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China seeks to fast-track ban on trade in wild animals amid coronavirus outbreak
- The standing committee of the National People’s Congress is set to approve a ban on the sale and consumption of wild animals later this month
- Existing law is riddled with loopholes, but measure will bypass need to go through time-consuming legislative process
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The Chinese government is expected to fast-track a ban on the trade and consumption of wild animals after the practice was linked to the Covid-19 outbreak.
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On Monday the official news agency Xinhua reported that the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress would review the ban at a meeting on February 24.
The committee will also discuss the decision to postpone the annual legislative session that had been due to take place in early March.
Trading and consumption of wild animals has been practised in China for centuries but has been blamed for helping to spread the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, the disease which has so far infected more than 70,000 people, killed more than 1,800 and caused serious disruption to the country’s economy.
China already has legislation to regulate the wild animal industry and trade – the current law was first adopted in 1988 and has been revised three times – but legal experts and industry practitioners said the laws were still riddled with loopholes.
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