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NGOs call on World Health Organization to help stop next pandemic

In the wake of COVID-19, FOUR PAWS demands a ban on global wildlife markets to prevent such health crises in the future

4/6/2020

BOSTON- April 6, 2020 – In light of World Health Day on April 7, and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, FOUR PAW joined 240 other international organizations, sent a joint letter to the World Health Organisation (WHO) asking for a global ban on wild animal markets. With a growing demand for markets that sell live and dead wild animals such as pangolins, turtles, tigers and bats for human consumption or traditional medicine, there has never been a greater need to ban such practices considering the current global pandemic, and to help prevent future pandemics.

Studies have proven wildlife markets are the perfect environment for pathogens like viruses or bacteria to jump from animals to humans thus posing a serious risk to human health. According to scientific journal Nature, 60 per cent of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic and 70 per cent of these are thought to originate from wild animals.

The risk of zoonotic disease transmission increases due to the severely unhygienic conditions associated with wildlife markets. Animals are crammed together in tiny spaces in the frequently crowded markets. The close proximity to humans provides the perfect opportunity for pathogens to spread. The animals have weak immune systems as a result of inadequate care, stress and trauma. They are prone to disease, which further exacerbates the risk for humans.

“It’s not the first time that infectious diseases have been linked to wild animals. The recent epidemics SARS-CoV 1, which jumped from bats to civet cats and then to humans, and MERS-CoV, which was transmitted to humans from camels, as well as Ebola and HIV are all zoonotic diseases. These and many other infectious diseases show that zoonoses pose a huge public health risk. As long as wildlife markets exist, they won’t be the last. It would be extremely negligent of the WHO to dismiss the opportunity to help prevent future pandemics,” 

-Kieran Harkin, Head of Wild Animal Campaigns at FOUR PAWS.

Risk of disease transmission is prevalent across all aspects of wild animal products trade. 

“Lion and tiger bones, rhino horn or pangolin scales have no proven unique medical properties. We ask governments worldwide to support us and raise awareness among their citizens that the consumption and use of wildlife is a risk to public health and safety, and to ensure that markets which sell wild animals and their parts have no place in their respective countries,” 

says Harkin.

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FOUR PAWS is the global animal welfare organization for animals under direct human influence, which reveals suffering, rescues animals in need, and protects them. Founded in 1988 in Vienna by Heli Dungler and friends, the organization advocates for a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy, and understanding. FOUR PAWS’ sustainable campaigns and projects focus on companion animals including stray dogs and cats, farm animals and wild animals – such as bears, big cats, and orangutans – kept in inappropriate conditions as well as in disaster and conflict zones. With offices in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Kosovo, the Netherlands, Switzerland, South Africa, Thailand, Ukraine, the UK, the USA and Vietnam, as well as sanctuaries for rescued animals in eleven countries, FOUR PAWS provides rapid help and long-term solutions. www.fourpawsusa.org 

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