China begins cull of civet cats in bid to halt SARS

RACING against a self-imposed deadline, Chinese authorities drowned or electrocuted the first of thousands of civet cats yesterday in an urgent effort to eliminate a possible source of the SARS virus.

The mass slaughter of animals seized from wildlife markets in Guangdong province was launched despite appeals for caution by the World Health Organisation. The UN agency said killing civets might destroy clues about the source of SARS and even help to spread the disease.

Authorities have ordered the deaths of some 10,000 civet cats a weasel-like animal that is a local delicacy and related wildlife by Saturday.

Hundreds were killed yesterday and officials were checking highway traffic for smuggled animals.

Genetic tests have suggested a link between civets and the SARS virus diagnosed in a 32-year-old television producer in Guangdong China's first case of the disease this season. China's government yesterday said the patient has "fully recovered" and is expected to leave the hospital tomorrow.

"Guangdong is entering an extraordinary period and extraordinary measures are called for," said Feng Liuxiang, deputy director of the provincial Health Bureau, quoted on the Web site of the newspaper Guangzhou Daily. Hong Kong animal activists condemned the slaughtering of civet cats.

"We don't even know if the civet cat is the direct source of SARS," said Ng Cho-nam, president of the Conservancy Association. "If they decide to kill the animals, they should do it in a humane way with minimal suffering for the animals. Drowning is quite inhumane as it takes about a few minutes before the animal dies."

Chinese media said the civets and other animals were being lowered in cages into vats of water. A local official in Guangdong said some were being electrocuted and their bodies burned.

Newspaper photos showed health workers dressed in white protective suits, goggles, surgical masks and elbow-length rubber gloves as they drowned the animals.

The first case of what would be called severe acute respiratory syndrome was recorded in the southern province of Guangdong in November 2002. It killed 58 people there and sickened more than 1,500.

Worldwide, the disease killed 774 people most of them in Asia before subsiding in June.

Civets, which are related to the mongoose, were cited by scientists during that outbreak as a possible source of the virus, which was believed to have originated in animals. China banned trade in the animals but lifted that prohibition in August.

Researchers in Hong Kong said on Monday that tests on samples from the television producer in Guangdong showed a genetic similarity with a new strain of the SARS virus found in civets suggesting another recent jump from animals to humans.