One Year of COVID-19: Address the Causes, Not the Symptoms
The WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic one year ago. The causes lie in the way we treat wildlife. The wildlife trade must be stopped.
On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the outbreak of COVID-19 a pandemic.
On the occasion of the anniversary, FOUR PAWS is calling on the WHO, the OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health), and the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) in an open letter to urgently incorporate animal and environmental protection measures into their pandemic prevention plans. According to a 2020 report by UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), 75 percent of emerging infectious diseases originate in animals — including COVID-19.
Although COVID-19 has completely transformed every aspect of our lives, institutions and governments continue to tackle the symptoms rather than the root cause of this zoonotic pandemic. The real problem is the broken relationship between humans, animals, and nature. Only by taking concrete measures worldwide to end animal suffering can future zoonotic pandemics be prevented. We call on those in positions of responsibility to adopt a holistic approach — because animal welfare also means environmental protection and the protection of human health.
FOUR PAWS President Josef Pfabigan.
From Factory Farming and Fur Farms to the Live Animal Trade
To prevent zoonotic pandemics in the future, FOUR PAWS calls on the WHO, OIE, FAO, and responsible governments to stop focusing on pharmaceutical interim solutions while the underlying problems surrounding the exploitation of animals remain unaddressed. Sustainable solutions are needed, beginning with the ban of fur farms, live animal markets, the wildlife trade, and the dog and cat meat trade. Furthermore, according to FOUR PAWS, factory farming must be ended and the reduction of meat consumption must be promoted. The latter will also help ensure that the destruction of habitats and the climate crisis are not further fueled. To date, the neglect of animal and environmental protection in favor of global growth has led to a dangerous imbalance. Deforestation has further blurred the boundaries between human and animal habitats, making it easier for zoonotic infectious diseases to spread to humans.
Ticking Time Bombs Around the World
International experts assume that the novel coronavirus also originated from wild animals and jumped to humans via an animal intermediate host, possibly at a live animal market in Wuhan, China. According to FOUR PAWS research, live animal markets are often severely overcrowded and under-regulated. Animals of various species, such as pangolins, snakes, dogs, and cats, are kept under unhygienic conditions, crammed together in the smallest of spaces, and brutally slaughtered for their meat. These conditions inevitably lead to weakened immune systems in animals, the transmission of pathogens, and ultimately to an increased likelihood that new infectious diseases will emerge.
«Such conditions and risks are not only found at live animal markets in Asia. Pigs and chickens, kept just as cruelly in factory farms, have already spread swine and bird flu worldwide. Millions of minks languishing on fur farms in Europe have contracted COVID-19 and passed mutations of the virus back to humans. As long as we allow animals to suffer in this way, humans too will suffer the consequences of zoonoses like COVID-19. We must act now!», says Pfabigan.
The open letters can be found here.
