Baby pangolins on my plate: possible lessons to learn from the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (JEET), throughout its 15 years of existence, has tried to provide a respected outlet for scientific knowledge concerning the inextricable links between human societies and nature, food, and health. Ethnobiology and ethnomedicine-centred research has moved at the (partially artificial and fictitious) interface between nature and culture and has investigated human consumption of wild foods and wild animals, as well as the use of wild animals or their parts for medicinal and other purposes, along with the associated knowledge, skills, practices, and beliefs. Little attention has been paid, however, to the complex interplay of social and cultural reasons behind the increasing pressure on wildlife. The available literature suggest that there are two main drivers that enhance the necessary conditions for infectious diseases to cross the species barrier from wild animals to humans: (1) the encroachment of human activities (e.g., logging, mining, agricultural expansion) into wild areas and forests and consequent ecological disruptions; and, connected to the former, (2) the commodification of wild animals (and natural resources in general) and an expanding demand and market for wild meat and live wild animals, particularly in tropical and sub-tropical areas. In particular, a crucial role may have been played by the bushmeat-euphoria and attached elitist gastronomies and conspicuous consumption phenomena. The COVID-19 pandemic will likely require ethnobiologists to reschedule research agendas and to envision new epistemological trajectories aimed at more effectively mitigating the mismanagement of natural resources that ultimately threats our and other beings' existence.

Attitudes towards Wildlife Consumption inside and outside Hubei Province, China, in Relation to the SARS and COVID-19 Outbreaks

“…Eating wildlife may be a way to increase sources of protein (Asibey 1974 ). The consumption of wildlife is not uncommon in many parts of the world, including America, Africa, and Asia, and in many cases is a very important part of cultural identify (Lindsey et al 2013 ; Volpato et al 2020 ). However, the Chinese population currently have abundant choices for sources of protein.…”

“…At the same time, the dangers inherent in the consumption of wildlife meat, especially if the source is unknown, should be widely publicized. As has become clear during the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, some species of wildlife carry viruses that can cross barriers between species and mutate to become dangerous and potentially fatal to humans (Volpato et al 2020 ). Also noteworthy is that more than half of our study participants (53.7%) indicated that they thought that palm civets were carriers of SARS.…”

COVID 19: challenges for virologists in the food industry

“…However, over the receptor‐binding domain (RBD) these pangolin viruses were more closely related to the human isolates than bat coronaviruses, suggesting pangolins as a possible intermediate host involved in the outset of the pandemic (Lam et al ., 2020). To prevent viruses spilling over from animals to humans, for example in wet food markets, wildlife sources need to be monitored and Volpato and coauthors suggest there is an urgent need for a ban on illegal pangolin but also other wild animal trade to prevent further viral spillovers (Volpato et al ., 2020; Xiao et al ., 2020). The WHO has issued recommendations to reduce risk of transmission of emerging pathogens from animals to humans in live animal markets or animal product markets (WHO, 2020b).…”

Host Diversity and Origin of Zoonoses: The Ancient and the New

“…Asia is another example of wild animals trafficking for consumption, especially in China, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand, where "ye wei" ("wild taste" for wild and exotic animals) was associated with social status including in the dynastic eras as well as currently being widely sold in wet markets and restaurants, sourced legally or illegally from the wild or wildlife farms (reviewed in [72]). Important zoonoses such as some caused by coronaviruses (Table 2) have also been associated with the consumption of wild meat in markets, two of them in China.…”