A poster showing China’s ban on trade and consumption of wild animals

Reacting to the possibility that wildlife could be the source of the coronavirus outbreak, in January, China announced a nation-wide suspension of wildlife trade and the top legislature initiated a process for amending the current Wildlife Protection Law. Invited by the National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA), NRDC recently conducted a policy review on global wildlife management and epidemic control practice. The policy review collected and analyzed practices recommended by international organizations such as the WHO and OIE, policies on wild meat consumption in other countries and regions such as the US, EU and New Zealand, and case studies on the linkage of wildlife-related epidemics and biodiversity loss. Based on this research, NRDC provided recommendations to the NFGA for reference, and submitted comments for the amendment of the Wildlife Protection Law. During the public consultation period NRDC also provided regulation recommendations to the governments of Tianjin and Shenzhen on strengthening local wildlife management.