On January 26, China's State Administration for Market Regulation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and National Forestry and Grassland Administration jointly announced that wildlife trade is banned across the country. All forms of wildlife and products trade are suspended, including online. Wildlife farms are required to be quarantined, and consumers are urged to stay away from "game meat." This decision is made to block the possible source of infection and transmission route of the epidemic pneumonia.  

China is now facing an outbreak of pneumonia caused by the novel coronavirus. The virus is believed to have been carried originally by bats, and transferred to humans via some uncertain intermediate host. Preliminary information from the national center of disease control and prevention and professional researchers indicates that the source of the new coronavirus, like SARS, points to an illegal wildlife market in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province.

According to an open letter by many Chinese scholars that has been published by People's Daily, statistics show that more than 70 percent of new infectious diseases come from animals. Controlling, or even putting an end to, the consumption and trade of wild animals is not only for ecological protection, but also of great significance to public health. These scholars, including academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and professors from Tsinghua University, Peking University and academic institutions in China, call for action. They wrote in the letter: "We call on wildlife managers and law enforcement departments, as well as market regulatory departments, to play a greater role in managing the illegal trade in wildlife from the source and put an end to the illegal consumption of wild animals." 

Their suggestions include strictly inspecting the status of wild animals and their products on markets, banning illegal game meat markets, and establishing more sound laws and regulations and management mechanisms. 

Lu Zhi, professor of Peking University, has given a detailed list of suggestions on managing the utilization of wild animals. He asked the related departments to jointly take action and check immediately whether the products of all wildlife markets are legal. All illegal business personnel and institutions should be inspected and punished by the law. Authorities should strictly control licenses for wildlife management and hunting, and strictly regulate wildlife farms in the country. He also asked law enforcement personnel to be professional and responsible. 

Professor Lu also calls for an updated wildlife conservation list, upgrading the protection level of endangered species, and strengthening the hunting, domesticating, breeding, operation and management of non-state key protected animals. Animals with important ecological, scientific and social value should be better protected. He also suggested that the discipline inspection and supervision departments should dig deep into the whole chain of interests of the wildlife trade, and severely crack down on the criminals. He also mentioned that the illegal trade in wildlife on the internet should be shut down immediately. 

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