Stalls filled with cages holding cats, civets, bamboo rats, ostriches or more supposedly exotic animals such as monkeys, pangolins and, of course, snakes piled up on top of each other, can no longer be seen in Chinese markets. Above all, they are not easy to find because they are no longer legal. The covid-19 pandemic that originated in Wuhan, specifically in the Huanan market at the end of 2019, has not only led to the change of laws in China regarding these customs but has also changed the perception of consumers. A survey conducted by the environmental organization WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) in China, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma and the United States, the main countries where it is a common practice to eat wild animals, shows that consumption has fallen by 30% in 2021. In China, specifically, the decline is 28%, but more than 85% of respondents agree with the closure of markets. Only 9% say they will continue to consume this type of meat. If there is no demand, it will be easier to combat illegal supply.

The Chinese and World Health Organization (WHO) experts who have travelled to the region of Wuhan to investigate the origin of the coronavirus the Chinese and World Health Organization (WHO) experts who have travelled to the Wuhan region to investigate the origin of the coronavirus have announced Tuesday that there is no evidence that came out of a laboratory. "It is an extremely unlikely pathway," said Peter Ben Embarek, the head of the WHO mission, who added that the Wuhan Institute of Virology was in good condition and that laboratory errors are "extremely strange." The WHO will not further investigate this hypothesis: "It will not require further studies as part of the work to determine the origins of the virus".