PETA and animal rights groups are calling for a ban on the wet markets found in New York. The group reports over 80 live-animal markets and slaughterhouses operational in the city, with many located close to schools, residences and public parks.

Scientists believe that the virus jumped from an animal to a human at an exotic animal market in Wuhan, China.

Edita Birnkrant from the animal rights group NYCLASS, said of the markets, “There is blood, guts and faeces all over the ground. It often gets hosed onto the street and into the sewer, and you have New Yorkers just walking through this, who can track it on their shoes, into the subway, and home. It’s a perfect storm for future pandemics. Anybody can see that this is not okay.”

See footage from the animal markets in New York City,

Legislators in California and New York are calling for bans on the markets in their states. Linda Rosenthal, the New York State Assemblymember who drafted the ban, told the Sun, “COVID-19 and other deadly zoonotic diseases before it, like H1NI and SARs before it, have their origins in live markets. COVID-19 has devastated New York. We have a responsibility to do everything that we can to prevent the next pandemic. Closing the live markets will save lives, and my bill will do just that.”

Read more about protecting yourself from coronavirus. Check the CDC website for more information on how to protect yourself and check our latest article to learn how COVID-19 differs from the flu.

Scientists believe that the spread of COVID-19, or coronavirus, started at an exotic animal market in Wuhan, China. You can help stop the incidence of viruses like these by signing this petition to ban the wildlife trade.

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