Wildlife trafficking promotes new infectious diseases, says UN

Wildlife crime and unsustainable exploitation of nature increase the risk of transmitting diseases such as the new coronavirus, caused by pathogens spreading from animals to humans, says report UN agency published Friday.

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" Without human interference through deforestation, capture, killing, trafficking and consumption of wild animals, the evolution and transmission of the coronavirus would have been highly unlikely, " writes the United Nations Office against drugs and crime (UNODC) in its annual crime report.

“ About 75% of the new infectious diseases that have affected humans over the past three decades have come from animals. When they are poached on a large scale and sold clandestinely, without any health control, the potential for transmission is increased, ”observes UNODC. Pangolins, identified as possible vectors of the coronavirus, are the most often poached wild mammals, specifies the report: the seizures of their scales were multiplied by ten between 2014 and 2018.

Increase in traffic

The current pandemic could lead to an increase in traffic, warns the UNODC: products from fauna and flora can be presented as " remedies " to the coronavirus, in particular the bile of bears used in traditional Chinese medicine. The report also notes that the illegal trade in African ivory and rhino horn is " in decline ", while demand for exotic wood has " increased significantly in the past two decades ".

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UNODC bases its conclusions on 180,000 seizures in nearly 150 countries showing that more than 6,000 different species of mammals, reptiles, corals, fish and birds were seized between 1999 and 2019. No species is responsible for more than 5% seizures and no country has been identified as the source of more than 9% of the total number of seizures according to the UN agency, criminal networks having diversified the resources they exploit.

" To better rebuild after the coronavirus crisis, we cannot afford to ignore wildlife crime ," said Ghada Waly director general of the United Nations Office at Vienna. It calls on governments to strengthen their legislation and improve international cooperation.