Thousands of farmers and chefs in China were cooking and selling massive wild rats before the coronavirus pandemic.

Giant wild rats are celebrated as a dietary staple before the coronavirus pandemic.

Chinese bamboo rats are praised for their nutritional meat in China, with a number of big named chefs celebrating “100 reasons why you should eat them”.

But after the pandemic, the sale of the rodents had been banned.

The decision was made by the authorities after Dr. Zhong Nanshan, a leading epidemiologist, claimed in January that the epidemic could be linked with eating of bamboo rats or badgers.

The decision of the country came when there were around 25 million bamboo rats on various farms in the countries.

The virus is highly linked to the Wuhan Wet Market, where a number of bamboo rats were sold.

Dr. Peter J. Li, a China Policy Specialist from animal welfare charity Humane Society International, said:

“Usually, live bamboo rats would be delivered directly to restaurant and food stalls dealing with exotic food. A small percentage of the bamboo rats, no more than 10%, would be displayed and slaughtered at the wildlife wet markets in Guangdong and Guangxi.”

Dr. Li also said that traders of the rats were spreading unsupported rumors about the rats.

The sudden halt on the selling of wild animal meat led to breeders kill over 3,000 bamboo rats.

Bamboo rats can weigh up to five kilograms and grow to 45 centimeters long.

It is believed that these rats have been in the country since the Zhou Dynasty (1046-256BC).