Reflection: An update on China’s wild meat consumption since COVID-19

Abstract

Wildlife consumption in China has been widely condemned by academics and the public since COVID-19 was determined to have a zoonotic source by the World Health Organization. This reflection piece provides an up-to-date summary of wild meat consumption in China since COVID-19. It shows that there is an all-round transition underway. COVID-19 stopped wild meat consumption directly or made an impact by functioning as a new background or event. People’s demand has been reduced due to strict law enforcement, fines, and profound propaganda efforts. This has implications for controlling wildlife trade and consumption in some other countries similar to China. This reflection particularly re-interprets the motivations of consumers of wild meat since the outbreak of the disease and considers the reasons why people do not consume wildlife. This might be the first empirical work on China’s wild meat consumption before and after COVID-19, which explores the transformation around this eating habit and makes a few evidence-based predictions. Although there are good signs that we can expect an effective reduction of China’s wild meat consumption in the future, there is the call for a well-established legal system and strict implementation of laws and other strategies, and a widespread consumer education in food habits.