TALES OF THE CITY
BOOK BANISHMENT
Wuhan Kids’ Book Pulled Over Passage on Civet Consumption by Matthew Bossons
W
uhan University Press drew flak online last month for publishing a children’s book that states masked palm civet meat is edible, according to Chinese media reports. The book, which is titled Encyclopedia of Animals, additionally states that the animal’s fat is used in the production of cosmetics, and that its hair can be used to make gloves and brushes. On February 11, the publishing house, based in Wuhan, Hubei province, quickly announced that it had recalled all copies of the book from store shelves across the country. In its official statement, the company further noted that the matter is still under investigation. Here is the full sta tement (translation by Ryan Gandolfo/That’s): “Recently, some netizens have pointed out that one of our published works, Encyclopedia of Animals,
contains an improper statement about civets. Our publishing company attaches great importance to this matter, and has informed national sales outlets to take the book off shelves. Meanwhile, other related matters are continuing to be investigated and dealt with. Thanks to the vast number of netizens and readers for bringing this to Wuhan University Press’ attention! We welcome you to continue to monitor and give feedback on our work!” “Find the publisher and ask him if he is eating the [civet] cat,” wrote one Weibo user in response to the news. “Wuhan has no awareness of wildlife conservation,” posted another, from the Guangdong city of Zhuhai. While civet meat is indeed edible and considered a delicacy in parts of South China, the trade in bush meat is under justifiably increased scrutiny now, as China – and Hubei in particular – is amidst a deadly coronavirus
outbreak. The disease, dubbed COVID-19 by the World Health Organization, is believed to have originated from the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan – a wet market known to sell bamboo rats, snakes, foxes, badgers and more. Civets were blamed for the SARS epidemic in 2003, although later research has linked bats to the outbreak. Interestingly, it is now believed that SARS jumped from humans to civets. Back in 2004, authorities rounded up and exterminated thousands of palm civets to limit the risk of future disease outbreaks. For regular updates on the coronavirus outbreak in China, scan the QR code.
WWW.THATSMAGS.COM | MARCH 2020 | 7
