Wild Meat Less Popular in China?

City Weekend magazine May issue carried a story called "Beef, it's what's for dinner" about a recent study by WildAid and China Wildlife Conservation Association. The study claims that wild animals are becoming less popular with Chinese consumers. I'm a bit suspicious of the numbers -- I've heard other reports on the contrary, that with a newly affluent class in China, more diners can afford to eat expensive, exotic dishes. Shark's fin soup, for example, has been under attack by animal rights activists because the demand has been increasing recently.

I'll quote from the article here:

With the media hyped fear of SARS and the bird flu spreading like wildfire over the globe, many Chinese have stopped their wild ways and are sticking to beef, pork and chicken.

"It just doesn't seem worth the risk of getting a deadly disease to eat some weird animal," said Cindy Li in Beijing.

Now I'd really like to see some stats here. Have more people died from eating weird meat? What about mad cows? Or trichonosis from pig meat? And, considering bird flu is currently the most famous food-borne disease out there, does this Cindy Li person think chickens are weird animals?

Also, check out this recent report on wild meats -- new on the menu in Shanghai, and one (rather wild himself) chef's argument that wild meat is better for ecology.