COVID-19 Curbs Appetite for Wild Animals, a New Report Finds

May 29

Nearly 30% of people surveyed say they have consumed less wildlife, or stopped consuming wildlife altogether, because of the global health crisis.

More than a year after the COVID-19 outbreak, a new report reveals that nearly 30% of people surveyed across China, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the U.S. say they have consumed less wildlife, or stopped consuming wildlife altogether, because of the global health crisis.

The report, commissioned by World Wildlife Fund (WWF), is part of efforts to deepen understanding of public attitudes and behaviors about COVID-19 and wildlife markets.

“The world has gotten a crash course this past year in pandemics,” says Carter Roberts, president and CEO of WWF-US. “Preventing future ones requires us to repair our broken relationship with nature, and that starts with ending the trade and consumption of high-risk wildlife and stopping deforestation.”

With 85% of all survey participants backing government efforts to close high-risk wildlife markets, Roberts says the new report indicates public support for efforts to end the trade and consumption of high-risk wildlife.

Increased Awareness

Research demonstrates that up to three-quarters of emerging infectious diseases, including COVID-19, are zoonotic, meaning they jump from animals to humans. Environmental factors driving the emergence of zoonotic diseases include high-risk wildlife trade and consumption, deforestation, expansion of agriculture and unsustainable intensification, and animal production. COVID-19, Ebola, and MERS, are just some of the recent zoonotic diseases to have passed from animal sources to the human population.

Now, the data shows that public perception is changing. Of those surveyed in the U.S., 12% consume less wildlife or have stopped consuming wildlife because of COVID-19, while in China the number sits at 28%. In Thailand and Vietnam, the figures are 41% and 39% respectively.

The COVID-19 pandemic also prompted governments to take action against the wildlife trade. In February 2020, the Chinese government announced a broad ban on the consumption of wild animals - the study indicated that in China, closing high-risk wildlife markets is seen as the most effective measure to prevent similar pandemic diseases from happening in the future (91%). In Vietnam, where the Prime Minister also announced actions against the illegal wildlife trade last year, 84% of respondents agree that closing high-risk wildlife markets is crucial.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., people’s altered perceptions towards the root causes of pandemics are being reflected in their shopping baskets, with 67% more likely to buy from companies taking action to prevent pandemics, including implementing sustainable resource use and stopping deforestation.

However, according to WWF, addressing high-risk wildlife trade and consumption in isolation will not be enough to prevent the next pandemic. It is our unsustainable global food system as a whole that is driving large-scale conversion of natural spaces for agriculture, fragmenting natural ecosystems, and increasing interactions between wildlife, farmed animals, and humans.

The coronavirus pandemic has exposed so many of the problems that exist in our current systems because they so heavily involve animals. One year on, COVID-19 has irreparably altered both people’s lives and perceptions - and with the devastating effects of the pandemic still being felt - the call to change our behaviors towards animals seems more urgent than ever.

Help change our food system. Host a vegan night with family and friends this season. Visit Species Unite’s Vegan Nights to download your free plant-based dinner guide.