Rat for Sale in China

Dec. 22, 2003 — A restaurant in southern China's Guangdong province is doing a brisk business in rat dishes, ignoring all warnings to stop serving wildlife to prevent the spread of SARS, state media said Sunday.

The eatery, in the city of Zhuhai, sells more than 100 rats a day, the Xinxishibao or Information Times reported.

Some of the rats are caught in farm fields, while others are from the mountains.

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Southern Chinese believe rodents are safe to eat or turn into wine if they are caught in the countryside. However, regardless of whether they are from rural or urban areas, they can transmit diseases, the report quoted experts as saying.

The outbreak of SARS in Guangdong last November did not discourage local residents — known for their taste for exotic dishes — from their eating habits.

Scientists from China and elsewhere found the SARS virus in several types of wildlife, including rats, and the government forbade vendors from selling wild animals, especially endangered animals.

Officials also tried to discourage people from eating such creatures, but the practice — part of Guangdong culture — continues.

Rats served by the restaurant can be bigger than 20 centimeters (eight inches) in length, the report said.

The restaurant skins the rodents by putting them in a pot of melted asphalt, it said. Their skin comes off when the cooled asphalt is peeled off of them.

SARS infected almost 8,500 people and killed nearly 800 worldwide before it was brought under control mid-year.

China was the epidemic's country of origin and also its main victim, accounting for 349 fatalities and 5,327 infections, of which 193 deaths were in Beijing.