Interviews: Impacts of COVID-19 on Wildlife Trade, Health, and Climate

Astrid Andersson

The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong | @AA_Andersson

How did you first become interested in wildlife trade?

It must have been over a decade ago, walking down “dried seafood street” in Hong Kong and seeing countless shark fins for sale amongst piles of other dried wildlife – seahorses, sea cucumbers, snake skin, tortoise shells – all of unknown species. This really spurred my interest in the ecological impacts of wildlife trade, and the mechanisms behind it.

What tools do you use in your study of wildlife trade?

Wildlife trade research requires an interdisciplinary approach, and methods I use include everything from market surveys and interviews to trade data analysis and forensic tools.

What challenges do you see in working across wildlife trade and human health issues?

Due to COVID-19 we are seeing widespread interest in the consequences of unregulated wildlife trade, from top-level officials to society at large; we will have to work hard to translate this newfound political will into tangible, long-term results for wildlife and humans. Implementing tighter regulations on legal trade, providing alternative livelihoods, combating wildlife crime, and maintaining momentum on behaviour change will all require dedicated funding, manpower and time. We have to make sure we collectively remember the cost – both in economic and health terms – of pandemics that arise from inadequate wildlife trade regulation.

What on-the-ground actions would you prioritize to tackle the risks around wildlife trade and zoonoses, if you could?

On an international / national level, we need to increase regulation on hunting, transporting, breeding, sale and consumption of wild animals, particularly for high-risk species. Immediate areas where this can occur include luxury, non-essential products involving live animals, such as specialist cuisine, fur, or pets. This is also a great opportunity to create jobs in – and facilitate the transition to – sustainable industries. In addition, we need to support protected areas, as they are natural barriers against zoonotic disease spillover, and make sure we properly train, equip and empower the rangers and customs officers that combat wildlife crime.

Lucy Keatts

Lucy Keatts, Wildlife Conservation Society, USA

How did you first become interested in zoonoses?

After graduating from veterinary school, I followed my passion in wildlife conservation to volunteer in Southeast Asia, just as the region was recovering from the 2003-2003 SARS outbreak. Working at the time to rehabilitate wildlife confiscated from illegal trade, including civets the likely intermediate host in the emergence of SARS, I realized the vital importance of our better understanding of the human drivers of zoonotic disease emergence, and how such work could benefit both global health and conservation, if evidence gathered could increase awareness of the importance of improved policies on wildlife and environmental stewardship, as well as improved disease surveillance, prevention and response.

What tools do you use in your study of zoonoses?

The most important tool is communication and collaboration across multiple sectors (environment, forestry, wildlife, livestock and human health) of local governments and partners ,to conduct pathogen surveillance and behavioral research with rangers, Indigenous People and local communities, actors along wild animal trade chains, and where land-use change and edge expansion around biodiverse areas is evident, for eyes-on-the-ground surveillance that integrates the extensive local knowledge at high-risk interfaces for spillover. Then this information needs to feed into national systems for reporting, response and prevention up to central levels whilst always coming back to communities to share results and discuss ideas for interventions in a culturally-sensitive and appropriate manner.

What challenges do you see in working across wildlife disease and human health issues?

Adequate funding for wildlife health (and animal health in general) is often lacking in low-income nations, which creates a challenge in the development of sustainable wildlife health surveillance networks and a true One Health approach for zoonoses surveillance and response. Long-term investment in education and capacity building around wildlife and ecosystem health and for One Health platforms is necessary.

What on-the-ground actions would you prioritise to tackle the risks around future disease emergence from wildlife, if you could?

A global effort towards ending the trade in wild animals for human consumption (especially of mammals and birds which pose a higher risk for pandemic pathogen emergence); better integration of One Health and health impacts into land-use planning towards improved stewardship of biodiverse areas and reduction of their fragmentation and of edge-expansion; improved protections of wildlife and functional biodiverse landscapes; development of sustainable wildlife and community health surveillance networks (e.g. using the SMART tool) feeding into national systems to enable rapid response and guidance of future mitigation efforts.