The civet cat has a definite image problem.
Nine months ago, the animals were banished as suspected spreaders of the SARS virus, only to be back on the menu after the outbreak subsided.
Now they and other exotic animals sold as food are again being targeted for slaughter as China seeks to block a re-emergence of SARS. Some 10,000 civets have been ordered drowned, electrocuted and incinerated by today.
"People eat wild game for its supposed health-giving properties, but the civet had come to be known as a damned creature," said Hu Xueming, deputy general secretary of the Guangzhou Food and Beverage Association.
Scientists have found no incontrovertible proof that civets are responsible for SARS' jump to human beings, but they have found the virus present in the breed.
The civets' unenviable fate seems sadly at odds with its origins as a shy, fruit-eating tree dweller that just happens to be prized as a delicacy in southern China.
Civets are mongoose-like animals found throughout Africa and Asia and only distantly related to the common house cat. Some species are ground-dwelling and omnivorous, although the Chinese species tied to the SARS virus, the masked palm civet, lives in trees and eats oranges, papayas and mangoes.
Members of the Viverridae family, civets have a pointy, striped nose like a weasel, with a long, cat-like body and tail. Most weigh 2kg to 5kg, but can weigh up to 11kg.
Civets are usually only served in specialty wildlife restaurants, called yewei (野味), or "wild taste" in Mandarin. Often located in hilly rural areas on the edge of Guangzhou and other southern cities, the restaurants keep live animals in cages, awaiting the customer's selection, then slaughter them on the spot.
Other than its distinctive flavor, civet meat is also credited with having medicinal qualities. Consumers say civet flesh can improve male virility, cure skin diseases, and improve other ailments.
There are various forms of preparation, but the most popular is to fry the meat with soy sauce, adding bird's nest for flavor and nutritional value, Hu said.
"You have to eat it while it's hot, because if it gets cold the oil will congeal and you'll have a gamey smell," Hu said.
The civet's return to obscurity could be the best outcome of the slaughter, according to Beijing environmentalist Guo Geng. He claims the animals have been caged up and should be released into the wild.
"I'd love it if Cantonese abandoned eating the civet. We shouldn't be worried about them spreading disease because when they see a human they turn and run," Guo said in an interview with the Web site Sina.com.
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