A new peer-reviewed article in Frontiers: "COVID-19 and the Curse of Piecemeal Perspectives” authored by Dr. Chris Walzer, Executive Director of Health at WCS, emphasizes:
- we know that SARS-CoV-2 originated in wild animals, and
- we know that human degradation of the environment and trade in wildlife is driving such emergence of novel zoonotic diseases as we increase contact rates between people and wildlife from biodiverse, formerly intact ecosystems.
We critically need "bold, forward-reasoning organizations and leaders who acknowledge root causes, take responsibility and weather the inevitable pushback from narrowly focused interest groups while also overcoming traditional economic and disciplinary silos to design future health and well-being for all."
Read more highlights from the paper, and more on why it is so important to stop commercial trade of wild birds and mammals in order to reduce zoonotic risk and to safeguard resources for Indigenous Peoples and local communities who rely on wild meat to meet their nutritional requirements, in our WCS news story here
Photo credit: Lucy Keatts
