CORONAVIRUS: Eating wild animals banned in Wuhan as China goes on defensive

The coronavirus has spread around the world from China's Wuhan. More than 5 million people worldwide have been infected with the virus so far

Exactly how the coronavirus spread is not yet known. However, reports say that the virus has spread from the meat market.

Eating wild animals has been banned in Wuhan — the epicenter of the coronavirus — while the Chinese government also Wednesday slammed the U.S. over criticism of lax reporting in the early stages of the pandemic.

It’s the latest flareup between the communist country and the Trump administration over COVID-19 and the World Health Organization’s handling of the virus.

The City of Wuhan announced Wednesday a ban on eating wild animals and Chinese farmers are being offered cash to quit breeding exotic animals, CBS reported.

The top theory on how COVID-19 started was at the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan when a human or humans were infected with a virus from an animal at the wet market where animals are stacked up in cages

Stock footage of pangolins — a scaly mammal that looks like an anteater — have made it on to news bulletins, suggesting this animal was the staging post for the virus before it spread to humans, the Guardian reported.

Others have speculated the virus may have come from a bat. Wild animals, including bats, are considered delicacies in China.

This includes all animals on the conservation list in Hubei Province. Rare animals are also included. Therefore, fox, crocodile, wolf, snake, rat and peacock meat will not be sold in Wuhan for the next five years.

No person or organization may produce wildlife or related products. Apart from this, meat cannot be processed.