Coronavirus USA Response: Secretary Of State Urges China To Close Wildlife Markets On Earth Day

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged China on Wednesday to close down wildlife wet markets in a statement in commemoration of Earth Day.

“On this Earth Day, we also underscore the dangerous consequences of wildlife trafficking. Wildlife 'wet markets,' in which live species are sold for human consumption, are hotspots for wildlife trafficking, create risks for the generation and spread of diseases, and may have played a critical role in the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Pompeo said in the statement.

“On this Earth Day, we call on the People’s Republic of China and other countries to close wildlife wet markets permanently, a move that would reduce risks to human health inside and outside of China and discourage the consumption of trafficked wildlife and wildlife products. We call on all governments to join our efforts to combat and put an end to the scourge that is wildlife trafficking,” he continued.

Pompeo’s comments come as a bipartisan group of senators drafted a bill that prohibits the U.S. government and contractors from buying animals sold at Chinese wet markets. A federal lab in Maryland had bought animals from the markets to conduct questionable experiments.

“As Iowans, and all Americans, continue to battle COVID-19, we need to do all we can to ensure something like this never happens again. That includes preventing any more American tax dollars from going to unregulated ‘wet markets’ in China,” said Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, one of the bill’s sponsors.

Sens. Mike Braun, R-Ind., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Joe Manchin, D-W.V., were also involved in the legislation.

The Chinese government issued a temporary ban on the wildlife markets in February. Animals such as live wolf pups and pangolins are often kept in poor conditions, making the markets a likely incubator for viruses such as COVID-19.

Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, the acting executive secretary of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, told the Guardian earlier this month that countries around the world should move to close wet markets, but added the decision could result in unintended consequences.

“It would be good to ban the live animal markets as China has done and some countries,” she said. “But we should also remember you have communities, particularly from low-income rural areas, particularly in Africa, which are dependent on wild animals to sustain the livelihoods of millions of people.

“So unless we get alternatives for these communities, there might be a danger of opening up illegal trade in wild animals which currently is already leading us to the brink of extinction for some species."

Governments are searching for ways to prevent the next pandemic after the coronavirus spread across the world. As of Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. ET, there are over 2.61 million cases of coronavirus, with the global death toll over 182,000.