Animal rights organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), have delivered a small COVIDSafe gift to the NSW Premier.
As New South Wales battles its latest surge in COVID-19 cases and Premier Gladys Berejiklian has mandated mask-wearing, PETA has sent her a printed mask, which reads, ‘Animal Markets Breed Disease.’ It serves as a reminder that humankind’s abhorrent treatment of its fellow animals is the cause of this zoonotic disease – and numerous others.
In an accompanying letter, PETA points out that while COVID-19 is believed to have originated in a wildlife market, zoonotic diseases are not limited to wild animals.
As far back as 2016, the UN Environment Programme warned that the ‘livestock revolution’ increases the likelihood of disease transmission, and experts are deeply concerned about future swine and bird flu outbreaks.
PETA says that in 2009, the Department of Health recorded 191 deaths out of 37,537 confirmed cases of H1N1 influenza (swine flu), and this July and August, six Victorian farms reported three different strains of avian influenza, proving that Australia is at risk of such outbreaks.
They also say that in a paper published in 2018, Belgian spatial epidemiologist Marius Gilbert found that more historical ‘conversion events’ for bird flu – in which a not-very-pathogenic strain of the virus becomes more dangerous – had occurred in Australia than in China.
Horrific toll on animals
PETA spokesperson Aleesha Naxakis said of course, human consumption of animal flesh also increases the risk of developing illnesses such as heart disease… and contributes considerably to anthropogenic climate change. ‘In addition, there’s the horrific toll on animals. Annually, some half a million living, feeling beings are callously slaughtered in Australia to meet the demand for their flesh.
‘Each was an individual, just like the cats and dogs with whom we share our homes.
‘Sadly, unlike our companion animals, those bred for meat endure miserable lives in captivity before being killed.’
PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” – opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview.
PETA’s letter is available here.
Recent stories, information and updates regarding COVID-19
New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics Life shows life expectancy in Australia has decreased slightly for the second year in a row. An international team of researchers has found more evidence that COVID-19 came from animals in a Wuhan food market. The lab-leak theory that Covid-19 came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology – instead of a nearby wet market – was thrashed about in public recently, with the US Senate Homeland Security Committee holding a hearing into Covid-19. Eighteen schools in the Northern Rivers division of Richmond have received $25,000 each as part of the federal government’s School Upgrade Fund, Labor Member for Richmond Justine Elliot said last week. COVID-19 reversed earlier trends toward longer life expectancies. During the pandemic, life expectancies globally dropped by 1.6 years according to a new study published in the Lancet medical journal. Let’s not forget that Covid-19 is still a big issue in our community with 31,935 cases reported across Australia in the last week – an average of 4,562 cases per day. The Global Carbon Budget is about to be refreshed, giving the world a critical insight into how efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are (or are not) progressing. Masks will no longer be mandatory on public transport from tomorrow, Wednesday 21 September. SW Police are urging festival-goers at this weekend’s music festival to celebrate in a safe and responsible manner, whilst also being aware of COVID-Safety measures. The Northern NSW Local Health District reports that to 4pm yesterday, Sunday May 22, there were 40 COVID-19 positive patients in hospital in Northern NSW, with one of these in ICU.
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