ZISIQIAO, China: Since China began frantic efforts to curb the COVID-19 epidemic in late January, residents in the tiny snake breeding village of Zisiqiao have had to come to terms with a ban on wildlife trading, its lifeline for decades.
Zisiqiao employed hundreds of people to breed three million snakes a year. Now, the rows of wooden slats that housed the captive reptiles stand empty, and abandoned.