Ban wildlife markets to avert pandemics, says UN biodiversity chief

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The United Nations’ biodiversity chief has called for a global ban on wildlife markets – such as the one in Wuhan, China, believed to be the starting point of the coronavirus outbreak – to prevent future pandemics.

Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, the acting executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, said countries should move to prevent future pandemics by banning “wet markets” that sell live and dead animals for human consumption, but cautioned against unintended consequences.

China has issued a temporary ban on wildlife markets where animals such as civets, live wolf pups and pangolins are kept alive in small cages while on sale, often in filthy conditions where they incubate diseases that can then spill into human populations. Many scientists have urged Beijing to make the ban permanent.

“I agree there should be a global ban on wet markets, which will help a lot on wildlife conservation and protection of ourselves from improper contacts with wildlife,” Zhou said. “More than 70% of human diseases are from wildlife and many species are endangered by eating them.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/06/ban-live-animal-markets-pandemics-un-biodiversity-chief-age-of-extinction

[Delusional 9,221]

This is the right thing to do, however what about people in rural areas who don’t have access to “normal” animal food?

[Queen Bitch 10,513]

But I was told that wildlife markets had nothing to do with corona and it's sinophobic & xenophobic to even suggest such a thing. 

[dit 46,738]

my fear with flat out banning them is that they will STILL happen but even more underground, more unhygienic and more secretive meaning if the next pandemic comes it will be even tougher to track the source. I think there just needs to be better sanitation of it, more market control by the government and closing of less mainstream wet markets. Also more rules and regulations with like a mini police task force specialized just with dealing with making sure that the wet market owners comply 100% to the sanitation rules and what not. Ideally I'd love for it to be banned but tbh it has become so embedded in some parts of Chinese culture that it is literally impossible to flat out ban them.

[Guest Adarsh]

11 minutes ago, DeIusional said:

This is the right thing to do, however what about people in rural areas who don’t have access to “normal” animal food?

That’s their government’s fault. They should start programs to educate them about health hazards and provide them with healthy ration for low prices. 

[Dayman 6,251]

7 minutes ago, August3 said:

But I was told that wildlife markets had nothing to do with corona and it's sinophobic & xenophobic to even suggest such a thing. 

Truth is we don’t entirely know exactly the source. The markets are just the current most likely theory. That being said. It’s less about the wildlife markets and culture itself as it is about the lack of regulation by the government to protect its citizens, both in the way the markets operate AND how they handled trying to cover it up before things exploded. There’s a lot more nuance to these conversations there made out to be.

[uo111 5,282]

Chickens and pigs have started epidemics before and will do so in the future assuming our species lasts long enough.

People are so stupid. Anything to make the west feel morally superior in their cruel habits I guess.

[AsleepOnTheCeiling 6,939]

25 minutes ago, Adarsh said:

That’s their government’s fault. They should start programs to educate them about health hazards and provide them with healthy ration for low prices. 

The thing is the government isn't looking out for the people in those ways.

[Guest Adarsh]

35 minutes ago, justhislife said:

The thing is the government isn't looking out for the people in those ways.

They should! The least a government can do is provide food to the starving population.

[Economy 52,839]

6 hours ago, dit said:

my fear with flat out banning them is that they will STILL happen but even more underground, more unhygienic and more secretive meaning if the next pandemic comes it will be even tougher to track the source. I think there just needs to be better sanitation of it, more market control by the government and closing of less mainstream wet markets. Also more rules and regulations with like a mini police task force specialized just with dealing with making sure that the wet market owners comply 100% to the sanitation rules and what not. Ideally I'd love for it to be banned but tbh it has become so embedded in some parts of Chinese culture that it is literally impossible to flat out ban them.

Tbh. Bans = blackmarkets which means even less regulated