There can be no better time to address the awful trade in wild animals for human consumption than now. As the world is reeling from the effects of Corona we all need to take action to stop the unacceptable trade that devastates wild species to the point of extinction and leads to potential pandemics. When we get over Corona what else will loom on the horizon as a result of continuing to plunder the wild for food.
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As the Corona pandemic spreads relentlessly around the world Jane Goodall speaks about the causes. The way we have used the environment and the animals in it exploiting natural resources leaving wildlife with less and less has caused what I would describe as a day of reckoning. This pandemic is as a result of our own activities and what conservationist biologists and naturalists have been warning about for decades. The harvesting of wild animals and the slaughtering of them in open wet markets of Asia must be stopped for the good of not just mankind but the earths beautiful wild animals as well.   Amid the Corona pandemic we have news that should concern all of us who care deeply about big cats and their survival. At a zoo in Bronx a Malayan tiger now extinct in the wild has been found positive to the virus. That this virus can now be considered able to jump from human to big cat is a very worrying scenario. At a time when big cats are struggling to survive this is potentially devastating. How could it be controlled once it got into the wild ? It couldn't.
 In all the gloom around the horrifying rate of extinctions it's nice to get some good news. Probably the most high profile animal is the tiger that faced almost certain extinction prior to protections being put in place in the mid 20th century. That doesn't mean they aren't threatened. New threats replace old ones for the tiger such as the illegal logging that not only destroys habitat but allows access into the forests for vehicles and people. Constant vigilance is needed to protect all the vulnerable creatures and we can make a difference if we care enough to act to save them.
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AuthorCynthia House Archives
August 2022
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