Indonesian city bans sales of bats, snakes over virus fears

Avendor slicing up a large snake at the Tomohon Extreme Meat market last week on Sulawesi island, as business is booming and curious tourists keep arriving to check out exotic fare that enrages animal rights activists. But the province has stopped the sales over Covid-19 epidemic (coronavirus) fears, a health official said on Saturday (Feb 15). - AFP

JAKARTA: A city in Indonesia's North Sulawesi province known for exotic animals has stopped sales over Covid-19 epidemic (coronavirus) fears, a health official said on Saturday (Feb 15).

Tomohon is known for its market that sells meat and live animals including rat, snake, bat and monkey for consumption.