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SCMP Reporter

Four years after Sars, and as winter approaches, consumption of exotic animals is on the rise again

Bees and ants steeped in wine are good for virility, and toads nourish the blood, businessman Ah Wu says. But he has paid the price for his taste for exotic fare.

'I ate four fried bees once and it was too much for me,' he said. 'I had to get four injections for an allergic reaction.'

It is normal for villagers in Panyu , where he is  from, to enjoy inexpensive but exotic fare like ants, bees, snakes and donkeys, as well as toads, which are banned.

And to do business, and get around the law in Guangzhou's food paradise, businesspeople still order  a pangolin or a monitor lizard  hotpot for  those they seek favours from. Ah Wu had his last taste of banned wildlife  two weeks ago when he took several friends from a district court to dinner to seek their help,  and they ordered monitor lizard hotpot.

'We normally can't afford to eat such exotic wildlife, but I had to ask them for help. I let them do the ordering and they ordered monitor lizard. It cost me 1,000 yuan,' the businessman said.

Wildlife consumption is on the rise again, four years after the Sars scare and as  cold weather approaches,  when people traditionally take  tonics to boost their health.

Sars expert Zhong Nanshan , however,  has warned people not to take any risks. 'Even though Sars appears to have left us, we can't rule out the hidden dangers. So let's not relax our guard and eat masked palm civets and other wild animals,' Dr Zhong said.

Masked palm civets carried the virus that triggered the disease that spooked the world in 2002 and 2003, but it has not resurfaced in the past two winters.

Residents of Panyu have not stopped eating wildlife, although one businessman who regularly did  said he had cut down after Sars and because he did not think it was doing him any good.

'I only order it when I am doing business and have to entertain my customers. Some people ate less wildlife after Sars, but they are eating more now because they think it's good for their health. Nobody's eating masked palm civets.'

He alleged  many top officials ate wildlife. Their favourites included snakes and toads.

The supervisor of a restaurant at Guangzhou's  World Trade Centre said she had previously worked at a restaurant on Yinyuan Road that served wildlife.

'Most people eat wildlife in autumn to store up goodness for the winter months. It's illegal but if you are friendly with the restaurant manager you can order pangolin and sometimes bear paw,' she said.

Pangolin, which cost 1,000 yuan per 500 grams, is served in a hotpot, steamed or braised, and is prized for its supposedly anti-carcinogenic qualities.

The supervisor said customers were the rich and people who wanted to try new things. 'Disease is not a concern,' she said.

Cheng Jianhua, a cancer specialist at the Guangdong Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, said Chinese medicine did not specifically encourage the consumption of wildlife.

'It's just Guangdong people who are brave. They eat what others don't eat. They are not afraid to die, but we don't believe it is suitable to eat wildlife. There is no truth in the nutrition and health claims. They eat it because they have never eaten it before and because wild animals taste better.

'It's a Guangdong thing. Otherwise you would find people consuming wild animals for medicinal reasons all over the country.'

Dr  Cheng said claims about the pangolin's anti-carcinogenic properties had not been proven, but had a psychological effect on patients. 'It is expensive so it is effective. People feel better and this does help in medicine,' he said.

Guangzhou forestry authorities discovered 773 cases of trading in wild animals between January and November, in rented houses in the neighbourhood of the former Xinyuan Wildlife Market, which was closed  in the aftermath of Sars.

The department has stepped up its crackdown with back-to-back campaigns since last year, and recently seized 500 wild animals including masked palm civets in one location and 146 monitor lizards in another restaurant.

A China Wildlife Protection Association survey last year found  the number of restaurants serving wildlife had dropped by 66 per cent, but 22.8 per cent more processed wildlife was being sold in markets as more farms raised wild animals.

The survey found  20 new species  of wild animals were being bred on farms, taking the number to 80, to meet demand in Guangdong, Guangxi  and Hainan .

It also showed that 71.7 per cent of people surveyed said they had not eaten wildlife in the past year - 40.3 percentage points more than in 1999. They attributed their abstention to fear of Sars and bird flu.



Wildlife back on the menu in Guangdong