to showcase local cuisine. International agencies pressured China to adopt legislation forbidding the hunting of bats and sale of bat meat following the early 2000s SARS outbreak where hundreds of people died, though no such legislation was passed. All wildlife trade in China, including bat meat, was banned in January 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic which originated in Wuhan. North America Bats are occasionally eaten in North American cuisine. Oceania Bats are regularly hunted and consumed in Oceania, and are the only native land mammals of many isolated islands. About 23% of Oceania's bat species are hunted, or 40 species. Bat meat is considered a delicacy in the Cook Islands, Niue, Guam, the Mariana Islands, and Samoa. It is popularly consumed in Fiji, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu. South America Though bat diversity in South America is especially high, bats are rarely consumed. Some indigenous peoples may consume bats, with the Nambiquara people known to consume three species of leaf-nosed bat. Live bats are sold in Bolivia for purported medicinal uses. Specifically, consuming the bats' blood is believed to treat epilepsy. A 2010 study documented that per month, 3,000 bats were sold in markets in four Bolivian cities. Species sold in these markets include Seba's short-tailed bats, mouse-eared bats, and common vampire bats. Preparation and cooking In the Philippines, especially Mayantoc, Tarlac, locals eat a dish called Bat adobo. Locals catch and kill several dozen megabats per hunting trip; the bats are then skinned, beheaded, and de-winged before they are gutted, chopped, and stewed. Guava is used to tenderize the meat, which is later seasoned and sautéed with onions, garlic, and soy sauce—not much different from the usual Philippine adobo. Paniki is a Minahasan dish from North Sulawesi, Indonesia, made from fruit bats. Soups, stews and curries using bat meat are also prepared. In Palau, bat soup is considered a delicacy. Fruit bats are used in a Palauan soup that includes coconut milk, spices and ginger. Hot pot made with whole bat is available in some restaurants in southern China. Bat stew is a stew prepared from various types of bats. Fruit bats are used in some versions of the dish. Estufa de morcego is a bat stew delicacy in the cuisine of São Tomé and Príncipe that is served on saints days and during fiestas. The 1999 version of The Oxford Companion to Food states that the flavor