Shenzhen, First City in China to Prohibit from Consumption of Cats and Dogs

Shenzhen, MINA – The city of Shenzhen in China starting on May 1 bans its citizens from eating dogs and cats as part of a crackdown on the COVID-19 outbreak.

Scientists suspect, COVID-19 is transmitted to humans from animals. Some of the earliest infections were found in people exposed to wildlife markets in downtown Wuhan, where bats, snakes, ferrets, and other animals are sold. Thus quoted from Channel News Asia on Saturday.

At present, COVID-19 has infected more than 935,000 people worldwide and killed around 47,000 people.

“Dogs and cats as pets create a much closer relationship with humans than all other animals, and banning the consumption of dogs and cats and other pets is a common practice in developed countries and in Hong Kong and Taiwan,” the city government said in a statement.

Provincial and municipal governments throughout China have moved to enforce the decision, but Shenzhen becomes the first city to most explicitly expand the ban.

Liu Jianping, Acting Center for the Prevention and Control of Shenzhen Disease, said the supply of poultry, livestock, and seafood for consumers was sufficient.

“There is no evidence that shows that wildlife is more nutritious than poultry and livestock,” Liu said as quoted from Shenzhen Daily.

The city’s campaign to stop eating wild animals won praise from animal welfare groups.

“Shenzhen is the first city in the world to take seriously the lessons from this pandemic and make the changes needed to avoid another pandemic,” said Teresa Telecky, Vice President of the Wildlife Department for the Humane Society International.

“Shenzhen’s bold move to stop the trade and consumption of wildlife is a model that must be emulated by governments around the world,” he said. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)