Chinese city of Shenzhen to ban eating of cats and dogs

The Chinese city of Shenzhen is moving to ban the sale of dogs and cats for food following the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Officials in the Chinese city of Shenzhen have moved to ban the eating of dogs and cats in the wake of the outbreak of the deadly coronavirus.

The city, linked with Hong Kong and known as a tech hub in China’s south east, has made the move as part of a wider “total ban” on the consumption of wild animals in China.

The regulations, which include a “white list” of nine different approved meats were published by Shenzhen People’s Congress on Tuesday this week according to the South China Morning Post. The government body has urged the 12.5 million residents of the city to give the city feedback on the new legislation before it passes a final resolution on the legal meats list.

These caged dogs were sold off at a dog meat festival in Yulin, in southern China's Guangxi province in 2015. Picture: Johannes Eisele/AFP

According to the report, the current list approves of chicken, beef, pork, rabbit, fish and seafood. Other meats, popular in China, including dog, frog and snake, have not made the cut.

The legislation came after the National People’s Congress, China’s highest authority, moved to ban the sale and trade of wild animals on Monday.

The immediate and “comprehensive” ban on the trade and consumption of wild animals, a practice believed responsible for the coronavirus outbreak, was approved by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.

Chinese health officials have said the coronavirus, which has now infected more than 81,000 globally, likely emerged from a market in the central city of Wuhan that sold wild animals as food.

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The country’s top legislative committee approved a proposal “prohibiting the illegal wildlife trade, abolishing the bad habit of over consumption of wildlife, and effectively protecting the lives and health of the people,” state television reported.

The city of Shenzhen is now warning those who breach regulations will face fines of up to 20,000 yuan ($A4338).

– With AFP