Eating Wild Animals Banned In Wuhan As Crackdowns Arise From Coronavirus Crisis

China unveils one of its newest crackdowns in Wuhan, as the nation eases out of its coronavirus crisis, which officially bans residents from eating wild animals. Chinese farmers subsequently are now being paid cash to quit breeding exotic animals.

Officials announced on Wednesday (May 20) the ban in the city of Wuhan, which holds about 11 million people and was the first to report an infection last fall. Killing more than 320,000 people, the crackdowns arrive after the mounting pressures for the nation to control the illegal wildlife trade, which many people say is to blame for the pandemic.

The city also banned all hunting of wild animals within its limits, virtually declaring the region “a wildlife sanctuary,” with the only exception of government-sanctioned hunting for “scientific research, population regulation, monitoring of epidemic diseases and other special circumstances.”

The origins of the pandemic are still under investigation despite the crackdowns in the nation, and blame people place on the consumption of wild animals. However, the one of the suspected sources is the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market, which includes a live animal section that sells over 30 species.