Guest guest Posted October 29, 2003 Report Share Posted October 29, 2003 - " BEKOFF MARC " <Marc.Bekoff <undisclosed-recipients:> Wednesday, October 29, 2003 11:13 AM Fw: China animal trade > Hello - I just received this - all best wishes! Marc > ___ > > Bloody Animal Trade Thrives in Post-SARS China > > GUANGZHOU, China - Two little boys giggle as they play hide and seek > among hundreds of filthy cages packed tight with > civet cats, dogs, porcupines and squirrels. > > Health experts fear that wild animal markets like this one in southern > China's Baiyun district could be the source of the next > SARS epidemic that many fear will emerge this winter, but traders and > workers here could not be more oblivious. > > Amid the stench of death and decay, traders of exotic animals - a > culinary delight for many southern Chinese - haggle over > prices with customers, occasionally turning their attention to their > children, pinching their cheeks or tousling their hair. > > Narrow passageways are strewn with animal dung, urine, entrails and > grimy fodder. > > " What's there to be afraid of? " asked Mrs. Huang, carrying her > three-month-old daughter on her back. " We have been > working and living here for years and we have had no problems. " > > A few steps away, men with iron pipes clubbed a dog unconscious and > slit its throat. Others squatted around another dead > dog, plucking it clean of hair with their bare fingers. > > Virologists believe that such markets in China and farms where people > live in very close proximity to animals are fertile > breeding grounds for disease and viruses. > > China banned the wild animal trade and shut the markets in May, around > the time that scientists in Hong Kong identified > viruses in a civet cat and raccoon dog that were almost identical to > the SARS virus that had infected more than 8,000 people > around the world, killing more than 700 of them. > > The finding gave credence to widespread speculation that the virus, > which first surfaced in southern China last November, > may have jumped the species barrier from animals to humans. But when > Chinese experts failed to verify the report, the > trading ban was lifted and the markets reopened in August. > > Civet cats, which are not true cats but are related to the cat family, > have also returned to the menus of many restaurants in > Guangdong, China's most prosperous province. > > In February, a doctor from Guangdong infected with SARS traveled to > neighboring Hong Kong, one of just hundreds of > thousands of people who cross the border each day. Visitors to Hong > Kong then unwittingly carried SARS to more than 30 > countries around the world. > > SARS: ANIMAL VIRUS OR BIOCHEMICAL WEAPON? > > Beijing, stung by worldwide criticism after it tried to cover up the > initial SARS outbreak, has ordered that all wild animals > destined for dinner tables must be reared on farms, where they can be > monitored for signs of disease. > > But many animals in the Baiyun market were missing limbs, clear > indicators that they were trapped in the wild. Left to bleed > and confined in cages so small and crowded that they could not move, > many were badly infected and barely alive. > > Still, animal traders are dismissive of what experts have to say about > the possible origins of SARS. > > " SARS cannot have anything to do with the civet cat or any animal > that's sold here. They are a part of our lives and there is > no one here I know who has died, " said Yang Dong, 25, who has been in > the wild animal trade since leaving secondary > school. " I am hardly ever ill and I eat civet cats all the time, " he > said, flexing his arm muscles proudly. > > Standing with one foot on a cage with a civet cat gnawing the sole of > his shoe, Yang said of SARS: " I bet it is caused by > some biochemical weapon. " > > However, a recent study in Guangzhou found SARS antibodies in about 13 > percent of animal traders, indicating that they had > been exposed to the virus. One of many unanswered questions about SARS > is whether people with mild or no symptoms can > infect others. > > The civet cat has long been highly prized for its tender meat, which > is reputed to help blood circulation, but there are growing > signs that more Chinese believe it could pose a health threat. > > An average civet cat, similar in size to a typical house cat, used to > command up to 800 yuan ($98). Since the SARS outbreak, > they sell for only 200 yuan. > > But few medical experts believe that the trade is about to disappear. > Demand is especially strong in winter, as Chinese > believe that wild animal meat helps keep the body warm. > > " It's hard to stop a trade that is so old. If it must go on, then we > should have it properly regulated and monitored, " said Guan > Yi, a microbiologist at the University of Hong Kong. > > No one knows how much the wild animal trade is worth, although traders > at Baiyun claim over a million yuan a day changes > hands. Trader Yang suffered losses for the first time when officials > closed the Baiyun market this year. " I lost over 10,000 > yuan. But even I am among the lucky ones. Some of my friends lost > several hundred thousand! " Yang said. > > " If this trade is stopped permanently, how are we going to survive? So > many people and their families depend on it. " > > Story 28/10/2003 > > All Contents > © Reuters News Service 2002 > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.