Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market
The Wuhan Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market (Chinese: 武汉华南海鲜批发市场),[1][2] simply known as the Huanan Seafood Market[3] (Huanan means 'South China'), was a live animal and seafood market in Jianghan District, Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, in Central China. The market opened on 19 June 2002.
Location
The market became widely known worldwide after being identified by some sources as the epicenter site of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the resulting pandemic. It is still one of the most likely points of origin for the disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) was notified on 31 December 2019 about an outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan.[4] Of the initial 41 people hospitalized with "pneumonia", who were officially identified as having laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, by 2 January 2020, two-thirds were exposed to the market.
The market was closed permanently on 1 January 2020 for sanitary procedures and disinfection.[1][5] Thirty-three out of 585 environmental samples (5.6%) obtained from the market indicated evidence of COVID-19 outbreak, according to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.[6][7]
Facility and operations[edit]
The market occupied over 50,000 m2 (12 acres)[8] and had over 1,000 tenants.[9] It is reported to have been the largest seafood wholesale market in Central China,[8] with wild animals sold in its western zone.[10] The market was located in the newer part of the city, near shops and apartment blocks,[11] about 800 meters (2,600 ft) from Hankou railway station,[12] and close to the Wuhan Center for Disease Control.[13]
In late 2019, the market passed city official inspections, according to The Wall Street Journal.[6] However, Time reported it to have "unsanitary" conditions.[14] It had narrow lanes and stalls in close proximity, where livestock were kept alongside dead animals. According to Business Insider, it was common to see animals openly slaughtered and carcasses skinned in the market.[15] The New York Times reported that "sanitation was dismal, with poor ventilation and garbage piled on wet floors."[11]
The Huanan seafood market was the ground floor of the building. Following its closure, it was sanitized in depth and did not reopen. On the second floor, there is Huanan Glasses Wholesale City (华南眼镜批发城), which closed only during the Wuhan lockdown and is still in operation.[16][17]
Items sold[edit]
With local demand present for the consumption of exotic animals, the market also offered exotic game (ye wei in Chinese) and other wild animals for sale,[18][19] a feature uncommon in most Chinese wet markets.[20][21][22][23] A price list posted by one vendor on the popular Chinese review site Dazhong Dianping listed 112 items, including a number of wild animals.[3][8][24] The South China Morning Post reported on 29 January 2020, that the market had a section selling around "120 wildlife animals across 75 species."[25]
It was incorrectly reported that koalas were sold at the market. The price list included "树熊" (pinyin: shùxióng; lit. 'tree bear'). This term is used for koalas in Chinese communities in Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong, but in China, they are called "考拉" (read as "kǎolā").[24] At the Huanan market, 'tree bear' referred to large rodents.[24]
According to a study published in Scientific Reports in June 2021, 38 wildlife species, including 31 protected species, were sold between May 2017 and November 2019 in Wuhan's wet markets (Huanan seafood market, Baishazhou market, Dijiao outdoor pet market, and Qiyimen live animal market) for food and as pets. These species included raccoon dogs, Amur hedgehogs, Siberian weasels, hog badgers, Asian badgers, Chinese hares, Pallas's squirrels, masked palm civets, Chinese bamboo rats, Malayan porcupines, coypus, marmots, red foxes, minks, red squirrels, wild boars, and complex-toothed flying squirrels. The wild animals on sale suffered poor welfare and hygiene conditions and were capable of hosting a wide range of infectious zoonotic diseases or disease-bearing parasites. No pangolin or bat species were among the animals for sale.[26]
Responses[edit]
Ban on wild animal trade[edit]
Chinese environmentalists, researchers, and state media have called for stricter regulation of exotic animal trade in wet markets.[59] Several Chinese scientists have called for bans on wildlife trade since 2003.[25][60][61]
On 22 January 2020, a ban on the sale of all wild animal products in Wuhan was announced.[62] In May 2020, the city banned eating wild animals and limited hunting and breeding of wild animals.[63]
On 24 February 2020, the Chinese government announced that the trade and consumption of wild animals would be banned throughout China,[64][65] amidst mounting domestic criticism of the industry.[66][67][68][69] However, the ban does not cover the consumption of wild animal products in traditional Chinese medicine, according to The New York Times.[70]
