China Offers Buyout to Wildlife Farmers

US Person thinks that the consumption of wildlife in China  provided the bridge for development of the SARS CoV-2 virus responsible for the current pandemic among humans. Scientists have already commented on the probable zoonosis of the novel corona virus whose genetic predecessors occur in bats. This scenario is much more likely to be the explanation for the origin of the novel corona virus than some half-baked, politically motivated propaganda attempting to blame a Wuhan research lab for the escape of the virus into the wider world.  In recognition of this dangerous bridge over the inter-species gap, the Chinese government is taking steps to phase out human consumption of wildlife. The buyouts are voluntary.

Farmers who raise wildlife for human consumption in several provinces including Hunan and Jiangxi are being offered government buyouts for at least 14 species including bamboo rats, palm civet cats [photo], and ratsnakes.  The buyouts are intended to help farmers transition to raising vegetables, fruits and herbs for traditional medicine, or to begin raising domesticated animals such as pigs and chickens. There still exist exemptions for the fur, entertainment and traditional medicine trades. The novel virus which has infected more than 5 million people worldwide is considered to have originated in a Wuhan market that sells wildlife as well a domesticated animals, fruits and vegetables. The government responded to the outbreak by banning the consumption of wild animals. There is a suggestion based on preliminary research not yet published that the virus passed through a temporary host, the shy and harmless pangolin, a critically endangered species, which is suffering from huge black market demand for its meat and scales used in folk medicine.  The World Health Organization recently released hygiene standards for these types of markets, which exist worldwide. 

China was not developing a super biological weapon as implied by the paranoid regime in power in the US, but it does have to answer for its abhorrent record on animal welfare.  A policy specialist at the Humane Society International said, “Chinese farmers not only have an opportunity to leave a trade that poses a direct threat to human health--something that can no longer be tolerated in light of COVID--but also to transition to more humane and sustainable livelihoods such as growing plant foods popular in Chinese cuisine.”