via
It's difficult to stop the trade of wild animals and their parts in China, as it's been going on for centuries. But China did make such trade and consumption illegal in the wake of the coronovirus.
Now, China's most progressive city, Shenzhen, has become the first Chinese city to ban the farming of wild animals and to extend the state's ban on the consumption of wild animals to the consumption of animals raised as pets, including cats and dogs.
Though the consumption of dogs and cats is no longer a wide practice in China, Humane Society International (HSI) estimates that 10 million dogs and 4 million cats are killed for consumption or trade in Asia every year. (via) Shenzhen is the first city in China to make the practice illegal.
Shenzhen in purple via
Shenzhen, at the southern region of Guangdong province, lying between mainland China and Hong Kong, was a fishing village until the 1980's when it began to assume a more industrial flavor. Now, it is a center of innovation and creativity, often compared to Silcon Valley, and it is also a leader of social progress and reform.
Shenzhen, China today via
An article in Reuters quoted the Shenzhen city government's rationale about its new policy: “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.”
via BBC News
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