The Wuhan Institute of Virology kept live bats in cages. This was revealed by SkyNews Australia based on an unpublished video, which it came into possession, shot inside the structure. Images that would refute the version of the WHO that had branded the hypothesis as “conspiracy”. SkyNews Australia specifies that this is the official video – showing employees feeding bats – of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, shot on the occasion of the launch of the biosecurity laboratory in May 2017. The 10-minute video, entitled «The Wuhan P4 laboratory construction and research team of the Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences “, celebrates the completion of the facility and presents interviews with its leading scientists from the level 4 laboratory, the highest in terms of safety ever made in China, thanks to the support of France.
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There is talk of “maximum security” precautions in place in the event of an “accident” and of “intense clashes” with the Paris government during its construction. The WHO report on the origin of the pandemic did not mention the presence of bats at the Institute of the city where Covid-19 was first recorded, while in the attachments there was mention of the possibility of hosting the animals. “The room in facility P4 can handle a variety of species, including primate work with SARS-CoV-2,” it reads.
Zoologist Peter Daszak, who was part of the WHO mission in Wuhan, said it was a conspiracy to suggest that the bats were bred at the Institute of Virology. In a tweet in December 2020 he wrote that “no bats have been sent to the Wuhan laboratory for genetic analysis of the viruses collected in the field: we collect samples of bats, we send them to the laboratory. Let’s release the bats where we catch them! ‘ This month, Daszak appeared to retract, admitting the Institute may have harbored bats and never asked for it. Daszak was harshly criticized for his close relationship with Shi Zhengli, the Institute’s ‘Bat Woman’, known for collecting more than 15,000 virus samples from bats. Shi Zhengli, for his part, once again denied that the Institute of Wuhan Virology may be at the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic due to a ‘leak’ of the virus. “How can I offer evidence of something for which there is no evidence?”, said the Chinese scientist.