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Can new laws change China's taste for wildlife in wake of coronavirus outbreak?
The ban may push the problem underground in a nation where wild game remains a delicacy
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Officials inspect pangolin scales seized on a ship in Shenzhen in China. A recent study suggests that the current strain of coronavirus could have been spread from a pangolin to a human.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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With the passage of new laws on Monday banning outright the trade and consumption of wild animals, many believe the coronavirus outbreak will sound the death knell for an industry that has far-reaching ecological and public health consequences.
But in a country with a deeply ingrained belief in the medical properties of certain animal parts and where wild game remains a delicacy, this could either push the problem underground or overseas.
