World Animal Protection calls on WHO for global ban of wildlife markets to save human lives

NEW YORK, April 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, World Health Day, over 200 organizations from across the world, including World Animal Protection, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Humane Society International, Born Free, and Wild Aid, have issued a letter urging the World Health Organization (WHO) to endorse a permanent ban on live wildlife markets and the use of wildlife in traditional medicine.

The letter highlights that with the suspected COVID-19 link to a wildlife market in China, WHO must take action to achieve its mission to serve public health at all times. WHO should recommend that governments worldwide permanently ban live wildlife markets and the use of wildlife in traditional medicine.

These actions would help protect human life from future pandemics such as COVID-19. Sixty percent of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic, meaning they originate from animals, and 70% of these are believed to originate in wild animals.  

The letter states: "While a robust global response is critical in detecting, treating and reducing transmission [of COVID-19], it is equally necessary to take vital measures to prevent similar emerging infectious diseases developing into pandemics with the associated threats to human life, and social and economic well-being." 

A ban on wildlife markets is urgently needed to prevent the unregulated and unhygienic conditions and the close proximity between humans and animals, providing the perfect opportunity for pathogens to spread.

This risk is further exacerbated by the cruel conditions in which animals are typically farmed or collected from the wild, transported, and held at wildlife markets. This inevitably results in large numbers of different species being kept in close proximity, causing immense stress and weakening of their immune systems.

Gilbert Sape, Head of the Wildlife Not Medicine campaign at World Animal Protection said: "We all commend WHO's efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19. Given this pandemic is believed to have originated at a wildlife market, we're calling on WHO to unequivocally state the proven link between these markets and the severe threats they pose to human health.

"WHO can help prevent future pandemics by excluding the use of wildlife from their endorsement of traditional medicine. This could help save lives in the future and help protect millions of wild animals that are unnecessarily and cruelly farmed or poached from the wild to supply this industry. Plant-based alternatives are recognized and available."

These organizations strongly urge WHO to:

• Recommend to governments worldwide that they institute a permanent ban on live wildlife markets, drawing an unequivocal link between these markets and their proven threats to human health.
• Recommend to governments that they address the potential risks to human health from the trade in wildlife ? including collection from the wild, ranching, farming, transport, and trade through physical or online markets for any purpose ? and act to close down or limit such trade in order to mitigate those risks.
• Unequivocally exclude the use of wildlife, including from captive-bred specimens, in WHO's definition and endorsement of Traditional Medicine and revise WHO's 2014-2023 Traditional Medicine Strategy accordingly to reflect this change.
• Assist governments and lead a coordinated response among the World Trade Organization, World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) and other multilateral organizations worldwide in awareness-raising activities to clearly inform of the risks of wildlife trade to public health, social cohesion, economic stability, law and order, and individual health.
• Support and encourage initiatives that deliver alternative sources of protein to subsistence consumers of wild animals, in order to further reduce the risk to human health.

Read the letter written to World Health Organization here.

SOURCE World Animal Protection