.2021 Jun 7;11(1):11898.

doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-91470-2.

Animal sales from Wuhan wet markets immediately prior to the COVID-19 pandemic

Xiao Xiao^{1 2}, Chris Newman^{3 4}, Christina D Buesching^{4 5}, David W Macdonald³, Zhao-Min Zhou^{6 7}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637009, People's Republic of China.
² Lab Animal Research Center, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
³ Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, The Recanati-Kaplan Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
⁴ Cook's Lake Farming, Forestry and Wildlife Inc. (Ecological Consultancy), Queens County, NS, Canada.
⁵ Department of Biology, The University of British Columbia/ Okanagan, Kelowna, BC, Canada.
⁶ Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637009, People's Republic of China. zhouzm81@gmail.com.
⁷ Key Laboratory of Environmental Science and Biodiversity Conservation (Sichuan Province), China West Normal University, Nanchong, People's Republic of China. zhouzm81@gmail.com.

PMID:34099828
PMCID: PMC8184983
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-91470-2

Animal sales from Wuhan wet markets immediately prior to the COVID-19 pandemic

Xiao Xiao et al. Sci Rep.2021.

.2021 Jun 7;11(1):11898.

doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-91470-2.

Authors

Xiao Xiao^{1 2}, Chris Newman^{3 4}, Christina D Buesching^{4 5}, David W Macdonald³, Zhao-Min Zhou^{6 7}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637009, People's Republic of China.
² Lab Animal Research Center, Hubei University of Chinese Medicine, Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
³ Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, The Recanati-Kaplan Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
⁴ Cook's Lake Farming, Forestry and Wildlife Inc. (Ecological Consultancy), Queens County, NS, Canada.
⁵ Department of Biology, The University of British Columbia/ Okanagan, Kelowna, BC, Canada.
⁶ Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637009, People's Republic of China. zhouzm81@gmail.com.
⁷ Key Laboratory of Environmental Science and Biodiversity Conservation (Sichuan Province), China West Normal University, Nanchong, People's Republic of China. zhouzm81@gmail.com.

PMID:34099828
PMCID: PMC8184983
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-91470-2

Abstract

Here we document 47,381 individuals from 38 species, including 31 protected species sold between May 2017 and November 2019 in Wuhan's markets. We note that no pangolins (or bats) were traded, supporting reformed opinion that pangolins were not likely the spillover host at the source of the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. While we caution against the misattribution of COVID-19's origins, the wild animals on sale in Wuhan suffered poor welfare and hygiene conditions and we detail a range of other zoonotic infections they can potentially vector. Nevertheless, in a precautionary response to COVID-19, China's Ministries temporarily banned all wildlife trade on 26th Jan 2020 until the COVID-19 pandemic concludes, and permanently banned eating and trading terrestrial wild (non-livestock) animals for food on 24th Feb 2020. These interventions, intended to protect human health, redress previous trading and enforcement inconsistencies, and will have collateral benefits for global biodiversity conservation and animal welfare.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

**Figure 1**
(a) Huanan Seafood market, (b) Qiyimen live animal market, (c) Baishazhou market and (d) Dijiao outdoor pet market (note stray dog) photographed on 10th April 2020.

**Figure 2**
Poor welfare of animals on sale in Huanan seafood market: (a) King rat snake (*Elaphe carinata*), (b) Chinese bamboo rat (*Rhizomys sinensis*), (c) Amur hedgehog (*Erinaceus amurensis*) (the finger points to a tick), (d) Raccoon dog (*Nyctereutes procyonoides*), (e) Marmot (*Marmota himalayana*) (beneath the marmots is a cage containing hedgehogs), and (f) Hog badger (*Arctonyx albogularis*).

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

1. Joint WHO-China Study. WHO-convened global study of origins of SARS-CoV-2: China part.https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/who-convened-global-study-of-ori... (2021).
1. Huang CL, et al. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. The Lancet. 2020;395(10223):497–506. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30183-5. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
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Animal sales from Wuhan wet markets immediately prior to the COVID-19 pandemic

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Animal sales from Wuhan wet markets immediately prior to the COVID-19 pandemic

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical