More than 60 bipartisan lawmakers are calling for an immediate worldwide ban on “wet” markets — or live wildlife markets — and international wildlife trading due to the connection between captive animals and the spread of zoonotic diseases, such as the current coronavirus pandemic.
Citing wildlife markets as “prime transmission locations for these pathogens,” Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Mike Quigley (D-IL) led the effort to urge leaders from the World Health Organization (WHO), World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to take “aggressive action toward a global shutdown” of the aforementioned dangerous markets.
Scientists currently estimate that 60 to 75 percent of currently emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic in nature, meaning they can spillover from animals to humans. Of those emerging infectious diseases, over 70 percent are expected to have come from wildlife.
“It is clear that to protect human health,” the letter read, “these close and sustained interactions with wildlife must stop.”
Wildlife markets create the ideal environment for the spread of zoonotic diseases. Animals are forced to live in congested areas surrounded by thousands of people, and the stressful environment makes it more likely that viruses shed. And these markets are horrendously cruel.
“Market vendors cage animals of different species in close proximity, where the animals are likely to urinate, defecate and potentially bleed or salivate on the animals below them,” the letter continued. “The risk to food buyers can be through the slaughter of animals in front of customers, releasing disease carrying fluids like blood, saliva, and excrement into the air, which can then splash or splatter on nearby people, be consumed or inadvertently inhaled by humans.”
Numerous officials and organizations support the call for a prompt worldwide ban on live wildlife markets, including the Center for Biological Diversity, the acting U.N. Chief of Biodiversity, infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, and the founder of Lady Freethinker (LFT) Nina Jackel.
“Wildlife markets are not only abhorrently cruel, but have proven devastating to global public health,” said Jackel. “It’s encouraging to see our nation’s leaders band together in support of ending these dangerous facilities, and I encourage them to work to end live animal markets right here in the U.S., as well.”
For those that haven’t, sign LFT’s petition urging lawmakers to immediately shut down all live animal markets in New York. For the nearly 20,000 readers that already have, thank you for always giving a voice to the voiceless and making the world a much safer place.
SIGN: Immediately Shut Down All Live Animal Markets in New York
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Please stop horribly killing our animals. Animals are not here to be eaten. Animals ALSO have rights to live!!!! Animals are friends and you don’t eat friends!!!!!! PLEASE STOP HORRIBLY KILLING…..PLEASE STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Please stop all the cruelty to these poor animals.
criticized the group for being bias nationalist racist while helping the animals just calling foreign embassies in america and so on and less the authorities in place well in cases if cruelty on individual dogs i found a case where a police station was mentioned one should as i think go on both roads and try everyone…. well but there is sth in all these helpers for example when peta confiscated a dog and faked it got highly tortured i a family and executed in in gas euthanasia is the kindness of animal helpers somehow well and ithink the us and sadly the less informed and more than chinese and everyone else believing 100 in a law government i mean their own on america are these in here fake helpers at first the worst virus worldwide are now still Hiv and hepatitis c and the new forms they are not zoonotic but for sure animals like humans can get infected because virusses do not live in animals while influenza is rather spread from human to human or mainly zoonotic means that virussses get spread from animal to animal and from animal to human and from human to human in the case of corona i do not believe the market lies because they are simply with two many missing links and americans abusing them for more euthanasia and causing alienation chicken just frozen deep frozen i am against such markets due to the space for the animals sadly the groups minds that only in china!!!! well if they had more space allahuliam you can put the rabbit in the sun if you want or in the shadow i see such markets critical due to the treatment well if small shops butcher animals alive and the customer has to see that he or she can decide against that or for it for example morocco or egypt have them and cats do eat from there and customers can take the intestines to feed animals this is needed becasue you have to know what is slaughtering to decide for meat and you have the chance to see if the meat is halal and if you are for meat eating or against and you can not like western ladies the only men in the west come to that conclusion it is cruel if animals eat the intestines it is normal you can even see how a cat digs a hole and puts in its feces and well later on it is good for the plants this all happens around butcher shops because there is alwas a lot of sands but arab countries lack green and they have money for disco they should invets in bushes the rich saudis and gulfarabs zoonotic means interspecies and well iheard and read about cases where tuberculosis got spread from humans into cows or sheep because these humans denie facemasks ….i am for lady freethinker because even those the underlying racism scheme they are honest i feel but in here it is like wwf supporting the criminal killings of lions and other protected animals because of poverty animals spread virusses that is a lie sorry to say the western lifestyle named adultery spreads hiv and hepatitis c for sure you can get it via hospital but how many do and for that people we should stop hospital even if it was form the market it does not live in animals it gets spread from mammal to mammal and still in corona days the naimls were less dangerous to humans humans with virusses killed species and other humans small pox did not get spread by animals and killed whole populations !!!! too late to kill all americas new population we found vaccine… well .. if animal haters posted this … it was a crime when chinese buried dogs well it was and god is well aware the western lie of livelistock is wrong they have a soul but itis ok when the market is not really giving them space no torture bt they spread virusses live on the market??? well they all get antibiotics and virus outbreaks of this origin are occassionally while virusses human to human are daily weekly yearly 24 7 365!!!!
I criticized the group for being bias nationalist racist while helping the animals just calling foreign embassies in america and so on and less the authorities in place well in cases if cruelty on individual dogs i found a case where a police station was mentioned one should as i think go on both roads and try everyone…. well but there is sth in all these helpers for example when peta confiscated a dog and faked it got highly tortured i a family and executed in in gas euthanasia is the kindness of animal helpers somehow well and ithink the us and sadly the less informed and more than chinese and everyone else believing 100 in a law government i mean their own on america are these in here fake helpers at first the worst virus worldwide are now still Hiv and hepatitis c and the new forms they are not zoonotic but for sure animals like humans can get infected because virusses do not live in animals while influenza is rather spread from human to human or mainly zoonotic means that virussses get spread from animal to animal and from animal to human and from human to human in the case of corona i do not believe the market lies because they are simply with two many missing links and americans abusing them for more euthanasia and causing alienation chicken just frozen deep frozen i am against such markets due to the space for the animals sadly the groups minds that only in china!!!! well if they had more space allahuliam you can put the rabbit in the sun if you want or in the shadow i see such markets critical due to the treatment well if small shops butcher animals alive and the customer has to see that he or she can decide against that or for it for example morocco or egypt have them and cats do eat from there and customers can take the intestines to feed animals this is needed becasue you have to know what is slaughtering to decide for meat and you have the chance to see if the meat is halal and if you are for meat eating or against and you can not like western ladies the only men in the west come to that conclusion it is cruel if animals eat the intestines it is normal you can even see how a cat digs a hole and puts in its feces and well later on it is good for the plants this all happens around butcher shops because there is alwas a lot of sands but arab countries lack green and they have money for disco they should invets in bushes the rich saudis and gulfarabs zoonotic means interspecies and well iheard and read about cases where tuberculosis got spread from humans into cows or sheep because these humans denie facemasks ….i am for lady freethinker because even those the underlying racism scheme they are honest i feel but in here it is like wwf supporting the criminal killings of lions and other protected animals because of poverty animals spread virusses that is a lie sorry to say the western lifestyle named adultery spreads hiv and hepatitis c for sure you can get it via hospital but how many do and for that people we should stop hospital even if it was form the market it does not live in animals it gets spread from mammal to mammal and still in corona days the naimls were less dangerous to humans humans with virusses killed species and other humans small pox did not get spread by animals and killed whole populations !!!! too late to kill all americas new population we found vaccine… well .. if animal haters posted this … it was a crime when chinese buried dogs well it was and god is well aware the western lie of livelistock is wrong they have a soul but itis ok when the market is not really giving them space no torture bt they spread virusses live on the market??? well they all get antibiotics and virus outbreaks of this origin are occassionally while virusses human to human are daily weekly yearly 24 7 365!!!!
Stop now! This is so cruel.
I strongly oppose “wet” markets for a number of reasons. Mostly they are inhumane and dangerous for our health.
Cruelty needs to stop, ban and shut down!
We don’t need a vaccine for Corona! We need a vegan law for the whole world! Close down the slaughter houses and wet death markets . Vegan is the only cure for all deseases!we ignore this,we will have a relapse! God’s warning us to stop greed and selfishness with desasters deseases fires psunamy flood death penalties!
The horrendously cruel and dangerous wet markets need to be shut down NOW!!!!! They are a source of horrible suffering and death to innocent animals and the spread of the highly contagious and deadly Coronavirus to humans on a global scale!!!!!
Not complying with the “wet market” ban is irresponsible and dangerous. Everyone needs to get on board. This has to end Now!
The world has turned a blind eye to these wet markets. If you have ever been to one, you only hear, see and smell misery and death. Please ban these altogether. Not only are they cruel to the animals who are tortured then killed, but ultimately, their revenge is on humans in forms of killer bacterias and viruses.
Murder/torture markets, not wet markets.
I’m not a vegetarian. I am a meat luvey. But this is sick, disgusting, horrifying, and just plain wrong. This is abuse to our wildlife. These people should be punished.
Barbaric, primitive & ultimate cruelty! Must STOP!!
Animal cruelty is horrible.People have no hearts and are cowards to harm animals.They will burn in hell for doing this.
IF COUNTRIES CARRY ON ABUSING ANIMALS AS CHINA HAS ,THERE WILL BE MORE VIRUS’S. NATURE WILL ALWAYS HIT BACK. !
Thank you for taking this action Hopefully this wldill be a start to ending these plaques and bring peace to the wildlife in our world.
Thank you for taking this action Hopefully this wldill be a start to ending these plaques and bring peace to the wildlife in our world.
Our planet is so very fragile and this COVID-19 pandemic should be an eye opener. I hope and pray the destruction of OUR planet will stop.
Please treat these animals humanely, no abusive behavior to hurt these animals, keep in inappropriate cages, etc. If you can’t treat them humanely, give them to an appropriate rescue… What is your problem in hurting animals?
PLEASE BAN THESE HORRIFIC DISEASE RIDDEN WET MARKETS NOW!
We have to put an end to these dangerous practices ASAP – not humane either
Dont care much for people who kill animals…..I really dont want to say exactly what I want too because I’m respecting your note..above
This is what needs to happen. Personally I am far more concerned for the animals in the hellholes than people but the fact is that if nothing is done to shut them down we have only ourselves to blame.
The usage of wet markets or what they really are, open-air terror and killing pits are so horrendous and abhorrent to the civilised world. THEY MUST STOP NOW!! And anyone caught skinning or blowtorching live animals must pay dearly even with their own life.
The Chinese bring their animal torture, arrogance and indifference to all parts of the world. As long as they don’t get sick, their vile ways will continue unless the officials of the world regard our lives as more value than the barbaric so called customs of those monsters.
Please stop selling live animals. Please stop all forms of cruelty.
HELP NOW PLEASE!!!
Stop the TORTURE AND SLAUGHTER OF THESE PRECIOUS ANIMALS.
We must end these wet markets all over the world it’s not only China its Korea Taiwan they must stop now this is where everything is developed from SARS bubonic plague now it’s covid-19 we must stop it or we will not have people in this world left what markets have to go now right now
It is so terribly sad that it took a deadly virus that kill thousand of people to realize that millions of animals are in need of our help and voice to save them from the horror inflected on them
Wet markets world wide need to be shut down permanently asap. 😡😠🤬
All cruel barbaric wet markets need to be banned forever!
Apart from the coronavirus pandemic, surely these live wildlife markets should have been banned years ago. We are not living in the Middle Ages and there is no place for them in the 21st century. And yes Tamara I only read about these wet markets in the USA recently and was shocked that a country like America allows it.
They need to start in their own backyards first because we here in the USA have wet markets too!
Do something now before another dreadful virus starts up. We don’t know what’s caused this one yet.
It’s heartbreaking to see living, sentient treated so cruelly.
These appalling markets must be banned.
A global ban on wet markets is admirable, but it’s much tougher to regulate and enforce law violations in countries like China, who consistently lie to the world about everything they do.
Rehome all these sentient creatures in sanctuaries immediately and ban live marketing of them immediately and permanently.
a very important first move,, now get the rest of the world to fall in line…. maybe use the UN , this time for something good, instead of it being a hot bed for anti-semitism…
BTW Isreal is helping its enemies ,,, a far cry from the opposite….
We must ban these cruel and dangerous markets.
This needs to be passed and ban all meat markets around the world.