) http://medicalrepublic.com.au/how-we-know-covid-didnt-come-from-a-lab/31440.
[4] Ben Wescott & Shawn Deng, China Has Made Eating Wild Animals Illegal After the Coronavirus Outbreak. But Ending it Won’t be Easy, CNN (Mar. 12, 2020) https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/05/asia/china-coronavirus-wildlife-consumption-ban-intl-hnk/index.html
[5] Id.
[6]Daan p. van Uhm & Rebecca W.Y. Wong, Establishing Trust in the Illegal Wildlife Trade in China, Springer Link, (last visited Oct. 1, 2020) https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11417-018-9277-x.
[7] Illegal Wildlife Trade, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (last visited Oct. 1, 2020) https://www.fws.gov/international/travel-and-trade/illegal-wildlife-trade.html.
[8] Id.
[9] See Wescott, supra note 4.
[10] Dina Fine Maron, 'Wet Markets' Likely Launched the Coronavirus. Here's What You Need to Know, Nat’l Geo. (Apr. 15, 2020) https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/04/coronavirus-linked-to-chinese-wet-markets/#close.
[11] https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/14/asia/china-wet-market-coronavirus-intl-hnk/index.html
[12] See Maron, supra note 10.
[13] See Wescott, supra note 4.
[14] Id.
[15] Beth Daley, Corona Virus Has Finally Made Us Recognise the Illegal Wildlife Trade is a Public Health Issue, The Conversation (Mar. 2, 2020) https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-has-finally-made-us-recognise-the-illegal-wildlife-trade-is-a-public-health-issue-133673
[16] See Wescott, supra note 4.
[17] Id.
[18] Id.
[19] Id.
[20] Id.
[21] Luke Hawker, China Wild Meat Trade Could RE-START Despite Fears Covid Originated from Wuhan Wet Market, Express (Sept. 25, 2020), https://www.express.co.uk/news/world/1340182/china-coronavirus-news-wild-meat-trade-wet-market-wuhan-covid-19.
[22] Id.
[23] Id.