(CN) SARS Link to Wild Animals Tip of Iceberg

[Guest guest]

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. "

 

Ends.

 

 

For further information (and stills and footage of Hua Nan Wild Animal

Market), please contact:

 

Jill Robinson MBE - Founder & CEO, Animals Asia Foundation, Hong Kong

Tel: (852) 2719 3340 or Mobile: (852) 9095 8405 or jrobinson

 

For stills & footage please contact Annie Mather - Media Director, Animals

Asia Foundation, Hong Kong

Tel: (852) 2521 0982 or amather

 

www.animalsasia.org