No health fears as diners seek wild game on thriving black market

Long blamed as a key source of the Sars virus, civet cats and other wild game are still on the menu for many Cantonese five years on. But while they are still available at mainland markets, diners now have to scout for the animals on the black market.

Civet cats are considered a factor in the spread of Sars, and Hong Kong has banned trade in the animal. But their reported link to the killer virus has failed to dent the appetite of some for the animals, tens of thousands of which are still eaten each year in south China, according to the Guangdong forestry police bureau.

Diners and animal traders shrug off any potential risk, insisting the flesh of the wild animal has an exotic flavour and revitalising qualities.

Their enthusiasm is evident at the Dongwang frozen meat wholesale market in Guangzhou's Baoyun district, which at dawn bustles with activity as vendors prepare their offerings of various species of fowl, as well as deer, boar, rabbits, fox, pangolin and civet cats. The market reeks of wildlife waste and death as trucks arrive with exotic animals jammed into cages. As busy as it is, the market is just one of the 37 major wildlife trading hubs in Guangdong.

Animal traders show no concern about eating the wild game. One veteran dealer said the Cantonese had dined on civet cats for more than 2,000 years and continued to do so.

'People slaughter and eat the same way they did before Sars became a household name,' said one veteran dealer.