Sun Dec 21, 6:05 PM ET

BEIJING (AFP) - A restaurant in southern China's Guangdong province is
doing a brisk business in rat dishes, ignoring all warnings to stop
serving wildlife to prevent the spread of SARS (news - web sites),
state media said.

The eatery, in the city of Zhuhai, sells more than 100 rats a day, the
Xinxishibao or Information Times reported.

Some of the rats are caught in farm fields, while others are from the
mountains.

Southern Chinese believe rodents are safe to eat or turn into wine if
they are caught in countryside. However, regardless of whether they
are from rural or urban areas, they can transmit diseases, the report
quoted experts saying.

The outbreak of SARS in Guangdong last November did not discourage
local residents -- known for their taste for exotic dishes -- from
their eating habits.

Scientists from China and elsewhere found the Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome (SARS) virus in several types of wildlife, including rats,
and the government forbade vendors from selling wild animals,
especially endangered animals.

Officials also tried to discourage people from eating such creatures,
but the practice, part of Guangdong culture, continues.

Rats served by the restaurant can be as big as over 20 centimeters
(eight inches) long, the report said.

The restaurant skins the rodents by putting them in a pot of melted
asphalt, it said. Their skin comes off when the cooled asphalt is
peeled off them.

SARS infected almost 8,500 people and killed nearly 800 worldwide
before it was brought under control mid-year.

China was the epidemic's country of origin and also its main victim,
accounting for 349 fatalities and 5,327 infections, of which 193
deaths were in Beijing.

TAIPEI (AFP) - Taiwan's parliament has banned the selling of dog meat
in an effort to deter the slaughtering of strays, a lawmaker's aide
said.

The original law barred the killing of pets, including dogs and cats,
for their meat, skin (news - web sites) or other parts for financial
benefit.

But it failed to stop vendors from selling slaughtered dogs or to stop
restaurants from offering dog meat as a delicacy.

They were able to evade punishment by claiming that they did not kill
the animals themselves, said the aide to Wang Sing-nan, who proposed
the amendment.

"We hope by stopping the sale of dog meat, the killing will stop too,"
the aide said.

The amendment, passed Tuesday, also increased penalties for violators,
with the fine raised to a maximum of 250,000 Taiwan dollars (7,355 US
dollars), from 10,000 dollars.

Help-Save-A-Pet Fund in Taiwan, a non-profit organization advocating
animal rights, welcomed the bill and planned to offer small rewards to
those providing tips on dog meat sellers.

Secretary-general Liu Yu-tung said she hoped for a further law change
to ban the eating of dog meat altogether.