After SARS in 2003, there was another outbreak of the novel coronavirus this year. Every people from all the functional departments to every citizen, can’t keep out of it. Especially all the functional departments should bear the responsibilities in the face of the disaster. Up to now, We should seriously reflect on which links have problems.

In China, there is a well-known license for wild animals, one is the license for wild animal domestication and reproduction, and the other is the approval for the sale, purchase, and utilization of key protected wild animals and their products. It is approved and implemented by the local wildlife protection authorities, that is, the forestry authorities are responsible for this matter. The author first talks about the illegal act: for example, many companies and enterprises have nothing to do with domestication, reproduction, sale, purchase, and utilization of wild animals. Obviously, the business scope should not include domestication, reproduction, purchase, sale, and utilization of wild animals. Why can they obtain the license or approval if they do not meet the Provisions? We are very confused about it.

We don't know whether there is a problem of interest distribution. In addition, the legal act: after the approval of legal procedures, the sale of wild animals is legal on the surface, but does the approval really meet the standard? Is the experimental plan for wild animals clearly written? Are the sources of wild animals really clear and reasonable? Are these carefully considered? There is a high probability that it is approved without careful consideration. Are these seemingly legitimate wild animals really safe after entering the market? Who can guarantee that it does not carry any pathogenic bacteria or viruses? So we say that these departments have a responsibility for the spread of the virus caused by the game entering the market.

It is not known whether the novel coronavirus was brought by wild animals that have been sold illegally or by wild animals that have been legally approved for sale. We have also received many public reports of hunting and killing and the use of wild animals for profit. So, does the forestry authorities related to wildlife protection fail to do a good job in some aspects? Malfeasance can be roughly divided into mild, moderate and severe in my opinion: the first level refers to the examination of one's own; the second level refers to knowing that there may be irrationality but not investigate; the third level refers to obtaining benefits from one or more links of wild animal domestication and reproduction, or even breaking the law.

In particular, severe dereliction of duty, there is a reason for the suspicion of the public. Just like the pangolin that the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) has been committed to protecting in recent years, the application for the disclosure of relevant government information always meets many obstacles, and even enters the judicial process with the government department. It is precise because the local forestry departments are not open, opaque, and lack of public participation in wildlife management and approval, which makes the public unable to know about the circumstances. It is very difficult to take effective and precise protection measures to know the real situation of wildlife, but it consumes time in administrative and judicial procedures such as government information disclosure, litigation and etc.

Back to talk about the current situation in Wuhan, because I am not in Wuhan, it is impossible to know how far the virus has spread. However, from the continuous news reports of journalists, blogs and other major network platforms, the current situation in Wuhan is not optimistic. This epidemic situation should make us fully aware that it is necessary and urgent to establish and improve the information disclosure mechanism of wildlife protection and management, including the whole process of hunting, breeding and utilization approval and permission should be fully disclosed in real-time; for species that are particularly endangered, a hearing should be held during the approval. If the information disclosure management system of the forestry departments is not fundamentally changed, it is likely that the next epidemic is slowly coming.

By / Li Xue