Shenzhen has become the first city in China to ban the consumption and trade of dogs and cats as part of its new legislation Shenzhen Special Economic Zone Regulations on the Comprehensive Ban on Wild Animals. The new law, which comes into effect on May 1, also prohibits the breeding, sale, and consumption of protected wildlife species, including snakes and lizards.
“Dogs and cats as pets have established a much closer relationship with humans than all other animals, and banning the consumption of dogs and cats and other pets is a common practice in developed countries and in Hong Kong and Taiwan. This ban also responds to the demand and spirit of human civilization,” said the new legislation.
"The market supervision department is responsible for supervising and managing the production, operation, advertising, and other activities of banned animals and their products in commodity trading, catering and other places and online trading platforms," it added.
The decision comes amid the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic which is believed to have originated in a “wet” animal market in Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019.
The new ban does not include animals traditionally raised for “livestock” such as pigs, cows, sheep, donkeys, rabbits, chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons, and quail, even though many zoonotic diseases such as H1N1 (pigs), H5N1 (geese), and Swine Flu (pigs) have originated from some of these species.
It is to be noted that the Chinese government had announced a permanent ban on the sale and consumption of wild animals in February to curb the spread of coornavirus. However, some reports claimed that wet animal markets - where wild animals are sold - are now reopening in Wuhan and other parts of China.
