Report: Chinese markets still selling bats, despite evidence linking them to coronavirus

Chinese “wet markets” are known to sell dozens of unusual species for consumption, such as bats, lizards, and baby crocodiles.

By World Israel News Staff

Chinese markets are still selling bats believed to be the original source of the deadly coronavirus, reports The Daily Mail.

According to the report, over the weekend thousands of Chinese customers were seen visiting “wet markets” in Guilin, south-west China.

Besides poultry and produce, Chinese “wet markets” are known to sell dozens of unusual species for consumption, such as bats, lizards, and baby crocodiles which are generally killed on-site.

Bats and scorpions were being sold for “traditional medicine,” rabbits and ducks were being slaughtered and skinned on floors covered with “blood, filth, and animal remains,” and dogs and cats were “crammed into rusty cages,” the report said.

Jason Beaubien of NPR described what a Chinese wet market looked like after visiting one late in January.

“Live fish in open tubs splash water all over the floor,” Beaubien said. “The countertops of the stalls are red with blood as fish are gutted and filleted right in front of the customers’ eyes. Live turtles and crustaceans climb over each other in boxes.”

Scientists have not yet determined exactly how the coronavirus first infected people, but evidence suggests it originated in bats. There are conflicting reports with regard to whether bats were sold at Wuhan’s now-shuttered Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market.

Of the 33 samples from the Wuhan market that tested positive in February for the coronavirus, officials say 31 were from the area where wildlife booths were concentrated.

“You’ve got live animals, so there are feces everywhere. There’s blood because of people chopping them up,” said Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance, which works to protect wildlife and public health from emerging diseases.

Associated Press contributed to this report

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