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Poll: Virus Spurs ASEAN Consensus Against Animal Trafficking

VOA News

   More than nine out of 10 people in Southeast Asia want the state to end
   wildlife trafficking, according to a new poll from the World Wildlife
   Fund that shows unprecedented consensus after COVID-19 spread from
   animals to humans.
   WWF International said that 93% of people polled in the region would
   like "action by their governments to eliminate illegal and unregulated
   wildlife markets," which the organization said is the second biggest
   threat to global biodiversity, after habitat destruction.
   Although COVID-19 is believed to have broken out at a meat market in
   China, nations in Southeast Asia often act as transit hubs to get
   trafficked wildlife into China. Governments in the region have started
   to introduce more new laws to crack down on the illegal trade as a
   result.
   "People are deeply worried and would support their governments in
   taking action to prevent potential future global health crises
   originating in wildlife markets," MarcoLambertini, the director general
   of WWF International, said last week. "It is time to connect the dots
   between wildlife trade, environmental degradation and risks to human
   health."
   He added thattakingactionnow "is crucial for all of our survival."
   It is believedCOVID-19 spread from an animalto a humanin China in
   December,andreactions have ranged from foreign pundits snubbing Chinese
   who eat bats or snakes, to the government itself taking actiontoban
   consumption of wild meat.

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