To Prevent Next Coronavirus, Stop the Wildlife Trade, Conservationists Say 20/02/2020

The COVID-19 is a mild pandemic, affecting 73 000 individuals and has displaced millions. It has killed approximately 2 000 individuals, but humans aren’t the only ones who are infected. The first known case stems from a seafood market in Wuhan, China, which points to some form of the virus present in animals. This is not a unique story, in fact, the SARS pandemic and MERS epidemic were both directly caused by a virus that spread from mammal to human.

Conservationists believe that the only way that we can prevent devastating coronaviruses in the future is to put a screeching halt to global wildlife trade.

Beijing was the first to put a ban, temporary nonetheless, on all wildlife trade in attempts to stop the virus from spreading to the sprawling capital. This proves that individuals are able to recognize the linkage between mammal and human virus spreading, but can China stand the loss of global wildlife trade?

China is more or less a pro at illegal wildlife trade, ranking in billions every year from the lucrative practice. This is primarily done as a means of trade for goods and services amongst citizens, as it's a relatively inexpensive practice, but the market for these animals is high demand.

The world’s most trafficked mammal, pangolins are barred from international trade and are protected domestically in China. But pangolin meat and blood are considered delicacies on the black market, and sales of their scales for use in traditional Chinese medicine remain legal for certain hospitals and pharmacies. Experts still do not know which species transmitted the new coronavirus to people. But pangolins, also known as scaly anteaters, are now the leading suspects.

The country’s wildlife policies are based on the premise that wildlife is a natural resource that should be utilized, and officials tend to view wildlife from an economic standpoint rather than an ecological one. Banning wildlife trade would require a fundamental shift.

“The Chinese government has created an enormous problem for itself by encouraging wildlife use,” Dr. Li, the infamous Chinese ophthalmologist who was the whistleblower for the current mild pandemic, said. “Now it must choose whether to favour the economic interests of a small minority or to favour the public health interests of 1.4 billion Chinese people and the world.”