If you are a loving cat or dog pawrent, you sure get hurt when you hear about the cat and dog food culture in Asia.

But hey, we just heard some good news and Cooka has not stopped wagging her tail ever since I read her the story. We hope that this will set a trend throughout Asian countries.

Shenzhen has become the first Chinese city to ban the sale and consumption of dog and cat meat.

After the news, that the coronavirus outbreak was linked to wildlife meat, Chinese authorities banned the trade and consumption of wild animals. Shenzhen however went even a step further, extending the ban to dogs and cats. The new law will come into force on 1 May.   It is estimated that about thirty million (!) dogs are killed every year across Asia for their meat, says Humane Society International (HSI). But surprisingly the practice of eating dog meat in China is not that common - the majority of Chinese people have never done so and say they never would even consider it. "Pets, like cats and dogs have established a much closer relationship with humans than all other animals. Banning the consumption of their meat is a common practice in developed countries and in Hong Kong and Taiwan," the Shenzhen city government said, according to a Reuters report. "This ban also responds to the demand and spirit of human civilisation."

HSI was very positive about this decision. "This really could be a watershed moment in efforts to end this brutal trade that kills millions of dogs and cats in China every year," said Dr Peter Li, China policy specialist for HSI.   And here some not so good news... However, at the same time as this ruling, China approved the use of bear bile to treat coronavirus patients. Bear bile - a digestive fluid drained from living captive bears - has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine. The active ingredient, ursodeoxycholic acid, is used to dissolve gallstones and treat liver disease. But there is no proof that it is effective against the coronavirus and the process is painful and distressing for the animals Brian Daly, a spokesman for the Animals Asia Foundation, told AFP: "We shouldn't be relying on wildlife products like bear bile as the solution to combat a deadly virus that appears to have originated from wildlife."

Let's hope we will learn from this difficult time and change our ways...   Love, your Cooka