Wildlife Farming and the Emergence of Deadly Infectious Diseases

Wildlife trade is often associated with the poaching of animals in the wild. In China, however, the vast majority of wildlife trade is supplied by the raising and breeding of non-domesticated animals. This involves hundreds of millions of animals of hundreds of species, including those susceptible to coronavirus infection. Until recently, the biosafety risks of such operations were unclear.

In this project, science writer Jane Qiu investigates wildlife farming across China. She traces the beginning of the industry to the era of “open reforms” in the 1990s and how that might have caused the SARS outbreaks in the 2000s. Thanks to strong lobby groups—consisting of academics, government officials, and traders—wildlife farming bounced back after a temporary setback and enjoyed a renaissance in the 2010s, which might have led to the emergence of COVID-19.

While China has promised to permanently ban "wet" markets and the consumption of wild animals, wildlife farming has been hailed as an effective way to alleviate poverty. Numerous wild animals will continue to be raised for fur, leather, traditional medicine, pets, zoos, wildlife park, and research. How should China meet the challenge of balancing conservation, public health, and economic development?

Qiu seeks answers by visiting wildlife farms and markets, and by talking to virologists, infectious-disease experts, conservation biologists, policy researchers, government officials, wildlife farmers and traders, practitioners of traditional medicine, and consumers of wildlife products. The insight should inform policies not only in China but also other parts of the world that face similar challenges.