China takes wild animals off the menu amid coronavirus epidemic – does that mean no more snake soup or frog porridge?
- From snakes to civet cats, China has an appetite for wild animals, whether farmed or hunted
- Amid the coronavirus outbreak, the Chinese government has banned the trade and consumption of wild animals, which worries frog and turtle breeders
Turtle soup, rice porridge with water snake or frog, snake soup, frog leg clay pot rice – could popular dishes in Chinese cuisine like these be off restaurant menus in China for good?
That’s the worry of chefs, food critics and restaurant owners after the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, China’s top lawmaking body, banned the trade and consumption of wild animals in late February as part of measures to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
The virus has infected more than 95,000 people and killed more than 3,300, most of them in China. It has disrupted China’s economy, international travel and global supply chains.
The consumption of wild animals has drawn much government scrutiny, as both the current Covid-19 epidemic and the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars), another coronavirus, have been associated with markets in China selling meat from wild animals.