This archive report was first published on 20 April 2020.
As the world grapples with the Covid-19 pandemic, conservation experts are hailing it as a watershed moment for curbing the global wildlife trade, which can drive extinction and spread disease.
The Chinese government's promotion of the wild animal trade as a form of rural economic development over the past 40 years has been a major contributor to the problem. However, with the emergence of the Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan, China, the government was forced to take action, freezing the sale and consumption of wild animals in January and enforcing a permanent ban on February 24.
According to Prof Andrew Cunningham, deputy director of science at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), wet markets like those found in mainland China can be 'time bombs' for epidemics. 'This sort of way that we treat... animals as if they're just our commodities for us to plunder - it comes back to bite us and it's no surprise,' he said.
The recent Covid-19 pandemic is believed to have spread from horseshoe bats to humans, most likely through pangolins, a scaly armadillo-like creature that are considered a delicacy in Asia. The disease has killed over 165,000 people worldwide and has provoked intense pressure to eliminate the wild animal trade, an industry with both legally-condoned and black-market elements.
As the world struggles to contain the pandemic, it is clear that the root of the problem lies in the wild animal trade. The Chinese government's decision to ban the trade is a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done to protect the world's wildlife and prevent future pandemics.
With the pandemic pushing the world into a recession, it is more important than ever that we take action to protect the environment and prevent the spread of disease. A global, coordinated health and economic quick action plan is needed to overcome this pandemic and prevent future ones.
As the writer, a business leader and conservationist, notes, 'Human life is priceless, we must control and stop any disease and pandemic illness globally.'
