Horrifying and stomach-churning images are emerging from the live animal market in Wuhan, ground zero of the coronavirus infection which is spreading in China and across the world causing a ‘grave situation’ according to president Xi.
The Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan contains rats, snakes, wolf pups, koalas and other ‘exotic’ wild animals where they are illegally for sale and packed together in filthy cages. They are slaughtered on site. They are incubators for the spread of disease and it is horrendously cruel to treat animals this way.
They are repulsive places filled with caged, frightened souls – many captured illegally in the wild. – Juliet Gellatley, founder of Viva! and a zoologist
It is ironic that the market sells live koalas for sale as meat. I presume the customers selects a koala and the vendor kills it there and then probably in a most brutal way. While this happens in China, in Australia, koalas are being killed in their thousands because of forest fires arguably caused by climate change which in turn is probably caused by burning fossil fuels. Australia mines coal and sells it to China. A neat touch and a link between these nations. Karma has also befallen Australia for their cruel persecution of feral cats, kangaroos and camels.
The behaviour of people running the Hunanan Seafood Market runs counter to our sense of decency. According to the Mirror newspaper, the dirty walls of the market are splattered with blood.
The coronavirus infection has put this despicable animal market under the spotlight and the whole wild animal trade with it. I had heard that eating bats was the cause of the infection. But it might be rats or badgers.
Hu Xingdou, a political economist, says that the Chinese people’s love of eating wild animals is deeply rooted in their culture. Yes, and so is the brutal cat and dog meat trade and the brutal cat and dog fur trade. And the lack of animal welfare laws. It is time for change. This aspect of Chinese culture is rooted in human habits which are thousands of years old. They were fine then. In the 21st century they look completely barbaric and disgusting. Nature has struck back in the form of karma. Karma is a fancy word for cause and effect. You do something against good sense and decency and it comes back to bite you eventually.
See follow up story:
Cats and dogs at risk of being infected by the coronavirus in China
Chinese do not respect animals and human lives. China now one of the richest countries in the world and have all the money that its turning into GREED. But look what have they done to their country. With the severity of Coronavirus epidemic, Chinese government even refusing help from other countries. Hypocrite! Instead, China hide the truth to the world about this deadly virus and the grave harm affecting its people. God Bless this country.
Thanks Gina. It is time for the US to force China to change their ways on animal welfare. I’d love to see it. The UK can do more too.