BEIJING – Normally adventurous Chinese diners are eating fewer owls, civets and other wildlife due to fears of SARS and bird flu, according to a survey released yesterday by American and Chinese conservation groups.

The survey of 24,000 people in 16 cities found that nearly 72% had not eaten wild animals in the past year, up from 51% in a similar 1999 survey, the San Francisco-based WildAid and the official China Wildlife Conservation Association said.

Wild animals have long been delicacies in China, where they are served at banquets to show off the host’s wealth. Rare species also are used in traditional medicine, which prescribes deer horn, snake blood, and other products for a wide range of ailments.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome, which first emerged in China’s south in late 2002, was believed to have jumped to humans from civets, an animal some times served in restaurants.

China also has suffered dozens of outbreaks of bird flu, which experts say might originate in migrating ducks and other wild birds.

The groups said their survey was conducted in random face-to-face interviews and inspections of restaurants, stores, and markets in December and January.

In addition, fewer restaurants are serving wild animals, the groups said. Of 472 restaurants surveyed, 43.2% served wild animals – a drop of 6.6% from 1999.

But the survey found that 22.8% more grocery stores and 17.7% more wholesale markets were selling wild animal products than in 1999. The species found in Chinese markets during the survey included pangolin, ostrich, cape barn owl, sika deer, Asian giant soft shell turtle, elongated tortoise, Siamese crocodile, king cobra, and the Chinese giant salamander – but no civets, the groups said.