Daily US Times: Shenzhen has banned the sale and consumption of dog and cat meat, becoming the first Chinese city to do that.
The decision came after the coronavirus outbreak, which was linked to wildlife meat and generated in Chinese city of Wuhan. After the outbreak, pressure from many sources fall upon Chinese authorities to ban the trade and consumption of wild animals.
Shenzhen went a step further, extending the ban to dogs and cats, as the new law will come into force on 1 May.
According to Humane Society International (HSI), thirty million dogs a year are killed across Asia for meat.
However, the practice of dog eating is not that common in China. The majority of Chinese people had never consumed dog and even want to.
The Shenzhen city government said, ”Dogs and cats as pets have established 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.”
Animal advocacy organization HSI praised the move of Shenzhen to be the first Chinese city to do that.
The organization’s China policy specialist Dr Peter Li said: “This really could be a watershed moment in efforts to end this brutal trade that kills an estimated 10 million dogs and 4 million cats in China every year.”
Meanwhile, China approved the use of bear bile to treat coronavirus patients.
Bear bile – a digestive fluid drained from living captive bears – has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine.
The active ingredient, ursodeoxycholic acid, is used to treat liver disease and to dissolve gallstones.
But as yet, there is no proof that it is effective against the coronavirus and the process is painful and distressing for the animals.
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