Who’s to blame for the novel coronavirus? Sadly us.
Animals are not to blame for pandemics. The same cannot be said for people and governments who have broken the social contract with animals we share the world with but who have no voice.
TOM EDLING & ROBIN GANZERT: Mankind’s history, fabled and otherwise, is intrinsically linked to animals. From the snake tempting Eve, to Noah’s ark of survival, to evolutionary theory that we developed from a quadri-ped mammal to a bi-ped mammal with opposable thumbs. Somehow or other, no matter your personal or religious doctrine, those opposable thumbs allowed us to separate ourselves from the pack. In some ways, we have enriched animals lives but in others we have treated them in ways that have led to extinction, abuse and conditions that have led to great suffering for both animals and people…
While we are focused on addressing the current pandemic crisis, we cannot ignore the root cause of the spread of the virus or those ultimately responsible. Our global approach to animal welfare, safety and ethics (or lack thereof) is the root cause of the situation we find ourselves in and unless we work together as a global community, we will continue to find ourselves thrown into a malodorous cauldron of death and disease…
In recent times, we have seen other coronaviruses emerge, notably MERS and SARS. MERS originated in camels and SARS probably originated from a corona strain found in bats that jumped to the Civet cat. Both of these viruses were then transferred to humans who consumed these exotic animals… While MERS and SARS got our attention, the viruses weren’t taken as seriously as they warranted. Wet markets where domestic and exotic animals are slaughtered, sold and consumed, continued to thrive. As did the poaching and trafficking of exotic wildlife…
Global leaders and governments turned a blind eye to these markets and poachers, all but encouraging these cultural and generational traditions to stay the course. As a result, today we as a global community are all experiencing the novel coronavirus derived from bats in a wet market… Irrespective of the origination, we know this much to be true, these occurrences will continue to increase as we bring exotic wildlife and wildlife trade into urban centers…
When humans, who proudly sit atop the evolutionary ladder, fail to take action to protect animals from unethical treatments, fail to have biosecurity procedures, fail to have independent oversight from animal welfare and fail to change societal norms for the better of all animal kind, this is exactly the disaster we invite. It has happened time and time again for centuries, the question is: When will it stop? What trigger point will make people wake-up to the realities we face…
Animals are not to blame, whether they be wild bats or domesticated cats. The same sadly cannot be said for the actions (or inaction) of people and governments who have broken the social contract with animals we share the world with but who have no voice… We see, however, that failing animals in even the most remote parts of the world exposes our entire species to risk, illness and economic collapse. SOURCE…
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