Wildlife trade poses long-term health threat in pandemic era

Disease and viruses are fated to recur

Wildlife for sale at a market in Khammouane Province, July 2021. WWF-Greater Mekong (1).jpeg

Wildlife for sale last year at a market in Khammouane Province, Laos. (Courtesy of WWF-Greater Mekong)

DENIS D. GRAY, Contributing Writer

March 16, 2022 08:00 JST

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- COVID-19 has been conquered. But its passing reignites the trafficking of pangolin, monkeys and other wildlife. A back-alley eatery in China features bear paws and fried civet on its menu. Mink and fox farms thrive again. And not long after another hitherto unknown virus appears, spreading as wide as COVID-19 and taking an even deadlier toll.