S.A.R.S. (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) may have originated in China's horrific livestock markets
PRESS RELEASE (for immediate release)
Animals Asia Foundation - SARS Link to Wild Animals - Tip of Iceberg
Reports from the Hong Kong University that SARS has been found in no less than 3 wild species in China come as no surprise to animal welfare investigators who have been calling for the closure of the country's cruel animal markets for nearly 20 years.
Animals Asia investigators have documented in excess of 60 wild, domestic and endangered species, at any one time, stressed and suffering in mass concentrations throughout these notorious "markets of hell".
The cruel "animal stew" of mammals, reptiles, amphibians and birds, which are often wild caught, creates an ideal environment for bacteria and viruses to incubate and be transmitted from one species to another - including humans.
The majority of the wild species of masked palm civet, raccoon dog and badger identified in the SARS outbreak, are routinely seen with infected, bloodied limb stumps as a result of being trapped and snared in the wild and arriving by the thousand into the markets stressed, sick, dying - and dead.
Confinement of these animals in rusty, wire cages, in mass concentration, combined with violent and barbaric methods of slaughter, allow blood, gut contents, faeces and urine to contaminate the surrounding area.
Unsurprisingly, these conditions allow viruses, previously kept under control by the immune system, to multiply and be excreted. Animals Asia Veterinary Director, Dr. Gail Cochrane said: "With the exception of the Giant Panda, there is no published scientific research on viral and bacterial infections present in wild animals in China. No-one knows what viruses are out there and any confinement (under normal or stressful conditions) of wild animals, whether wild or captive bred, still exposes the distinct possibility that other unknown or new viruses may emerge."
Founder Jill Robinson MBE said: "Although China is currently under public fire, the absence of animal welfare laws in many Asian countries and the increasing unnatural concentrations of a wide variety of species has led to disease mutations, which pose a very real world wide threat. Solutions advocating the "captive raising and humane slaughter" of these species are totally unrealistic and ignore the fact that the cruelty, together with a melting pot of disease, would simply go unchecked and underground. The simple fact is that China could take the lead towards ending death, disease and horrific animal suffering, by closing the markets down and ending the trade and consumption of these animals once and for all."
For further information (and stills and footage of Hua Nan Wild Animal Market), please contact: Dave Neale - UK Director, Animals Asia Foundation, Tel: 01503 269231 or Mobile 07764 161 981 or [email protected] Jill Robinson MBE - Founder & CEO, Animals Asia Foundation, Hong Kong Tel: (852) 2719 3340 or Mobile: (852) 9095 8405 or [email protected]
For stills & footage please
contact Annie Mather - Media Director, Animals Asia Foundation,
Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 2521 0982 or [email protected] www.animalsasia.org
Dave Neale
Animals Asia Foundation Find out more about the historic China
Bear Rescue by visiting the
Animals Asia Foundation website at http://www.animalsasia.org