Chowing down on man’s best friend has become illegal in another Chinese city in the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic.

The southern metropolis of Zhuhai has become the second city in the country to permanently ban the consumption of dog and cat meat, Newsweek reported Wednesday. The southeastern Chinese city of Shenzhen became the first city to ban the controversial practice earlier this month.

The two cities will enforce the ban from May 1, the outlet reported.

The move — heralded by animal rights campaigners — takes wider food safety measures already proposed by the country a step further. In January, as the deadly COVID-19 virus swept across the country, China suspended the breeding, trading and consumption of wildlife — and has now promised to make that ban permanent.

The pathogen, which has infected more than 2 million people worldwide since it emerged in the Asian nation, is believed to have originated in a wildlife market in Wuhan.

China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs also this month announced guidelines to reclassify dogs as pets, rather than livestock.

“These cities are using this opportunity to reflect the mood of the majority of the Chinese people, most of whom of course don’t eat dogs and cats,” Wendy Higgins, a spokesperson for Humane Society International, told Newsweek. “That could in itself encourage a national ban.”

Across Asia, an estimated 30 million dogs and 10 million cats are killed every year for human consumption, according to the Humane Society International.