That seems a very first world-centric point of view.
Isn't the eating of such animals partially driven by cultural culinary preferences, and partially driven by the availability of such foods (eg. unable to afford beef or chicken, but can afford the next best thing).
2. A very small minority of people in China consume exotic food not because they are cheap, but because they are more expensive and were considered prestigious.
3. There is now a very strong pushbacks against this culture from both the Chinese government and the vast majority of the Chinese people.
> Yes, outbreak of zootonic diseases is still possible through widely consumed firm animals (chickens, pigs, or cows). But we can dramatically reduce the risk of next pandemic if we stop eating exotic wild animals like bats, which is not hard to give up.
Washing your hands is not going to stop every single disease on the earth, but it'll reduce the risk. What exactly is the unsound part here?
It's not a harmful proposal or anything, I just don't think it would have much impact, and it fixates excessively on the particulars of two specific outbreaks.
I have no doubt that there are cases of wealthy people consuming exotic meat as a delicacy, but I would bet pound for pound it is largely people in poorer regions without much alternative.
Unfortunately I'm looking for real stats but am having trouble as most of the trade does not keep records, is illegal, etc