Permanently ban wildlife consumption
Nian Yang, Peng Liu, Wen Li, Li Zhang
Abstract
Although the origin of severe acute respiratory syndrome–coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2)—the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)—has not been identified, it is clear that China's wildlife market played an important role in the early spread of the disease ("Mining coronavirus genomes for clues to the outbreak's origins," J. Cohen, News, 31 January, scim.ag/COVID-19genomeclues). On 24 February, China's National People's Congress adopted legislation banning the consumption of any field-harvested or captive-bred wildlife in an effort to prevent further public health threats until a revised wildlife protection law can be introduced (1). We argue that China needs to seize this opportunity and permanently ban wildlife consumption.