The new coronavirus is a product of global wildlife trade - and could be devastating enough to stop it

COVID-19 is one of the countless emerging infectious diseases that are zoonotic, that is, they come from animals. Approximately 75% of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic, accounting for billions of illnesses and millions of deaths each year worldwide.

When these diseases spread to humans, the cause is often human behaviour, including habitat destruction and the multi-billion dollar international wildlife trade, the latter being the suspected source of the new coronavirus.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced governments to impose severe restrictions, such as social distancing, which will have an enormous economic cost. But less attention has been paid to identifying and changing the behaviours that contribute to the emergence of zoonotic diseases. As a conservation biologist, I believe that this epidemic demonstrates the urgent need to stop the global wildlife trade.

Disease markets

As many Americans now know, the coronavirus COVID-19 is part of a family of coronaviruses commonly found in bats. It is suspected to have passed through a mammal, perhaps the pangolins - the most heavily trafficked animal on the planet - before being transmitted to humans.

The spread of the virus to humans is believed to have occurred in a so-called wet market in China. In these markets, live animals, captured in the wild, farmed wildlife and livestock often mingle under unsanitary conditions that are very stressful for the animals. These circumstances are conducive to infection and spillage.

The current outbreak is only the latest example of a virus passing from animals to humans. HIV is perhaps the most infamous example: It originated in chimpanzees in Central Africa and still kills hundreds of thousands of people every year. It probably spread to humans through the consumption of bushmeat or meat from wild animals, which is also the cause of several Ebola epidemics. PREDICT, a non-profit organization funded by the United States, suggests that there are thousands of viral species circulating in birds and mammals that pose a direct risk to humans.

Decimating wildlife and humans

Wildlife trade has decimated populations and species for millennia and is one of the five main factors in the decline of wildlife. People hunt and trade animals and animal parts for food, medicine and other uses. This trade is estimated to be worth US$18 billion a year in China alone, which is considered the world's largest market for these products.

My own work focuses on African and Asian elephants, which are seriously threatened by the wildlife trade. Demand for elephant ivory has caused the death of more than 100 000 elephants over the past 15 years.

Conservationists have been working for years to stop the wildlife trade or to enforce strict regulations to ensure that it is conducted in a way that does not threaten the survival of the species. Initially, the focus was on stopping the decline of threatened species. But today it is clear that this trade is also harming humans.

For example, conservation organizations estimate that more than 100 rangers are killed each year to protect wildlife, often by poachers and armed militias who prey on valuable species such as rhinos and elephants. The violence associated with wildlife trade affects local communities, which are generally poor and rural.

The impact of wildlife trade on disease has received less public attention in the last decade. This can be explained by the fact that the bushmeat trade and consumption targets less charismatic species, provides an essential source of protein in some communities, and is a driver of economic activity in some remote rural areas.

Will China follow suit?

In China, the sale and consumption of wildlife is deeply rooted in culture and is an influential economic sector. The Chinese authorities see them as an essential source of income for impoverished rural communities, and have encouraged national policies that promote this trade despite its risks.

In 2002-2003, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS - a disease caused by a zoonotic coronavirus transmitted through live wildlife markets - emerged in China and spread to 26 countries. Then as now, bats were a likely source.

In response, the Chinese government adopted strict regulations to stop wildlife trade and the associated risks. But policies were then weakened under cultural and economic pressure.

Today, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is leading to faster and stronger reforms. China has announced a temporary ban on all wildlife trade and a permanent ban on wildlife trade for food purposes. The Vietnamese prime minister has proposed a similar ban, and other neighbouring countries are under pressure to follow suit.

Conservation scientists are hearing rumours that wildlife markets on China's borders - often selling endangered species that are banned from sale in China - are collapsing as the spread of the coronavirus reduces tourism and related trade. Similarly, in Africa, trade in pangolin and other wildlife products is reported to be declining due to concerns about coronaviruses.

However, I am concerned that these changes are not sustainable. The Chinese government has already stated that its initial bans on medicinal products and wildlife products for non-consumption are temporary and will be relaxed in the future.

This is not good enough. In my view, ending harmful and dangerous wildlife trade will require concerted global pressure on the governments that allow it, as well as internal campaigns to help stop the demand that fuels this trade. Without cultural change, the likely results will be a relaxation of prohibitions or an expansion of illegal wildlife trade.

Africa has borne the highest costs of illegal wildlife trade, which has ravaged its natural resources and fuelled insecurity. A global recession caused by a pandemic and the halt in tourism will significantly reduce revenues from wildlife industries. Poaching is likely to increase, potentially for international trade, but also for local bushmeat markets. And lower revenues from tourism will reduce local support for wildlife protection.

In addition, if COVID-19 spreads across the continent, Africa could also suffer major loss of life due to a pandemic that could have started in an illegally traded African pangolin.

Like other disasters, the COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity to implement solutions that will ultimately benefit humans and the planet. I hope that one result will be that nations come together to stop the costly trade and consumption of wildlife.