Wildlife Trade, Opportunity for Pathogens to Cross Species Boundaries

SCMP: China's Wildlife Market Worth 52 Billion Yuan, Employing 14 Million People
Global Cooperation Needed to Ban Wildlife Trade to Prevent a Second COVID-19

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Young-shin] The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on the 8th that for the Chinese government's ban on wildlife trade to be effective, efficient law enforcement and international cooperation are necessary.

The Huashan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China, which sells wildlife, has been identified as the origin of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). Experts estimate that the COVID-19 virus was transmitted from bats to humans through pangolins (intermediate hosts).

SCMP cited a 2017 report from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, stating that the wildlife market is worth 52 billion yuan (approximately 9 trillion won). It also introduced that the workforce engaged in the wildlife market reaches 14 million people. The Chinese government banned wildlife trade earlier this year as COVID-19 spread.

Amanda Whitfort, a professor specializing in welfare law in Hong Kong, said, "To minimize the risk of viruses and other infectious diseases, all wildlife trade must be banned." She emphasized, "The key is how strictly the wildlife trade ban law is enforced." Yan Zhong Huang, senior research fellow in global health at the New York Council on Foreign Relations, said, "International cooperation is necessary for the Chinese wildlife trade ban law to achieve results."

SCMP reported that countries around the world are increasingly banning wildlife trade, such as recently prohibiting the sale and consumption of bats and pangolins in Gabon, Africa.

Jeremy Rossman, a virology professor at the University of Kent in the UK, said, "It is important to ensure that wildlife, including frogs and turtles, are not traded in markets," adding, "Above all, it is more important to understand how wildlife is caught, sold, and consumed." He added, "Wildlife trade provides opportunities for viruses and other pathogens to cross species barriers."