The trade of wildlife is not common in China, particularly in large cities, and most wet markets in China do not contain live or wild animals besides fish held in tanks. However, some poorly-regulated Chinese wet markets provide outlets for the exotic wildlife trade industry that was estimated to be worth more than $73 billion in a 2017 Chinese government report. In 2003, wet markets across China were banned from holding wildlife after the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak, which was directly tied to such practices. In 2014, live poultry was banned from all markets in Hangzhou due to the H7N9 avian influenza outbreak. Several provinces in China also banned the sale of live poultry following the avian influenza outbreak. Although the exact origin of the COVID-19 pandemic is yet to be confirmed as of April 2020, it has been linked to the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market in Wuhan, China. Following the outbreak, epidemiology experts from China and a number of animal welfare organizations called to ban the operation of wet markets selling wild animals for human consumption.