The latest study linking wild animals such as civet cats to the
coronavirus that causes SARS has forced governments to take
stricter measures to stop their trade and consumption.
The research, released on Friday and Saturday, has produced wide
repercussions throughout the country, especially in south China's
Guangdong Province.
Local government and non-governmental groups are now attempting to
halt the practice of eating wild animals.
Some experts in Guangdong have urged the government to ban the
sales of wildlife and strongly enforce the move.
According to regulations in Guangdong, people who knowingly eat
dishes that contain animals on the State protection list will be
fined 10,000 yuan (US$1,205) - three times the average monthly
salary of locals.
The legislation body in Shenzhen is drafting a regulation to forbid
the hunting, processing, purchasing, slaughtering and consumption
of wildlife. The first version is expected to come out soon.
In
Beijing, wildlife protection departments have launched a thorough
inspection into the trade of wild animals in the city, including
civet cats.
Experts with the Ministry of Agriculture found that the genetic
order of the SARS virus was identical to the genetic order of the
coronavirus that can be found in animals like bats, monkeys, civet
cats and snakes.
The animal coronavirus investigation team has collected 1,700
animal samples from 59 species, including various kinds of domestic
livestock, wildlife, aquatic animals and pets, all of which
possibly come into contact with humans.
But how the SARS or SARS-like coronavirus jumped from wildlife to
the human race and caused the outbreak of the disease is still
being studied.
Researchers in Hong Kong also announced on Friday that they have
charted a complete genetic map of the SARS-like coronavirus
detected in the Himalayan palm civet, which shares 99.8 percent of
the genetic code of the SARS coronavirus.
The scientific research also ruled out pets and other domestic
livestock as the source of the disease as the two have a different
coronavirus genome.
Experts have called for dogs, cats and other family pets to be
treated humanely as some have been abandoned due to fears they
might have been responsible for spreading the flu-like virus.
According to Doctor Tian Kegong from the veterinarian diagnosis
center at the Ministry of Agriculture, no animals in China have
died from the disease.
"We are still looking into the issue, but there has been no
evidence so far to show any possible SARS transmission through
domesticated dogs and cats," he added.
Wang Zhihua, from a Beijing-based animal hospital, said: "Stricter
precautionary measures are understandable and necessary, especially
during the crucial time of SARS prevention."
(China Daily May 26, 2003)