What's being done about wet markets?

Wet markets became a focal point of conversations after the coronavirus outbreak and led to a ban in China on the sale of wild wildlife products as food in February of 2020. Wet markets sell ‘wet’ items such as meat, poultry, seafood, fruit and vegetables- not specifically ‘exotic’ meats. Although exotic meats such as bat and snake can be found at select wet markets and most of the animals that aren’t exotic sold there are bred for wholesale and not poached from the wild [1]. Many argue that they are vital to Chinese food trade as they account for 30-59% of china’s food supplies [2] and many operate as a way for locals to get access to affordable fresh food [3]. But it is important to point out these markets aren’t only found in China- they exist all across Asia, Africa and Latin America.

While many Westerners call for a ban on them, scenes like the black market would explode for demand (as seen in 2003 when a ban was put into place as a result of the SARs virus) which may lead to an even larger threat to human health [1].

This leads to the big question- what can be done?

In my opinion, the shutting down of these markets would do near enough nothing to improve the real issue- the welfare of these traded animals and the sanitation of their living conditions. If people rely on their consumption so heavily, and they contribute to such a large portion of some country’s food supplies; why won’t countries invest in ensuring that the welfare of these animals is up to a good standard?

This could begin with putting in place a set of regulations to ensure that the health of these animals is of a much higher quality than it is currently. A good method to improve an animal’s health (although generally unfavoured as it is more expensive than intensive methods), is to improve their welfare. It should be ensured that these animals have access to water and food, a certain space regulation for each species, and simple health checks such as body condition scores and respiratory rate can be carried out. Many people who sell/keep these animals in such dire conditions probably do so to benefit themselves economically, and they see no incentive to improve their animal’s conditions- the COVID-19 pandemic should be such a clear incentive to do so. I have always favoured animals having good welfare from the general view that animals deserve a good life, but if a global pandemic that has killed 2.24 million people isn’t enough incentive from a human-centred point of view, then what is? Why hasn’t this woken people up to the importance of good welfare in animals, most specifically those that you are going to consume? The economic cost to the world of this pandemic should show to anyone who breeds/keeps animals for food how important it is that they are clean, healthy and are in no way compromised, regardless of the economic costs.

Overall, these wet markets cannot be banned as this will only lead to the sale of these animals and their meats going underground and thus potentially further impacting their welfare and health. But, a set of health and welfare regulations should be put into place in these markets to help protect these animals and, in doing so, consequently the health of humans. I wish that the issue of animal welfare would be considered regardless of its impact on human health, however even in this instance- where human health is undoubtedly compromised- little is still being done to prevent this happening in the future.