Human impact on wildlife to blame for spread of viruses, says study

Mon, 20 Apr 2020 05:43:31 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/08/human-impact-on-wildlife-to-blame-for-spread-of-viruses-says-study-aoe>

"Hunting, farming and the global move of people to cities has led to
massive declines in biodiversity and increased the risk of dangerous
viruses like Covid-19 spilling over from animals to humans, a major
study has concluded.

In a paper that suggests the underlying cause of the present pandemic is
likely to be increased human contact with wildlife, scientists from
Australia and the US traced which animals were most likely to share
pathogens with humans."

Via Muse, who wrote:

"I mentioned something about how our mistreatment of animals has created
any number of health issues for humans. Here is report of a study that
comes to a similar conclusion. Sadly, reporting this with calls by
conservationists undermines the perceived objectivity of the research.
Both groups are doing their jobs, but I wouldn’t have written an article
in this manner.

I would also point out: how we treat one another is how we treat the
environment. Not much is going to change until we start ensuring the
well-being of our poorest and most vulnerable. If people have to kill
exotic animals just to eat and live, they will do so."

Cheers,
        *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net                   Andrew Pam
http://www.xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
http://www.glasswings.com.au/             Partner, Glass Wings
http://www.sericyb.com.au/                Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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