Shenzhen, a city famous for technology industries in southern China, is criminalizing eating dogs and cats, as the country tightens trade in wild animals that scientists suspect are behind the spread of the Corona virus.
The controls proposed by the city's local government included nine types of meat allowed to be consumed, including meat, chicken, beef and rabbits, as well as fish and marine creatures.
"The ban on the consumption of wild animals is a standard procedure in developed countries and a global requirement for modern civilization," the memo said.
Scientists suspect that the new virus has spread to humans from animals. Some cases were initially discovered by people who visited a wild animal market in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, where bats, snakes, cats and other animals were sold.
The document considered dogs and cats as pets and would be prohibited from eating them. Snakes, turtles and frogs were excluded from the list of animals allowed to eat despite being popular dishes in southern China.