This archive report was first published on 15 May 2020.
On the heels of new research suggesting that the coronavirus may have originated from wild animals, World Animal Protection has launched a campaign urging G20 leaders to support a permanent ban on wildlife trade.
The campaign, which was launched on Wednesday, May 13, 2020, aims to persuade the G20 to take steps towards implementing a global wildlife ban to protect humans and animals from future pandemics.
According to Tennyson Williams, Country Director at World Animal Protection, the pandemic is a result of the exploitation of wild animals on an industrial global scale. He emphasized that the crisis is not just about wild animals being sold for food, but also about greed and the commodification of wild animals at every level.
Williams noted that a global wildlife ban could save the lives of millions of people, animals, and economies. He urged individuals to make a shift in their behavior and attitudes towards animals, citing the importance of not purchasing exotic pets or traditional medicine that contains wild animal products, and avoiding venues with performing animals.
A male bear named Misa in the farm of Dr Tran Trung Ta and his wife Oanh. All the bears at this farm are about 17-20 years old and they are fed a diet of squash, green beans, very small fish and rice. The bears at the farm all arrived as cubs at the farm. Dr Tran Trung Ta said that he didn't get bear bile since it was made illegal in 2005 but World Animal Protection staff member Phuong Le Duy suspects that the owners still take bile from the bears as the locks on the cages were very new and this means that they are probably opened regularly.
