Coronavirus: China’s rat, cobra farmers struggling to survive since trade ban

Smallholders say they have been put out of business and plunged into debt by Beijing’s restrictions on the animal trade

‘I had over 3,000 snakes but only received compensation for 1,600,’ farmer says

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Bamboo rat farmer Huang Guohua says China’s ban on trade left him 400,000 yuan in debt. Photo: AFP

Published: 3:17pm, 20 Aug 2020Updated: 11:28pm, 20 Aug 2020

Bamboo rat farmer Liu Yanqun was just starting to make plump returns from the rodents on his farm in central China when the coronavirus broke out at the end of last year.

The killer virus has since been linked to China’s wildlife trade, with scientists saying it could have originated in bats and been transmitted to people via another mammal.

In response, Chinese authorities imposed a national ban on the trade and consumption of various animals – including bamboo rats, cobras and civet cats – that are used in speciality regional dishes.

The ban has cost tens of thousands of jobs in rural parts of the country, where the relatively cheap form of farming of wildlife had once been promoted as a way to lift people out of poverty.

“I felt like breaking down … it’s hard for me to find another job,” said Liu, who has seen his modest business farming about 800 rats in central Hunan province fall apart.

“I don’t have a clear plan on what to do next.”