Such markets not only play a role in the spread of #disease: by selling poached, endangered animals such as #pangolins, they are pushing species toward #extinction.

Illegal #hunting and the #WildlifeTrade, like #ClimateChange and #HabitatDestruction, are among the causes of the dramatic global #extinction of species. In late 2019, a #UN report issued a stark #warning about the scope of the catastrophe,

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#ProtectOurWildlife 🦍🦦🦇

https://www.ipbes.net/news/ipbes-global-assessment-preview

IPBES Global Assessment Preview

Introducing IPBES' 2019 Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services First global biodiversity assessment since 2005

^{IPBES secretariat}

The #HuananSeafoodMarket, which offers an apalling variety of live and freshly slaughtered animals, is suspected to be the pandemic’s Ground Zero. According to genetic analyses, bats are the original hosts of the virus, but animals from the wildlife market may have transmitted them to humans.

In addition to seafood, the meat of 30 terrestrial animal species is available there, including #pangolins, #civets, #squirrels, #pheasants, #scorpions, #snakes and a variety of #rats.

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