For the past two weeks China's police have been raiding houses, restaurants...
HONG KONG/BEIJING - For the past two weeks China’s police have been raiding houses, restaurants and makeshift markets across the country, arresting nearly 700 people for breaking the temporary ban on catching, selling or eating wild animals.
“I’d like to sell once the ban is lifted,” said Gong Jian, who runs a wildlife store online and operates shops in China’s autonomous Inner Mongolia region. “People like buying wildlife. They buy for themselves to eat or give as presents because it is very presentable and gives you face.” That may not be enough to change tastes or attitudes that are deeply rooted in the country’s culture and history.
One online commenter calling themselves Onlooker Pharaoh said on Chinese news platform Hupu that the risk was worth it: “Giving up wildlife to eat as food is like giving up eating because you might choke.”The breeding and trading of wild animals in China is supported by the government and is a source of profit for many people.
Much of the farming and sale of wildlife takes place in rural or poorer regions under the blessing of local authorities who see trading as a boost for the local economy. State-backed television programs regularly show people farming animals, including rats, for commercial sale and their own consumption.
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