Experts are warning that the illegal bushmeat trade in the United Kingdom could lead to additional zoonotic disease transmission. According to the Mirror, the amount of illegal bushmeat smuggled into the country has doubled since 2015. Border staff seized over a thousand kg of meat in 2018/2019, a number that increases every year. Experts are […]
Tag: wildlife trade
Petition: Lead Epidemiologist Says Coronavirus May be Linked to Breeding of Huge Rats in China Consumed to Detoxify the Body
China was breeding huge rats to eat before they were banned due to coronavirus. Called “bamboo rats,” the Chinese believe that eating bamboo rat meat makes them prettier and can detoxify their bodies. Until recently, bamboo rats were a celebrated food in China. Farmers had about 25 million of the rats before the government banned […]
Petition: Seven More Big Cats Test Positive for COVID-19 but Don’t Worry Animals Can’t Transmit the Virus to Humans
Seven more big cats at the Bronx Zoo have tested positive for coronavirus. This follows the announcement earlier in the month that a tiger at the zoo had tested positive. Four tigers and three African lions have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the zoo. Nadia, the four-year-old Malayan tiger, was the first diagnosis at […]
Images from a dropped phone reveal the ugly truth behind bonobo trafficking
In the early morning hours of Feb. 23, a gunshot rang out from deep within a Congolese forest. And then another, followed by one last bang. The shots were fired about 10 kilometers (6 miles) outside the village of Mondombe in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where an experienced anti-poaching team from local NGO Conserv […]
Petition: World Health Organization Doesn’t Want Wet Markets to be Banned
The World Health Organization (WHO) has pushed back on international calls to ban “wet markets,” in China, the assumed source of the corona virus pandemic. A spokesperson for the WHO said of the wet markets, “WHO also recognizes that food markets are key for people’s food security — they are the main source of affordable vegetables […]
Petition: China Bans Wild Animal Sales But Offers Tax Incentives for Exports
A Wall Street Journal article reports that China is giving tax incentives to exporting wild animals while banning their sale and use within China. Scientists believe that the source of the COVID-19 pandemic was a wild animal market in Wuhan, China. China temporarily banned the sale and import of wild animals to improve public health. […]
Petition: Tiger at the Bronx Zoo Tests Positive for Coronavirus
A tiger at the Bronx Zoo has contracted and tested positive for the coronavirus. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), the operator of the zoo, confirmed that Nadia, age 4, has the virus. New York City has been hit hard by the spread of COVID-19 and the tiger is another resident to have contracted the virus. […]
Petition: Why You Shouldn’t Support Joe Exotic, the Star of Tiger King
Many people are binging the Netflix documentary series Tiger King. For animal activists, a documentary about the infamous Joe Exotic and his tiger breeding and captivity seemed like it would expose big cat captivity in a way that would shine a light on a cruel industry. Instead, everyone is walking away from their screens with […]