Wei Fuwen, a senior researcher at the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, says that monitoring animal diseases in the wild is more effective than doing surveys of wildlife in markets because China has banned the trade in most wild animals.

Since China's SARS outbreak, consumer demand for wild animals has diminished, making the trade ban easier to implement.

Hao Ming, a public relations officer at the State Forest Administration says funding for the programme has not been finalised, but even without it, the administration plans to push ahead with the work using its own resources.

China's cabinet has yet to confirm how long the programme will operate for.