https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/wuhan-markets-sold-mink-civets-long-before-covid-19-emerged-says-study

• UPDATEDJUN 8, 2021, 4:11 PM

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WASHINGTON (BLOOMBERG, REUTERS) – Chinese markets linked to some of the earliest Covid-19 cases wereillegally selling a range of wildlifefrom which the coronavirus may have spread, according to a study published less than two weeks after US President Joe Bidenordered a deeper probe into the pandemic’s genesis.

Mink, masked palm civets, raccoon dogs, Siberian weasels, hog badgers and Chinese bamboo rats were among 38 animal species sold live at markets in Wuhan from May 2017 to November 2019, researchers said on Monday (June 7) in a paper in the journal Scientific Reports originally submitted last October.

The hunt for Covid-19’s origins has become increasingly political amid criticism that the Chinese government has not been open and transparent with key information, including activities…