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

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South China Morning Post

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by Fiona Tam

Feb 26, 2008

 

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.

 

Although civet cats were blamed by mainland and Hong Kong scientists for

being a source of the deadly coronavirus, it was unlikely they were,

according to a recent study in Ohio. The study, which came to light last

week, said very few people who came into regular contact with civet cats

were infected because the animal was not an amplifying force but rather an

inheritor of the virus, possibly from humans.

 

Scientists in Hong Kong and the mainland last week remained sceptical of the

new study.

 

Shenzhen entrepreneur Yang Jingcheng (not his real name) seemed unfazed by

suggestions civet cats were dangerous and said he couldn't see the point of

banning them and other wild animals from markets.

 

" Most civet cats available now are raised in farms just like poultry and

pigs, " Mr Yang said.

 

The middle-aged businessman said that, according to traditional Cantonese

wisdom, eating wild animals could help combat cancer and rid the body of

toxins, and dining on civet cats and pangolins had kept him vigorous,

despite his work pressures.

 

But nutritionist Zheng Jianxian from South China University of Technology

said diners may have overstated the wildlife's curative qualities. " Civet

cats provide about as much protein as other meats, " Dr Zheng said.

 

Winter and early spring are considered the peak season for civet cat sales

and authorities have been trying to prevent a new outbreak of Sars in the

past three months by clamping down on wild animal black markets across the

province. In January 2004, Guangdong banned the trade, killing and eating of

civet cats, but demand for the meat continues.

 

To avoid the crackdown, animal dealers and restaurant owners keep civet cats

and other wild game in nearby ramshackle rooms, and diners, who used to

select their animal or bird outside the restaurant, have to first phone in

an order.

 

Wildlife protectors say it is hard to change the long-standing tradition of

eating wild game, especially civet cats.

 

" Civet cats are neither a rare species nor covered by animal protection

schemes, so it's unlikely trading in the animals can be banned nationwide, "

said Fan Zhiyong , director of Beijing-based WWF-China's species programme.

 

Mr Fan said farmed civet cats presented the same health risks as wild ones

because both were unregulated and carried similar viruses.

 

" Exotic animals aren't inspected by food safety bodies in the way that meats

from licensed providers are, " he said.

 

When Guangdong imposed the ban in 2004 after the Sars outbreak, it offered a

1,000 yuan reward for whistleblowers and authorities oversaw the killing of

at least 7,200 captive civet cats in the province that year.

 

But the ban stops at the provincial border. Insiders say that more than 70

per cent of civet cats available in Guangdong markets are farmed freely in

neighbouring provinces, making it difficult for Guangdong to enforce its

ban. Last year, the Guangdong forestry bureau seized more than 20,000 wild

animals from vendors but the bans and fines haven't deterred civet breeders

and dealers who can make healthy profits from the animals.

 

Civet cat breeder Mo Rumou , from Guangxi , has raised the animals for nine

years and most of his stock ends up in stews for Guangdong and Guangxi

diners.

 

" We're eating and living beside civets and all of us are in good health, " he

said.

 

Mr Mo said he had about 200 civet cats on his licensed farm and a mature

animal was worth 1,000 yuan or 220 yuan per kg, triple his initial

investment.

 

The price of civet rose during the 1990s as wealth poured into Guangdong,

allowing suppliers to restaurants to earn more than 15,000 yuan a month, far

more than they could from farming. But many dealers say Sars did batter the

civet market and other wild game.

 

Isobel Zhang, founder of a cat-protection organisation in Shenzhen, said

Sars made some Cantonese think twice about eating exotic food. " More and

more young and well-educated people refuse to eat wild game now, " she said.